Reusable/washable/cloth nappies

squashy

1 he is 2 - likely to be in nappies for another year and need the XL size for that whole year. Is it worhtwhile on the basis that we're getting a years worth of wear out of one size

I went over to clothat around the same age with my DS and it was the best thing I did. He is stilla night wetter at 4 so...

2 I work - and can't be at home handwashing stained nappies all day - strangly I have to earn the moeny to buy the dammed things

Me too! It's not an issue. I quite often set the timer for my washer so a load is ready to take out when I wake up in the morning.

3 I hate faff - see above, hate housework also

Me too! The cute factor of the nappies more than makes up for any extra faff- plus the combination of different systems out there means it can be as faff-free as you need.

4 he is very skinny and alot of disposables leak!, I've read a few reports suggesting that skinnylegged/waisted kids are a nightmare to fit with nappies
Disposables have a limited choice in makes and fits. With cloth you can combine the systems and even fastner types to get exactly whay you need interms of fit, absorbancy and drying time etc. My DS is the opposite, he has very chunky thighs. I discovered Wee Wonders which have adjustable elastic round the legs, a godsend.

5 He is in nursery - how likely is it that they will use cloth nappies

My nursery were fine about cloth, it looked good on their prospectus that they could now advertise as being "green"!

6 How expensive are they? at the moment disposables cost me £5 a week, £260/year. So cloth nappies would have to come in at less than that including washing machine bills

I probably spent about £100 on my whole range, at that age they need less changes than newborns so you don't need dozens and dozens. I bought about half of those second hand, and I can resell them and make around 75% back. As it happens I am saving them for the next baby!

7 how on earth do you dry them during the winter?

Same as the rest of my washing, on a kitchen airer or on radiators. In fact we didn't have central heating when I converted but I still found it ok. As someone said, different styles dry quicker than others.

8 any good cashback/freebies out there?

Don't know any freebies, but check out forums like https://www.hunnybeez.co.uk for second hand buy-and-sell.

I would also advise against buying a whole system in one go, instead try different nappies (second hand at first perhaps) until you get a feel for them. I bought three different nappy types and used them inbetween disposables at first, then slowly built up my collection as I found out our likes and dislikes.

Good luck :beer:

squashy

ziggy2004 wrote: »

my toddler refuses to wear reusables most of the time:rolleyes:

We used to buy DS funky nappies for christmas stocking fillers etc and each night he would relish choosing between his aeroplanes or his tiger print:D

zippybungle

missk_ensington wrote: »

Likely to be in nappies until 3!! :eek:

What is so shocking?
The 'average' age for Children to be potty trained is supposed to be 2.5 years. Obviously all Children are different, so some will train earlier and others later.

Zippy x

halia

Okay this thread is now going to be my diary of how well the switch from disposables to cloth goes!
This is what I have spent:
4x little lambs size 2 £12.50
5x tot bots size 2 £20
2x medium/large airflow wraps £10
3x large airflow wraps £15
£2 on reusable liners

total cost £57.50

Now as each disposable nappy costs me 11p I need to use each cloth nappy 59 times to make a saving. (not allowing for cost of laundry so say 60 times)
Thats 540 changes in total

So what I plan is once I start I will log every week? how many changes I've done and see when I make the saving.

I won't be going over totally, plan on initially doing cloth nappies at home so I reckon thats 3 days @ 6 changes a day plus 2 uses of cloth nappies on the other 4 nursery days so 26 a week.

that means I'll start making savings after 21 weeks (approx)

scrimping_steff

I know this has been covered a few times, but as the market for these seems to be improving all the time, just wondered if anyone has good or bad experiences to help me choose.

I am definitly going with real nappies as it is by far the cheaper option and also kind to the enviroment. The cheapest options I seem to have found so far is the birth to potty sets available. I want to use shaped nappies rather than the old fashioned 'terry's' style.

Justie

have you had your baby yet? If not then please don't buy a birth to potty set yet... until you know what sort of shape your baby will be then it could be a huge waste of money. Also think about how often you'll want to wash them (if you wash every day you'll need fewer) how you'll dry them - unless you're using a tumble drier then all in ones can take a long time to dry. If you have limited drying options then that needs to be taken into account when buying as some dry quicker than others. Will you want to use cloth from birth? If so a newborn can be swamped by the birth to potty ones so you might want to get a few smaller ones (and wraps) or use muslins or terries for the first bit. The best bit of advice is to get your hands on actual nappies so you understand the different fastenings, what sort of boosters come with them, what the wraps feel like etc etc. There are lollipop advisers in lots of areas http://www.teamlollipop.co.uk/ or see if there's a nappuchino near you. If you see lots of different nappies then you'll find it easier to then work out what suits you. There are also various sites that have preloved nappies on - not always much cheaper but some bargains are out there and if you need small sizes for newborns then they're great as they've hardly been worn.

There are a few nappy advisers on MSE who can answer specific questions and you might want to go onto the nappylady site and do their questionnaire which can narrow down your search a bit although its all a bit Greek until you know the differences between all the different brands and shapes.

[Deleted User]

Get a few of each and get them second hand. All the ones I bought for my dd for her forthcoming baby are in excellent condition. I`ll dig out a thread I started and you may find some useful info

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=507423

[Deleted User]

just out of interest: the best and cheapest nappies are the flat terries. I got 2 dozen of new harringtons (excellent quality)for £30 (total)

They wash very easily and you can easily get 12 in one machine load. They dry in an hour on a line or overnight on an inside airer. They fold in all sorts of ways and will fit newborn to potty. They need a liner of some sort and a fastener either nippas or when I do the changing, a nappy pin. You will also need a wrap. Motherease wraps are great

two great sites for second hand nappies

http://www.thenappylady.co.uk/ click on classifieds and you just send an e mail to the seller

this one is like ebay but much cheaper
http://www.usednappies.co.uk/index.php

scrimping_steff

I really dont want to use terrys types. I suffer from M.E and the easier the nappy system the better. I am planning to wash every day but have no dryer. I find all the different terms very confusing, however I will check out the sites you have given me all of you and on the other thread as well.

Justie

there are plenty of options for shaped nappies just avoid the all in ones and go for ones with a seperate wrap because of drying. Of those there are some that dry quicker than others. I suspect you'll want to avoid prefolds but you might find they're a good half way house between shaped and flat. You've got plenty of time yet and I would really try to get hands on experience with some of them to make it easier.