reusable /washable nappies?

Question

have you ever used them? what do you think should i try some? any ideas what i need to get? and what is the best style for tumble dring

Answer 1

you will have an awful lot of extra work and yes have used them my advice get the disposables ,makes life a bit easier

Answer 2

I used pre-fold and wraps with my first child, I found them hard to use, bulky and they leaked a lot. Didn't have a tumble dryer at the time, which was a nightmare drying them.
I also had some kooshies, which are shaped, and coated with plastic, they were very much easier to use, but you couldn't tumble them because of the outer plastic. Also as soon as the baby wet their nappy, their skin was wet, unlike with disposables which keep the skin dry.
The outlay was quite a lot for all the re-uable stuff, and of course they outgrow it, so you need to keep buying bigger sizes. Once you have factored in all the washing and tumbling, and the energy used, detergent etc, it hardly makes and money saving, and environmentally wise, I am not sure how all the electricity would add up. You do of course save on landfill.
We opted to use Nature nappies, Sainsburys and Waitrose, and some Mothercares stock them. They are a disposable nappy, but made will recycled material, and they are biodegradable. We felt it was a happy medium, baby was dry (throughout the night, which with reusable wasn't), costs were better, one thing less to worry about, and better environmentally than your average disposable nappies.
Have added a link to mothercare so you can have a look at the nature disposable, they also do eco-wipes.

Answer 3

My baby is 3 months old. I'm using Tommy Tippees nappy system. They have cotton nappy, liner and pants to go outside which go in the machine. Don't have a tumble drier so I just hang them out on a clothes horse and they dry very quickly. I'm told that even counting the extra cost of the washing, they're still a good bit cheaper than disposables. Definitely better for the environment, despite the extra energy use for the washing. I read that no-one actually knows how long it takes standard disposables to decompose as the very first ones haven't decomposed yet! I hate the feel of Pampers, they feel plasticky, goodness knows what gels and chemicals they put on them to make them absorb more, I'd rather have cotton on my son's bot! When I have used disposables, when we're out and about etc, they have leaked a lot, especially Pampers which leaked EVERY SINGLE TIME we used them, requiring changes of clothes etc (which means extra washing!). I was worried about the extra work involved in doing all that washing, but it's really not as bad as I thought. I've just got into the routine of sticking a load on most mornings. I live in Italy and I've never actually seen organic/biodegradible disposables here. Hope it helps.

Answer 4

I say cloth all the way! There is nothing cuter than the plump, round bottom of cloth diapered baby!

Both my babies wore cloth. I had a service with the first, but did it my self with the second. I found that having a handy supply of diapers - by which I mean, find as many as you can in the appropriate size. Newborns/infants can go through a dozen a day, easily! - so that you can plan a load every few days and not be short. Having your own washing machine makes a big difference as far as convenience.

I did it for environmental reasons and the fact that I didn't like the idea of all those chemicals next to my baby's skin. I found many of mine second hand. Try second hand children's stores, local Freecycle groups on the net http://www.freecycle.org/
garage sales or bazaars. I have seen diapers and covers for very reasonable prices on Ebay.

I really liked the flat diapers, they washed and dried easily, are cheap and did double duty as burp cloths and change pads. I also had many fitted and 2-in-1's (diaper and cover were attached). Even with options, I always used the flat ones first.
I knitted myself some wool covers (again, check the internet for patterns and have fun with colours and garnish!) and bought some nylon ones, too. The wool covers - with a little love, attention and lanolin - would last for several changes, just allowing them to air dry in between, before I would have to wash them again. The nylon covers required a quick wash in the sink and would be dry by the end of the day.

If you are planning on having more than one or more babies the minor initial investment is well worth it. It will blow your mind to think how much you will spend on disposables for babies and how much you will have saved not only financially, but also the space in your local landfill.

I am attaching a couple of sites that you can look at. They can get you started in researching what is best for you and let you know what options are out there, and the what kind of care they need to be kept in good condition.

http://www.eartheasy.com/live_clothdiapers.htm#a
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/diapers/joy-of-cloth.html

Best wishes, and enjoy the natural choice!

Answer 5

They both have good points, and maybe some not so good.
Terry nappies: Work out cheaper in the long run. Lot of washing, drying them. Best if you can dry them in the open air. No problem tumble drying them, but it takes quite a while, hence bit expensive on the old electric.
Disposable: Work out more expensive. Not very environmentally friendly. However, they are supposed to be better for baby's skin. No bother with having to launder them. They usually look a better fit than terry nappies.
Hope this gives you some ideas.

Answer 6

I am planning to use re-usable nappies. Some councils in Britain will even give you a grant towards buying them as the disposable ones take up so much landfill space... I just don't think I could live with myself using disposables which are so utterly heinous to the environment. babyworld.co.uk has reviews and a brand called tots bots gets lots of good reviews. Disposables are a relatively recent development - I'm 28 and my mum and her contemporaries never used disposables. My auntie used cloth nappies for my cousins and she didn't even have a washing machine at the time! With a washer and a drier yes it is going to be more work but surely it's worth it?

Answer 7

it's going to be a lot of work... but I approve because with modern detergents its' quite possible to make them clean properly...

Plus you'll be reducing the thousands of tons of nappies that go into landfill, and they're not biodegradeable so they take forever to disintegrate. In the UK about 800,000 tonnes of nappy waste are produced each year, which local authorities must dispose of - estimates vary but somewhere between 2.6-4% of the UK's domestic waste, in some areas such as Slough the current estimate (May 2005) is 7% of their waste. For every £1 spent on 'disposables', it costs the taxpayer around 10p to dispose of them! Each baby could produce up to two tons of soiled disposable nappies. Disposables then usually end up in landfill sites, complete with faeces which may contain viruses, paper pulp, plastic and absorbent gel.

I would suggest you check the links below, and if you think you can do one wash per day it might be worth it... though you wouldn't be saving money because of the cost of all the washing - you'd only be saving the planet!

Answer 8

I used terry nappies on my first baby and thought they were ok but personally i would go for biodegradable disposable nappies
if you list the pros and cons of each cost etc the disposable ones win
there is nothing worse than carrying a bag full of dirty nappies around when you are out with your baby
hope this helps
xxxx

Answer 9

When my 2 girls were in nappies disposables were only just coming it, I used them if we were going out anywhere but at home used terry towelling nappies. I would never use them again, the smell from the nappy bucket was terrible, trying to slosh them out - ugghh too disgusting to even think about now.
Disposables every time

Answer 10

i love them! I'm a young mother of three and all my boys wear them (1 all the time, 1 for trips and sleeping , and 1 just for bed)....i have regular prefolds and i use velcro wraps, dappi brand thy're about 3 bucks a pop..Work well i like them better then bumkins($11-12 a piece) wraps i had and much more comfy for babe. prefolds and wraps are the cheapest way prettymuch...prefolds (make sure they're diaper service quality DSQ) hold up great to washing and drying and even the occasional bleaching if you choose....its Really not much work only an extra 4-5 seconds to plop the diaper in the wrap and two loads of laundry a week (the same amount of time it would take me to ready my children and drive to the store and back)...you can get all in ones and their basically the same as a diaposable but u wash em, and their WAY cuter. They are a bit more to care for as u have to be more gentle with them so the waterproof cover stays in good shape
if you are looking for one that holds up well to the dryer bumgenius makes amazing diapers , u can wash em on hot and tumble dry them (they are a bit pricey) from all i hear kushies don't hold up well to drying....they'll still save you a boat load of money if you choose to use em, they're great for going out too....

Cloth wives tales
-u'll need to use pinsand u'll poke ur babe...no now its velcro and snaps

-they wont hold enough....false u add as much of as little asorbent material as you wish

-they'll leak- false no more then other diaper...infact they hold runny poo much better then a diaposable...once you find the right cover or style that suits your babe leaks almost never happen

-they'll give babe diaper rash...false as long as u make sure you wash em well and don't use too much detergent...infact dr.s Recommend them for babes with sensitive skin

Answer 11

Congratulations Rachel H! Another smart mom. Washable diapers, the best! I use them on my youngest and have diapered my oldest two in washable cloth diapers as well.

Do I think you should try them, of course, Definitely. Smart mothers choose cloth diapers. You can hang them up on the clothesline if you have one, or dry them in the clothes dryer. That's all up to you. Both ways work great.

Today there's all-in-one cloth diapers, Velcro cloth diapers, old-fashioned cloth diapers with pins and rubber pants, and other choices as well. Take a look around.