Frugality Tip #13: Wash and Reuse Disposable Swim Diapers

Summer weather is upon us!

Time for swimming lessons, water parks, running through the sprinkler, filling up those grass-killing blue plastic pools, laying out the slip 'n slides, and searching the area for splash pads. For those of us with with tiny tornadoes little children, our typical diapering option becomes a LOT more expensive.

The cheapest thing to do in the long run in buy a cloth swim diaper.

But many people (myself included) opt for the disposable option. With summer staring us in the face we march into the store, plunk a package of swim diapers on the belt, and the cashier rings us up for...

...TWO MILLION DOLLARS?!?!?!?!?

Not really... but it feels like it... even with a coupon.

Here's the thing about those disposable diapers: You don't need to dispose of them right away. 

Let's walk through this logically:

1.  Swim diapers are MADE to be super durable in the water.

2.  They are MADE to allow water to move freely in and out of the diaper, and they really only provide a barrier to keep solid things trapped inside. (Try not to dwell on it too long... it can get gross.)

3.  They are NOT made to be absorbent. (Notice they don't turn into 50 lb sacks of sagginess like regular disposable diapers the moment they come into contact with water.)

With this information, we can deduce that swim diapers don't soak up very much... um... yellow liquid, and that upon being rinsed out after a swimming adventure, these diapers would be 100% fine in a washing machine (reminiscent of a cloth diaper in the washing machine.)

And that's exactly what happens to my swim diapers.

I use them, I rinse them (provided nothing solid or overly messy occurred inside), I toss them in the washing machine, then let them air-dry till the next water excursion.

I tend to get at LEAST 6 uses out each diaper before I toss it.

And since I've got two water-loving diapered-munchkins, this reduces my costs greatly.

So, don't spend your life's savings on packages of swim diapers this summer. Reuse those bright blue babies again and again! The tiny effort it takes to rinse them out and toss them in the wash is completely worth it.