Washables or disposables

Puzzledbubbles

Hi All,

Babyboysmum has created this post with lots of the for camp replying and offering great advice https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3009878

However, i was wondering what the results of a straight poll would be, yes or no, would you use disposables?

Thanks for your vote

Puzzled

esio_trot

definitely yes. We were late to make the switch (LO was 7 months, going on 9m now) and I haven't looked back.

Puzzledbubbles

Thanks Esio, im torn so hoping this will help

pinkclouds

No, I wouldn't use washable nappies or reusables or terries or whatever you call them. And I would deter anyone from using them for the first 3 months, at least. The amount of laundry you have to do with a baby (or two) in the household is staggering. Washing nappies would be in addition to the regular laundry - and you have to change nappies about 10 times a day with a newborn. The first 3 months can see a range of clothing and nappy challenges such as endless quantities of tar-like meconium, throwing up or posseting round the clock, weeing through clothing several times a day, etc. Of course, if you have someone else to do your laundry for you, then that's entirely different. Or, maybe you enjoy chores and don't see this as a problem.

HelenKA_2

pinkclouds wrote: »

No, I wouldn't use washable nappies or reusables or terries or whatever you call them. And I would deter anyone from using them for the first 3 months, at least. The amount of laundry you have to do with a baby (or two) in the household is staggering. Washing nappies would be in addition to the regular laundry.

Have to beg to differ pinkclouds; we used terry squares from the day we came home after DD2 was born and again with twin DD3&4. Was one extra load about every 4-5 days with them, now if I'd only had what my mother had I may not have but with automatic washing machine and outside drying it wasn't any problem at all - and that's in Scotland too!

Couldn't use them for DD1 as we had no outside drying and that would be asking for trouble in MHO

Nicki

pinkclouds wrote: »

Or, maybe you enjoy chores and don't see this as a problem.

It's just a different kind of chore to disposables and it depends on what you find more onerous.

With disposables, you have to make sure you always have a pack in, and go out to the shops weekly to buy them. Your bin fills up more quickly, and you will have to carry more internal bin bags out to your external bin on bin day.

With washables after the first purchase, you always have them in. You throw them in the machine direct from the nappy bin in my case twice a week, and either hang them to dry or if you are lazy like me throw them in the tumble drier. And that's it. No ironing, no separating lights from darks, no checking to see if they need mending which are the things which make normal laundry chores onerous for me at least.

All the other stuff you mention, like changing frequency, possetting, etc are the same whether you use disposables or reusables.

lallysmum

Yes, used them for 3.5 years with ds and wouldn't hesitate to use them again. I find myself broody for another simply so I can use my nappy stash again.

And I used them on him from birth, with no discernable difference in the amount of washing. An extra load every few days is hardly onerous.

esio_trot

I have to agree with previous posters about the loads of washing, don't let it put you off! I wash every day or every other and run a cold rinse, then a normal wash at 40 or 60, then an extra rinse. After the first rinse, I tend to fling in a towel or two, some bedding, some of the LOs clothes, whatever wants doing, to make up a full load so really, I'm not doing any extra washes at all as half the stuff in the machine would already be there with or without the nappies.

pinkclouds

Nicki wrote: »

It's just a different kind of chore to disposables and it depends on what you find more onerous.

With disposables, you have to make sure you always have a pack in, and go out to the shops weekly to buy them. Your bin fills up more quickly, and you will have to carry more internal bin bags out to your external bin on bin day.

With washables after the first purchase, you always have them in. You throw them in the machine direct from the nappy bin in my case twice a week, and either hang them to dry or if you are lazy like me throw them in the tumble drier. And that's it. No ironing, no separating lights from darks, no checking to see if they need mending which are the things which make normal laundry chores onerous for me at least.

All the other stuff you mention, like changing frequency, possetting, etc are the same whether you use disposables or reusables.

True, I guess. Personally, I'd find dealing with the extra (much yuckier than normal) laundry to be more onerous than buying disposables along with the rest of my groceries and emptying the bin slightly more often. Tbh, when toilet training with underwear I've binned some of the worser accidents too. It feels easier to me.

Nicki

pinkclouds wrote: »

True, I guess. Personally, I'd find dealing with the extra (much yuckier than normal) laundry to be more onerous than buying disposables along with the rest of my groceries and emptying the bin slightly more often. Tbh, when toilet training with underwear I've binned some of the worser accidents too. It feels easier to me.

I use paper liners in mine so most of the yucky stuff just gets flushed down the loo. The worst that happens is that a little bit leaks onto the side of the nappy and needs to be rinsed off before being popped in the nappy bin. It's nowhere nearly as grim as the toilet training stage (been there twice too )

It's really no different to dealing with vests which get trashed by leaking disposable poos.

scurr

I used washables for my DD who's now 13 and loved them - again, paper liners were essential and I used a disposable at night but after one case of nappy rash in the first week of using, she NEVER had it again - AND wasout of nappies at 21 months.