Diapers Q&A - should i still use cloth diapers?

should i still use cloth diapers?

I bought fuzzi bunz cloth diapers about 2 months ago and switched from disposable. We just got our electric bill and it has gone up 100.00 in one month! The only thing I can think of is that the bill went up b/c i'm washing cloth diapers in hot water, can they be washed in warm water or should I just get rid of the darn things.

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They need to be disinfected. You can try washing them in cold/warm water, but then boiling them in a big pot for a few minutes. Alternately, see if your area has a diaper service you can subscribe to. They pick up soiled diapers, and bring you new clean ones each week.
You are exactly right, your bill went up because it costs more to use cloth diapers rather than disposable. Switch back to the good old disposable ones, they are good on the environment these days - some studies show they are actually more environmentally friendly than the reusable kind. Just as an aside, it's actually better in many ways to wash in cold water. Hot tends to bake in some of the stuff our bodies deposit on the clothing. For the stalker who loves to give me thumbs down. Meh. I have points to burn.
Get some high-efficiency laundry detergent that works in cold water and use Oxy Clean. Stay with the cloth diapers! They are good for the planet!
Since you're obviously willing to deal with the cloth diapers, estimate how much you'd spend on disposable diapers each month. If the electricity to wash the cloth diapers is about what it would cost to buy disposables, you might as well use the one you like better.
My cousin tried the cloth diaper thing for a little while but found that is was still expensive because of the same reason as you. I use coupons galore... buying diapers for my little one and my time is worth more to me then trying to save on a few bucks using cloth instead. Good luck to you!
Have you noticed that your water bill has gone up as well? I'm assuming you have an electric water heater. If it truly is the laundry that is making it go up you will notice a spike in your electric bill and water bill.
i would def not get rid of them!! the $100 is not near what you would pay overall for disposables plus the cost of treating diaper rash and such. i would suggest using a lower temp and if you have enough cloth diapers, drying for half the time then hanging to dry. cloth is great for the pocketbook, and wonderful for the environment (im not an environmental whack-o...just do what i can here and there)
Cloth Diapers,whilst theoritically a good idea, disposables are in fact better for the environment! They are now biodegradable, they don't use the extra electricity of cloth diapers, or the soap/ sterilizing solution/softner, electricity from ironing, or need liners! I would ditch the re-usable cloth ones! (just my opinion though!!)
Why not wash them by hand? That may seem old fashioned but if you want to save on electricity and you have to be there with baby why not keep busy and get green at the same time. I used to watch my elders do the laundry when I was a toddler and it didn't kill them and they could watch me and TV at the same time because we lived in a studio apt at the time.
If you are using cold water then at least use bleach. Or something to disinfect.
if the difference is $100 a month, then ask yourself this: how often do you change diapers? and if you were to buy disposables how much would they cost you per month??? if the cost is more then stick with cloth, if not, well it all depends on you... i have no experience with cloth diapers, but i would assume to kill all the bacteria then you need to wash them with hot water.
Don't give up. I can't imagine washing would bring it up that much. I wash a load of diapers every day. Warm water is fine. The dryer could be a factor, try air drying.
I loved our cloth dipes but am moving to gDiapers for this one. They are priced well and are better environmentally. If y.ou can not afford to wash that much, you may want to check the gDiapers out!
Cost estimates show that disposable diapers will run approximately $50 to $80 per month. Diaper services will cost approximately $50 to $80 per month. Laundering your own cloth diapers will cost slightly less at approximately $25 to $60 per month. These are national average costs. It could be higher/lower in your area. Some concerns about disposable diapers have been about dyes, sodium polyacrylate (the super absorbent gel), and dioxin, which is a by-product of bleaching paper. Sodium polyacrylate has been linked in the past to toxic shock syndrome, allergic reactions and is very harmful and potentially lethal to pets. Some dyes and dioxin according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is known to cause damage to the central nervous system, kidneys, and liver. The (FDA) Food & Drug Administration has received reports that fragrances in disposables caused headaches, dizziness and rashes. Problems reported to the Consumer Protection Agency regarding disposables include, chemical burns, noxious chemical and insecticide odors, babies pulling disposables apart and putting pieces of plastic into their noses and mouth, choking on tab papers and linings, plastic melting onto the skin, and ink staining the skin. Plastic tabs can also tear skin if the diaper is not properly put on the baby. According to the Journal of Pediatrics, 54 % of one-month old babies using disposable diapers had rashes, 16 % having severe rashes. A study done by a disposable diapers manufacturing company (we won’t name the company, but its one of the largest manufacturers) shows that the incidence of diaper rash increased from 7.1% to 61% with the increased use of throwaway disposable diapers. As a note, I have 4 children. The only time I used disposable is when traveling and visiting others' homes. My son couldn't use them due to a skin allergy to something that is in disposable diapers. I would wash in hot/rinse cold, and hang out to dry 365 days a year in midwest winters! Over the course of the years your child is in diapers, it's more cost efficient to use cloth, plus more environmentally safe.
Stick with the cloth diapers! They are fine washed at 40C (this is what was recommended by the manufacturer of mine), which should keep the cost down. Only some disposables are biodegradeable (they are more expensive, of course), and they would need be disposed of in biodegradeable bags too in order to decompose. Disposables are full of nasty chemicals which give my baby a nasty rash if she wears more than two in a row.
I don't think our electric/gas bill has gone up too much since we switched. The following are two answers that I gave to two other diaper questions. Honestly, I can't imagine going back to disposable. We have some leftover that we don't use often. Just in the rare occasions that the G Diaper outers and are all-in-ones from Kushies ( http://kushies.com ) all need to be washed, like last night. When that happens, my husband waits until our daughter has gone to bed to do laundry, so we only use one disposable. We had to use one last night and it just seemed quite icky compared to what we are doing now. Anyway, I think that between what I have said and what I'm going to say, I have given plenty of information. My daughter is rolling around on the floor and getting into stuff, so I'm going to have to go. Oh, yeah. We save the all-in-ones to take with us to my sister's on Wednesdays when she baby-sits while my husband and I take a class at his grad school. Seeing those gel things against my daughter's most sensitive area is one of the reasons I switched to cloth. I figured the things could easily get inside of her. Scary stuff. (Also, the thoughts of the chemicals leeching into the ground and the water once it reached its eternal home of the landfill was also a big prompter.) Sure, it MIGHT be "safe", but why take the chances? The following is my answer from another diaper question. It's the explanation as to why we use cloth and what we use/do. My husband and I switched to cloth as disposable diapers were getting expensive. We didn't have a brand preference, but we got tired of paying for chemical laden garbage (that might eventually leech chemicals into the ground the water, etc.) that we were not only putting against our daughter's most sensitive area. Also, I saw the little gel bits on her bum a few times. That was disturbing. We got some Kushies diapers (all in ones) through Craigs List and my husband found G Diapers. G Diapers are cloth with a nylon inner and a disposable lining. The lining can either be flushed, composted, or biodegrade in the landfill, provided it's not in something like a plastic bag. My husband dumps them free in the Dumpster. In lieu of the liners for everyday, we use the pre-fold clothe diapers for them. We fold them so they are long and narrow, then fold them in half so the fold is at the front of the diaper. We were given some of the pre-folds as gifts for spit up rags (that's what old rags are for, eh?) and my mother found some that some people left behind in some of the rental units she manages. All total, we have about 40 diapers. We still use disposable, either when we're out, though we use the disposable G Diaper liners, or when we're doing laundry. Anyway, we've been doing this for two or three months and it's working great. Not only are we saving money on our daughter, but as I said, we'll be able to use these for any subsequent children we have. (Which will save money in the long run as well.)
I always hang my diapers to dry, even inside all winter long. That would save you a bundle, I'm sure.
I would look into this further. We have seen little to no change in our bills and have been cloth diapering for 10 months. In the link below they have estimated that you will spend $232 in TOTAL over 2 years for water, electricity and detergent. I don't think the $100 change was due to your diapers. http://claudiaschoices.ca/store/index.php?main_page=infopages&pages_id=4