The following information will hopefully give you an idea of the water and energy costs related to washing cloth nappies. The costs are an average guide only because washing machines vary greatly in their energy and water consumption depending on whether they are top or front loading, the type and size of motor, whether they are belt driven, the size of the bowl and the age of the machine. Front loading machines use 1/3 less water which is why the Government is currently offering a $150.00 rebate on the most water efficient models of front loaders. If you want to calculate the exact cost of using your own machine, contact the manufacturer with the make, model and size and they will be able to tell you the information.
The energy and water usage figures and how to calculate them were obtained from four different retail washing machine stores in Perth (Feb 2003). Washing estimates are based on using 7 nappies per day and washing a maximum of 24 nappies per load, therefore washing every third day - or 121 times per year.
The short answer to how much does it cost (including electricity, water and detergent costs) to wash cloth nappies is around $86.12 if you line dry and $114.12 if you tumble dry PER YEAR. I don't know about you, but I think that is quite amazing. I have to admit that I did believe the disposable nappy companies advertising about it being expensive to wash cloth nappies because I would not have been surprised if it had worked out to cost three or four times that amount.
The following three tables show Water Usage and Costs, Energy Usage and Costs and Total costs per year of washing cloth nappies. The remainder of this article explains how I arrived at these figures so that you can work them out yourself if you want to.
Water Usage Table
for 121 washes for nappies and 121 washes for covers at approximately half the water usage as nappies per wash.
Machine Type
Water/ year - nappies (litres)
Water/ year - covers (litres)
Total water/ year (litres)
Cost/ year - nappies
Cost/ year - covers
Total Water Cost
5-5.5kg Top Loader
15,730
7,865
23,595
$13.88
$7.00
$20.85
6.5kg Top Loader
18,150
9,075
27,225
$15.99
$8.00
$23.99
7.5kg Top Loader
21,780
10,890
32,670
$19.18
$9.60
$28.78
Av. front Loader
7,260
3,630
10,890
$6.39
$3.20
$9.60
Average Water Cost per year: $20.80
Total water costs for washing cloth nappies per year ranges from around $9.60 for a water efficient front loader to around $28.78 for a large top loading machine. The average cost per year is around $20.80.
Energy Usage Table for 121 washes for nappies and 121 washes for covers.
Machine Type
Cost per wash
Cost per year - nappies
Cost per year - covers
Total Cost per year
560KW Top Loader
$0.153
$18.88
$15.88
$34.76
644KW Top Loader
$0.175
$21.18
$18.18
$39.36
198KW Front Loader
$0.05
$6.05
$4.05
$10.10
330KW Front Loader
$0.09
$10.89
$8.89
$19.78
Average Energy Cost per Year: $26.00
Average Total costs of washing cloth nappies per # of years
# washing years
Energy
Water
Washing Detergent
Total Cost - Line Dried
Total Cost - Tumble Dried
1
$26.00
$20.80
$39.32
$86.12
$114.12
2
$52.00
$41.60
$78.64
$172.24
$200.24
2.5*
$65.00
$52.00
$98.30
$215.30
$243.30
3
$78.00
$62.40
$117.96
$258.36
$286.36
3.5
$91.00
$72.80
$137.62
$301.42
$329.42
4
$104.00
$83.20
$157.28
$344.48
$372.48
*Most babies who wear cloth nappies toilet train between six months and a year earlier than babies who wear disposables. The average age is between 2 and 3 years which means the average cost of washing cloth nappies for the period of time your baby is in nappies will range from $172.24 to $286.36.
Water Usage
Top Loading Machines (average usage based on a high or full load)
5-5.5kg
65 litres fill
65 litres rinse
130 litres total per load
6.5-7.5kg
75-90 litre fill
75-90 litre rinse
150-180 litres total per load
130L x 121 washes per year for 5-5.5kg machines is 15,730 litres (15.73KL) per year
150L x 121 washes per year for 6.5kg machines is 18,150 litres (18.15KL) per year
180 L x 121 washes per year for 7.5kg machines is 21,780 litres (21.78KL) per year
Front Loading Machines
(These type of machines automatically adjust the water level according to the weight of the load. The average water consumption is 60 litres per load)
60L x 121 washes per year is 7,260 litres (7.26KL) per year
To calculate the cost of water consumption, I contacted the Water Corporation (WA) and was given the following residential tariff rates (effective July 2002) per kilolitre which are calculated for use per 12 month period:
First 150 KL
$0.403/kl
Next 200KL
$0.652/kl
Next 200KL
$0.881/kl
Next 200KL
$1.070/kl
Next 400KL
$1.071/kl
Next 800KL
$1.193/kl
This means that if you use 350KL per 12 month period, you will be charged at the following rate:
150KL x $0.403 =
$60.45
200KL x $0.652 =
$130.40
Total
$190.85
The Water Authority advised me that the average residential usage was 350KL per 12 month period for a family of four, a family of six would use around 540KL for the same period.
If you are seriously concerned about the water usage in either regards to the financial or environmental costs, I think its reasonable to say that your water usage would be close to or under the residential average of 350KL, but I am going to calculate the water useage costs at the next tariff level of $0.881 (if you are frugal with your water use it will obviously cost you less).
7.26 kilolitres x $0.881 = $6.39
Front Loading machine
15.730 kilolitres x $0.881 = $13.85
Top loading machine
18.150 kilolitres x $0.881 = $15.99
Top loading machine
21.780 kilolitres x $0.881 = $19.18
Top loading machine
Machine washing nappy covers at the same rate (using four covers per day and washing every 3rd day) would cost you around half these figures as you do not need to fill the washing machine as high for 12 covers as with 24 nappies.
Washing Detergent
Based on using half the recommended amount per load (half a scoop), a one kilogram box of concentrated laundry detergent will wash 27.7 loads of nappies. At an average price of $4.50 per box, this equates to $0.1625 per load or $19.66 per year for 121 nappy washes ($39.32 for nappies and covers).
Energy Consumption
Energy consumption for washing machines is calculated in kilowatts per year based on one wash per day and is only calculated for hot washes. For some reason the Government doesn't include the energy for cold water washing in the energy consumption ratings, and the ratings are only based on electricity useage, so I am assuming, (and will try to confirm this) that energy consumption would be less if you have a gas or solar hot system. In addition, the energy rating for washing machines apparently also includes the water used (as water is also an energy source), so the cost of electricity is probably a bit less than my calculations.
According to the retail stores I contacted, the average top loading washing machine uses 560-644 kilowatts based on one wash per day over a year, for a dollar value of $56-64 per year or $0.153-$0.175 per wash. Based on these estimates, a top loading washing machine would cost you between $18.88 and $21.18 per year to wash cloth nappies 121 times. Washing cloth nappy covers the same number of times would cost you slightly less as a shorter wash cycle should be used for covers, so I have estimated that it would cost about $3.00 less per year, therefore between $15.88 and $18.18 per year.
Front loading machines range from 198KW per year to around 330KW per year, which equates to approximately $19.80 to $33.00 per year or $0.05 to $0.09 per wash. Based on these estimates, a front loading washing machine would cost you between $6.05 and $10.89 per year to wash cloth nappies 121 times. Washing cloth nappy covers the same number of times would cost you slightly less as a shorter wash cycle should be used for covers, so I have estimated that it would cost about $2.00 less per year, therefore between $4.05 and $8.89 per year.
Line or Air Drying Nappies and Covers
The only cost associated with this is your time.
Tumble Drying
Tumble drying will add to your energy consumption costs for cloth nappies, and may shorten their life expectancy. This is an expense that you could avoid, or at least minimise by only tumble drying in winter. Nappy covers should be line/air dried only - if you do one quickly, ten minutes in the drier on warm is sufficient for most types of covers.
As with washing machines, the energy consumption of driers will vary according to make and model, however my understanding is that the energy rating of clothes driers is not as accurate as for washing machines as driers are used seasonally while washing machines are used all year round. To try and clarify the energy useage for tumble dryers I contacted one of the large manufacturing companies who confirmed this information and advised that clothes driers ranged from 198KW useage per year for a 3kg drier to 228KW for a large 5kg drier, although I was also told that other brands may go up to 280KW. The manufacturers work on $0.10 per kilowatt to determine that on average using a dryer will cost you $19.80 to $28.00 per year. Due to the normal seasonal use of clothes driers it is impossible to work out a per use cost, therefore to keep this from getting even more complicated, I have taken the higher figure of $28.00 as the cost of tumble drying cloth nappies per year.
An interesting point that one salesman I spoke to made was that many appliances in the home may use more electricity over the year than a tumble drier because they are on 24 hours a day - items such as alarm clocks, microwaves and ovens that have timers and tv's and stereo's that are left on standby
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