Why are diapers so expensive? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#381

Post by chrissnell » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 2:20 PM UTC

dandare wrote: post #85

tytytytytytytyt wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They are difficult to clean without a washing machine at home Am I the only one who thinks I could manage to clean some cloth diapers in a bucket or tub fairly easily?

Cloth diapers must be washed and boiled throughly to be hygienic.

Nonsense. Do you have kids? Kids have "blow-outs" all the time that send poop exploding out of the diaper and onto their pants and shirts (and socks...and shoes...). These clothes, they don't get boiled. We soak them in water and detergent for a few hours and then throw them in the washer with the rest of our laundry. I have two kids, including one in diapers, and I've never once had any hygiene issues and you better believe that my washer has seen some poop.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#382

Post by 0xfeba » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 2:21 PM UTC

endymi0n wrote: post #78

gizmo686 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or political. Abortion is not accessible in all parts of the country.

With all due respect, I never understood the prevailing attitude in the US to do everything it takes to make you keep that „sacred life“ if you get pregnant by accident – and then once it‘s there, drop it like a hot potato and do exactly zero to make it a tax-paying, happy and productive member of society. The hypocrisy of it all just blows my mind.

"Pro-birth"

Yeah, they wail and wail about murdering children and then are all too pleased to scorn and segregate the mothers (but not so much the fathers) of these children so they have the worst possible chances.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#383

Post by castlecrasher2 » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 2:24 PM UTC

shiftpgdn wrote: post #2

My wife and I cloth diapered both of our children. In addition to being radically cheaper it also resolved rashes/eczema in both kids as well as accelerated potty training. There is an 'ick' factor but liners and a toilet sprayer take care of 99% of that.

Where did you get cheap cloth diapers? I haven't looked too much into it but some women in my family recommended against it because they said cloth diapers are expensive.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#384

Post by ataturk » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 2:25 PM UTC

djrogers wrote: post #28

There are a couple of ‘facts’ listed here that don’t line up with my current reality and very recent knowledge (3 kids, most recent is 18mo). First off, 12 changes a day is a huge outlier - even for a newborn. 8 would be a more reasonable number, and it drops down to the 4-6 range in the first year, and by now we’re at 3 if we don’t go swimming. Second item that sounds waaay off is $1000/yr for diapers. Again, that h…

I don't even think the article is asking the right question. Diapers may be "expensive" but so is everything else.

I have two kids that both went through diapers (and yeah, formula) so I kind of take exception to all these people with their hands out because I know from my own experience and from living next door to a public health nurse on one side and a social worker across the street that people always have money for booze, cigarettes, and drugs while their kids are sitting in dirty diapers and not getting enough to eat.

So while there is a social problem out there, it has more to do with people being complete fucking idiots than any other leading factor.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#385

Post by mikelward » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 2:28 PM UTC

fizgig wrote: post #305

robert_foss wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I switched to a safety razor 10 years ago, and ordered 250 science (not shaving) grade blades. I still have about 150 blades left. The pack cost me EU.

Got a link, brand, or model number for these "science" grade blades? I've been an on-and-off DE shaver for some years, and I've never heard of this option. I settled on Feather blades myself.

I guess they're taking about American Personna Super blades, which are commonly referred to as "Lab Blues". They're about 12 cents a blade when you buy them in packs of 100, which makes them one of the cheapest blades around.

There's lots of discussion on shaving forums about exactly why they're called "labs", but as far as I know they're just regular double-edge blades.

I also prefer Feather. They cost about twice as much, but work much better on my tough stubble.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#386

Post by michaelbuckbee » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 2:30 PM UTC

watmough wrote: post #291

Amygaz wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And diapers are just the tip of the iceberg in term of spending. /sigh

It was a huge relief to get the children weaned, and off the giant vats of Similac ... I feel that was probably even more expensive than the diapers.

Our kids were on formula as well. Between kid 1 and 2 we did buy a Baby Brezza (aka the Formula Keurig) which I'm mentioning here solely because it was such an unexpectedly positive help. It cut the process of mixing+warming+testing the formula down to just hitting a button (and likely saved my sanity).

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#387

Post by matheweis » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 2:33 PM UTC

dbatten wrote: post #298

shiftpgdn wrote: post #2

My wife and I cloth diapered both of our children. In addition to being radically cheaper it also resolved rashes/eczema in both kids as well as accelerated potty training. There is an 'ick' factor but liners and a toilet sprayer take care of 99% of that.

Serious question(s) from a father of 2 under 2... How do you get the cloth diapers clean? Like, really clean so they don't still smell after they've been cleaned? My wife and I were planning on cloth diapering. We bought some high-end cloth diaper and liners and started on our merry way. We found that no matter what we did, our little guy smelled like piss all the time. My wife was washing diapers 2 or 3 times in bet…

Yep, we had a similar experience trying to do it ourselves with our first two (also under two at the time!) - see my other comment for some of the reasons why this is a thing - but got back on the cloth diaper train when a relative exposed us to the magic that is cloth diaper service. Best of luck with two under two!

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#388

Post by astura » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 2:33 PM UTC

madengr wrote: post #294

robert_foss wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I switched to a safety razor 10 years ago, and ordered 250 science (not shaving) grade blades. I still have about 150 blades left. The pack cost me EU.

That’s funny. I have been using the same Gillette Sensor for 20 years. Off brand blades were available locally in the USA, but those dried up. Via eBay, I ordered Gillette branded blades “made in Germany” for a fraction of the cost of local Gillette blades. I figured the EU was not ripped off as bad as the USA for razor blades. Maybe that is not the case? That razor recently broke, so it’s off to eBay again to find a…

You're probably buying fakes, IIRC a study found the majority of name brand razor blades on eBay are counterfeit. Amazon has a counterfeit razor blade problem too, but I don't know the prevalence.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#389

Post by varjag » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 2:36 PM UTC

majewsky wrote: post #195

bkovacev wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I apologize if it sounded like that - a baby is definitely 16+ hours of work a day if not more, that's why I said that no other job is possible, but I was saying that maybe the person can squeeze in a couple of hours to wash the diapers while the baby is asleep.

And when does she sleep? Surely not while the baby is awake.

When father or other relative holds the baby?

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#390

Post by mantas » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 2:37 PM UTC

rgovostes wrote: post #375

GordonS wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the latter is the bigger of the issues. 360 nappies will generally last for 2 months. If you can't afford a mere $30 for that, then it's a case of your priorities being wrong (e.g. buying alcohol, tobacco, Netflix etc before thinking about your kids' needs) - in which case you should probably give serious consideration over whether you should bring kids into the world.

Did you read the article before writing this presumptive and judgmental comment? She had a difficult pregnancy and thought this would be her only chance to have a child. She left her job to avoid being exposed to harsh chemicals that could jeopardize her pregnancy. On welfare, she was allotted only $180/mo for necessities beside food. When her partner got a job, she was disqualified for the assistance—he had to work…

The whole discussion started about buying diapers in bulk to save a ton. Nobody is saying that $90/mo for diapers is reasonable. But $30 for 2 months worth of diapers (as OP claimed) is kinda reasonable. And if she is getting 180/mo allowance, she definitely has that $30 on hand to buy in bulk.