Saving Money vs Laundry Costs

The question has been asked several times, "Am I really saving money by cloth diapering when I have to use more water and detergent than usual to wash the diapers?"

The answer to this question is not as straight forward as a yes or no. Indeed, it depends on many different variables such as the size of your stash, how often you do laundry, your laundry routine and even the settings you use on your washer or even what kind of washer you have.

True, you WILL be using more water and detergent than you normal would if you were not cloth diapering, that is kind of obvious, but how much you use and what it ultimately ends up costing you can be minimal compared to the cost of disposable diapers (not to mention the cost to the environment as they sit for hundreds of years in landfills).

Below, I have complied a few tips to help you get the most out of your water and detergent to keep the costs of cloth diapering as low as you would hope for them to be.

Stash:
People with small cloth diaper stashes must wash more often (sometimes once or twice a day). A good way to save some money on water and detergent is to build a decent stash that allows at least two days between washes. It may take some time to get to that point, but you'll see your water bill creep down once you are washing less frequently.

Routine:
Find a wash routine that is simple and effective, taking in account that you may have to adjust how much or little detergent you use. Washing diapers should not be more complicated than washing heavily soiled clothes. Multiple wash cycles, rinses, additives and routines should not be necessary and often can be the source of chemical irritation and excessive water and detergent waste. Keep it simple, save your time and money.

Water Settings:
Use the appropriate water level settings for your load. This may seem obvious but many people seem to forget that a majority of washing machines have adjustable load sizes that change the amount of water used. If you are washing a small or medium load of laundry (whether diapers or just clothing) use the appropriate water level and save on your next water bill.

Washing Machine:
Consider the age and energy efficiency of your washing machine. It's estimates that some older washing machines can use as much as forty gallons of water for a single load of laundry. That is a LOT of water. Consider trading in your old trusty for a newer water and energy efficient machine. Modern machines can also help you take the guess work out of evaluating the size of your load by automatically sensing how much water is needed cutting gallons of water from your wash.

Water Softener:
Consider having your water tested for hardness and purchasing a water softener for overly-hard water. Hard water leaves mineral deposits on clothes forcing you to use more detergent to have the same effect. Individuals with water softeners have reported using as little as one-forth the recommended amount of detergent and less water with the same, clean results. Imagine the money saved over time when you can stretch that bottle of detergent out for an additional two or three months.

Conserve Water Elsewhere:
If you are concerned about the cost of your water bill because of cloth diapering, consider ways to make up for the difference by conserving water elsewhere in your home. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or washing your face. Have leaking faucets repaired or replaced. Use stale drinking water to flush the toilet or feed household plants, etc. Find ways to conserve water.

Pay Attention to Water Bills and Appliances:
When you get your water bill, study it, see how many gallons or units of water your household has used, call your provider and ask for estimates on averages and see if your household use is within range or unusually high. Do a thorough check for things like externally burst or leaking pipes, yard hoses that have been left running or even neighbors stealing water. Check sinks and toilets for drips and leaks, replace or repair any flaws that you find.

When my husband and I moved into our home I contacted our water provider and got averages on the cost of water and sewer for a family of three, per month. She informed me that it was about $75 a month on a two-month billing cycle so your average family-of-three bill was around $150. Two things were in need of addressing when we first moved in and that was the washing machine was ancient and did not clean well making me do as many as four washes to get a single load of towels clean, and we had one dripping faucet in the bathroom.

It took us a couple of weeks but eventually we replaced the washing machine with a new, energy efficient model and repaired the leaking sink. Even with those two issues, our first water bill was $190. Only $40 more than average. That comes out to $20 more a month on water and sewer, not a huge increase even with the problems that we had. I'm anxious to get our next bill after having replaced the washer and repaired the sink to see how much more we can save. Not to mention the fact that I have been selling some diapers making my stash small enough where I must do diaper laundry every day.

In conclusion, the increase is minimal and, more importantly, manageable and certainly still cheaper than disposables.

Washing, Lanolizing Wool (A Picture Tutorial)

Finally, I need to wash and lanolize some wool. I figured I'd take you along for the short, but fun ride.

First, the kit!

Above you see the picture of my "wool kit." It sits on my kitchen counter at all times and only gets used sparingly as wool does not need to be washed or lanolized often.

I have the following:

• One bottle of Unscented Eucalan Wool Wash
• One mason jar (complete with lid)
• One hug a dub dub Wool Wash Soap bar (used only for spot cleaning)
  
• One tube of PureLan 100 Lanolin (though any lanolin will work)
  

Now, let us commence the washing of the wool.

First!

Fill your sink with enough tepid (think baby bath temperature) water to cover your wool item.

Second!

Squeeze out about a pea-sized amount of lanolin and put it in your mason jar.

Third!

Add the wool wash of your choice. I like Eucalan because it is a no-rinse wash. You can use baby soap for this part if you would like as the baby soap, or wool wash, serves only to break up the lanolin and help it distribute in the water better. It's only my preference to use Eucalan. The choice is yours.

I use about 1/2 tsp (sometimes less). If it's a serious wash I will use more. The recommended amount is 1 tsp per gallon (for Eucalan).

Fourth!

Fill the jar about half-way with HOT water. It doesn't have to be super hot, like boiling or anything, just hot enough to melt the lanolin. Your hottest tap water should suffice.

Fifth!

Shake until all of the lanolin is dissolved and the water is cloudy.

Sixth!

Pour the lanolin mixture into the tepid water in the sink. Don't worry, there shouldn't be enough hot water in your jar to seriously screw with the temperature of your waiting water.

Seventh!

Stir the water until it, too, is cloudy and a bit sudsy.

Eighth!

Add the wool item (in this case, a wool changing pad). Keep in mind that wool is naturally water resistant so it may seem to "float" and not absorb the water very well. This is normal.

Ninth!

Gently squeeze the item to encourage the fibers to absorb the wash and lanolin. If spots are needed to be removed, gently work the area. Vigorous scrubbing is usually unnecessary and can cause felting or damage to the wool. Gentle is best and usually all that is required.

Tenth!

Allow the item to soak for 15-30 minutes. Just enough time to nurse a hungry baby!

Eleventh!

Pull the plug and allow the item to act as a drain filter. This way it forces all of the wash and lanolin to pass through its fibers before escaping down the drain.

Twelfth!

Press out (do NOT wring) any excess water to the best of your ability.

Thirteenth!

Roll the item in a towel, pressing (not wringing) as you go.

Fourteen!

Lay flat to dry on a drying rack and allow 24-hours to dry before using.

And You're Done!

To Tide or Not To Tide

I'm pretty sure that Tide must be one of the most popular detergents out there and with good reason: it works!

Apparently it works on cloth diapers too... or so many other cloth-diapering mothers have told me.

I was actually relieved to hear this at first because, in the good ol' days, I was a Tide user myself. I bought it by the gallons and never gave a thought to what kind of additives or enzymes or softeners or bleaches it contained.

It got my clothes clean. What did I care?

Enter young, cloth-diapering mother with a laundry fetish (read my profile) and slight obsession with research.

Suddenly I'm finding out that additives can cause build up! enzymes can cause burn-like rashes! bleaches can damage fibers and void warranties!

To be safe I went with the additive, softener, enzyme, bleach free, biodegradable, rinses clean, save the planet, worship my purity detergent.

It got my clothes clean. What did I care?

Finally, the Tide rave got to me. I had run out of detergent and needed to do laundry. I took my list of the top five diaper-safe detergents, walked to the local grocery store (as my husband had stolen my Jeep) and looked at what was on the shelf.

Tide powder, Tide with bleach, Tide with bleach and fabric softener, Tide Sensitive Skin and Clean, Purex, Sunlight, Ultra, Woolite... I'm sure you are getting the picture that there was a lot of choices. But, of course, not one of my "diaper-safe" detergents was present.

I grabbed the bottle of Tide Sensitive Skin and headed home to launder my laundry.

I used only 1/2 the recommended amount and, yes, it got my diapers very clean.

But the next day there was a rash on my son's butt. Knowing that enzymes could be (and probably were) the culprit I ran an extra "quick wash" at the end of the regular wash to rinse out any remaining detergent and enzymes and even added 1/4 cup vinegar to the mix.

Rash: not so bad but still present.

I used 1/4 the recommended 'Tide'al dose.

Rash: still present.

I used 1/4 the recommended amount with the extra quick wash (now people with water shortages around the country are ready to tar and feather me).

Rash: hanging on for dear life.

Switch back to "ultra-biodegradable-I-save-lives-I'm-so-green" detergent and WELLA... no more rash.

I now use the Tide on just mine and my husband's clothes.

Obviously it works for some mothers, babies and their diapers. I'd really hoped it'd work on mine, and while it got things clean, so does the other stuff. They cost about the same, they work about the same (sans the rash, of course), and they get my clothes clean.

What do I care?

Soft Water, Hard Water

Water is the most important part of cleaning... pretty much anything. Without water we don't get suds, we don't wash, we don't rinse and things don't get clean.

But water can also be a source of grief.

I once asked someone if they had hard water. They said they didn't know. That means it's probably soft. People with hard water know they have hard water. The evidence is everywhere: the calcium and lime build up around faucet heads, the rings in glasses and the toilet, the dingy, gray-looking clothes, the mass amounts of soap needed to get a good clean.

And for diapers you can start to get those same build-ups in clothes that effect absorbency, etc.

I grew up in hard water but had a short reprieve when I moved to Virginia where the water was nice and soft. My clothes and diapers came clean the first time with my Charlie's Soap and I didn't have a very difficult time with laundry or diaper care.

Then we moved.

Hello Iowa. Hello hard water!

My Charlie's Soap became inefficient.

So, I started the search for the perfect, hard water combination.

My first stop was to try the water softener additive Calgon. It certainly helped the laundering process but it was very expensive. The amount of water I was using to wash, plus the Calgon, plus the detergent was just getting too expensive of a combination.

I was willing to do it until my son started getting a little bit of a rash. Upon research I found that Calgon can be rash inducing on some babies.

I was getting a little discouraged.

Then a friend of mine gave me a tip.

She went out and bought a $6, 50 lbs bag or Morton's Water Softener salt pellets. She puts 6-10 pellets in each load of laundry and VIOLA, no Calgon, the bag lasts forever and clean laundry is her only result.

I figured it certainly wouldn't hurt to try. After all, it's only $6.

It's the greatest hard water tip I've ever gotten.

I also switched from Charlie's Soap to Planet Laundry Detergent and while I loved my Charlie's in soft water it just wasn't enough for the hard water conditions here.

It helps get the diapers (and our regular clothes) clean, clean, clean, without the dingy build up and with no rashes.