Costs~
Cost Comparisons (updated 22ndJune 2002)
We have calculated the average costs of some of the different nappy systems on the market, and have also included some example costs of disposables. We do not necessarily sell all of these nappies, and not all that we do sell are included here. Please see the note below about disposables. In the past we have used a standard set of nappies to calculate the costs, of 20 nappies, 4 wraps, 10 boosters and washing. However, we feel this is not truly representative, as some nappies are best with different numbers of wraps, or in different quantities themselves. Therefore, we have provided what we consider to be a representation of a typical, popular and workable set of nappies and wraps in each system. You will not necessarily wish to take any of these exact systems in those exact quantities, but they are there to provide you with a guide to costs. Many of you will in fact mix and match, but these costings will give you a starting point. Please also note that although we have included All-In-One's, it is rare for anyone to take only All-In-One nappies, most parents use a few to complement their range of nappies, as they are very convenient for days out, but not so good overnight, nor are they as durable as 2 part systems. We have not included every brand we sell.
There are some very complex issues surrounding the comparative costings between cloth and disposable nappies, so please understand that the figures here are only a guide, you own usage may be very different, and you should take your own personal circumstances into consideration. Many parents who use cloth also use disposables from time to time (e.g. for holidays), so this needs to be born in mind. Please also remember, that cost comparisons aside, none of this negates the need to be aware of the landfill, waste and environment issues.
We have provided a figure with average washing costs included, calculated from the Real Nappy Association's estimated figure of £40 per year to wash nappies for one child, making a total of £100 for 2 and 1/2 years washing. This may vary slightly depending on how much detergent you use, how hot you wash your nappies (it is based on 60 degrees), and how you dry them ( tumble drying will raise the cost). We have now done some more detailed washing and drying cost calculations of our own, please see further down the page for these.
Finally, we have added an average figure for landfill disposal of disposable nappies per child. This may not be paid directly by you, but it does get added to all Council Tax payers bills. It is estimated that for every £1.00 spent on disposables, it costs another 10p to dispose of them.
We are removing the disposable nappy calculations for average overall costs for the time being, since usage can vary, including switching between brands, plus special offers cannot be predicted and included, we will leave you to work out your own possible costs. Some example prices for individual disposable nappies are given below. These were collected in Morrisons, Beverley branch, on 19th June 2002. Disposable nappy use should be considered to be an average of 6 nappy changes per day, over an average of 30 months, or 912 (365 days x 2.5), which equates to an approximate 5472 nappy changes in all. You could multiply that by the average nappy price of the system you might be likely to use, i.e. take all the sizes and average out the price. You can probably use the cheapest options for around £500 now. The branded options are likely to cost over £700, and possibly quite a bit more if you always use the premium versions.
| Disposable nappy | Size | Pence per nappy, (pack size) |
| Cheapest in Morrisons, Care nappies | Maxi | 8.6 (36's) |
| Cheapest in Morrisons, Care nappies | Junior | 10.3 (36's) |
| Huggies beginnings | newborn | 13.6 (28's) |
| Huggies beginnings | small | 12.3 (46's) |
| Huggies Freedom | sml/med | 14.9 (38's) |
| Huggies Freedom | medium | 16.7 (34's) |
| Huggies Freedom | med/lge | 17.7 (32's) |
| Huggies Freedom | lge | 18.9 (30's) |
| Huggies Adventurers | Medium + | 17.4 (46's) |
| Huggies Adventurers | Large + | 19.1 (42's) |
| Huggies | sml/med | 11.5 (70's) |
| Huggies | medium | 12.9 (62's) |
| Huggies | med/lge | 13.8 (58's) |
| Huggies | large | 14.8 (54's) |
| Huggies Freedom Fun box | sml/med | 11.9 (105's) |
| Huggies Freedom Fun box | medium | 14.4 (87's) |
| Huggies Freedom Fun box | med/lge | 14.9 (84's) |
| Huggies Freedom Fun box | large | 16.1 (78's) |
| Pampers Baby Dry | newborn | 12.1 (28's) |
| Pampers Baby Dry | mini | 12.6 (45's) |
| Pampers Baby Dry | midi | 14.3 (70's) |
| Pampers Baby Dry | maxi | 11.7 (94's) |
| Pampers Baby Dry | maxi plus | 12.8 (86's) |
| Pampers Baby Dry | junior | 13.8 (80's) |
| Pampers Activefit | midi | 17.9 (56's) |
| Pampers Activefit | maxi | 21.8 (46's) |
| Pampers Activefit | junior | 23.8 (42's) |
| Pampers Premiums Easy ups | maxi | 21.4 (42's) |
| Pampers Premiums Easy ups | junior | 23.7 (38's) |
Cotton nappies systems below, examples of systems. We have used the same 5472 nappies changes as an average for the pence per change figure. The pence per change figure would be considerably lower for a second child using the same nappies, particularly in the case of two sized nappies.
| Nappy and wraps | System consisting of | Cost of nappy and wrap Purchase | Approx cost of nappies, wraps and washing (average pence per change) |
| Bambino Mio prefolds and Diaperaps | 20 sml, 20 reg. nappies, 5 each newborn & s wraps, 4 each m, l, xl wraps | £214.58 | £314.58 (5.7p) |
| Bambino Mio Prefolds and Pro wraps | 20 sml, 20 reg. nappies, 5 each newborn & s wraps, 4 each m & l wraps | £190.62 | £290.62 (5.3p) |
| Muslins and Terries with Pro wraps | 20 muslins, 20 terries, 5 each newborn & sml wraps, 4 each m & l wraps | £168.72 | £268.72 (4.9p) |
| Disana Tie on nappies with muslins to boost, 1 Aristocrat wool covers for night, Popo wool covers for day | 20 tie ons, 20 muslins, 1 Arisocrat wool cover in sml and lge, 3 Popo wool covers each size. | £185.40 | £285.40 (5.2) |
| Snuggle Naps Easy Gro system, and Pro wrap for night | 20 inner pads, 6 Easy Gro covers, 1 Pro wrap in s, m, l, & 10 boosters | £164.40 | £264.40 (4.8) |
| Sandy's nappies and Air-Rika covers | 20 each size s & l nappy, 5 boosters for night, 4 s & m wraps, 3 l wrap | £386.05 | £486.05 (8.9p) |
| Daisy Diapers and Popo wraps | 20 each size 1 and 2 nappy, 10 boosters, 4 s & m wraps, 3 l wraps | £392 | £492 (9p) |
| Popolino Ultra Fit nappies (previously Snap to fit), in soft version, Popo wraps | 20 nappies (0ne size), 4 wraps size s & m, 3 wraps size l | £257.50 | £357.50 (6.5p) |
| Popolini one size nappies, Air-Rika wraps | 20 nappies (one size), 4 wraps size s & m, 3 wraps size l | £257.50 | £357.50 (6.5p) |
| Under The Nile Organic Nappies, Muslin boosters, Aristocrat wool covers for night, Popo wool covers for day | 20 nappies (one size), 10 muslins for boosting, 1 each Aristocrat s & l, 3 each size Popo Wool cover s, m, l | £356.35 | £456.35 (8.3p) |
| Kooshies Ultra All-In-One nappies and Kooshies boosters | 20 infant size, 20 toddler size, 20 Kooshies boosters (more could be needed) | £348 | £448 (8.2p) |
| Mother-ease All-In-One nappies, and Sandy's boosters | 20 each size s & l, 10 Sandy's boosters | £527.50 | £625.50 (11.4p) |
Detailed break down of washing and drying costs.
| | Per load | Per week (average of 3 loads) | Per Year | 30 Months (average birth to potty) |
| Washing (4-5 kg load) | 5.6 p | 16.8 p | £8.74 | £21.84 |
| Drying (4-5 kg load) | 19.8 p | 59.4 p | £30.91 | £77.27 |
| Sub total, washing and drying | 25.4 p | 76.2 p | £39.62 | £99.06 |
| Washing Powder (as per manufacturers recommendation) | 20 p | 60 p | £31.20 | £78.00 |
| Total, washing, drying and detergent | 45.4 p | £1.36 | £70.32 | £177.06 |
| Total, washing and detergent (no tumble drying) | 25.6 p | 76.8 p | £39.94 | £99.84 |
| Real Life Average. Assumes you use 1/2 detergent dose, and line dry 1/4 of the time, tumble 3/4 of the time. | 30.45 p | 91.35 p | £47.50 | £118.75 |
| Wear and tear on washing machine | - | - | £18 | £45 |
| Wear and tear on tumble drier (assuming you use it all the time) | - | - | £10.20 | £25.50 |
| Wear and tear on washing machine and tumble drier if used all the time | - | - | £28.20 | £70.50 |
These figures are based on the following.
Washing Machine, A rated Bosch WFL 2450, figures from the owners manual. 4-5 kg washuses 0.95 units ofelectricity.
Tumble Dryer, C rated Creda 37761, figures from the energy sticker on front of machine. 4-5 kg cotton load (dry weight), spun in an 800 to 1000 spin speed machine, dried at full heat uses 3.35 units of electricity.
Electricity prices taken from Yorkshire Electricity's web site, based on the average of standard unit prices across all regions. Average unit price calculated as 5.9 p (March 2001). Does not include standing charge, as this would have to be paid anyway. www.yeg.co.uk/domestic/our_prices/01ye_prices.shtml. (Sorry, I think this link is now out of date, but this was the page where I collected the information about all Electricity company tariffs) Economy 7 tariff would cost less than 1/2 this if used for all washing and drying.
Washing detergent prices based on 20p for a dose of 2 Persil Non Bio tablets ( ASDA prices early March 2001). 1 tablet assumed to be 10p. Own brand products usually cheaper, and powder more easy to adjust the dose, but tablets make it easy to calculate.
Wear and tear figures assumes your washing machine and tumble drier last just 5 years. Many in reality last closer to 10 years, so wear and tear figures would be up to half the ones shown. Price for washing machine assumed to be £300, price for tumble drier assumed to be £170. More expensive, quality brands such as Bosch or Miele tend to last very well, so the annual wear and tear figures tend to be lower than for a much cheaper machine that needs replacing earlier. The figures also assume that about 30% of your weekly wash is nappies, average for a one child family. If you have more than one child (of any age), this figure will also be lower.
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