Washables or disposables

pinkclouds

If you're going to be a SAHM for at least 2 years and baby will be an only child, have you considered elimination control? Or just regular toilet training at an earlier age? If you have the time and patience to plonk baby on a potty or toilet every other hour and encourage them to wee then the nappies will stay dry for longer (and can thus go back on instead of being binned at each change). It is a lot of effort but it is possible to get good results. My aunt does this with babies she cares for and it seems to work for her. (I wouldn't advise it with more than one child to care for, though, as you really need to be on the ball with it.)

The earlier you crack toilet training and the longer you keep the nappies dry... well, obviously the more money you'll save regardless of nappy type. Just a thought.

Sublime_2

Ideally I always wanted washable nappies for my children, but never happened. Disposables are so much easier, when you've got tonnes of washing, etc to do.

happy35

i did use washable nappies for a while with DS and found them ok while I was on maternity leave but when I went back to work washing and drying them was another job that had to be done

I switched to disposables and to be honest I preferred the easiness and in my opinion they were much more absorbent.

I toilet trained DS when he was 20 months old so didnt have to buy them for too long

bylromarha

I had 2 in washables when I bought DD home from the hospital. Couple of extra washes a week was fine with me. Line dried, or radiators.

Saved a fortune as I used the same set on DD as DS had. Resold them after use for about 50% what I paid for them.

Bin never got full.

I felt I could look my son in the eye yesterday when he said to me "Mum, I hate what is happening to our environment" after watching the BBC programme where they take a 90 min trip round the world on the space shuttle (very good BBC4 programme on iplayer if you missed it) and told him we can all make choices about looking after our world.

No brainer.

lauren_1

property.advert wrote: »

Take nappy off and then

1) chuck it in the bin, job done, finished or

2) scrape the crud off, boil it / wash it, dry it, etc.

It surely is a no brainer.

Come on..your just assuming thats what happens.

HelenKA_2

Puzzledbubbles wrote: »

Working out on start up costs and our desire for a bargain we believe that disposables will prove no more expensive than washables, infact, we just worked out we could get 2 years worth of nappies for £20 more than our washable start up costs and that doesnt include the washing or work etc - but this is based on averages.
Puzzled

Wow, can I ask what you put in for start up costs?

I got 1 nappy bucket - though any bucket with tight fitting lid will do - added a second bucket when I had DD3&4.
A big tub of bicarb from the chemist
24 terry squares
a 3 pack of nappi nippers
for DD3&4 I bought 3 fleece tots bots wraps per child - the plastic tie pants I used for DD2 are no longer available
I bought a few fleece liners but subsequently I just found a cheap fleece blanket and cut it up - even cut an old fleece jumper up later


If you look regularly on freecycle etc you may pick some stuff up and then start to use them alongside the disposables maybe?

Also I got handed a lot of other peoples 'good intention' purchases on to me.

I hear what you're saying about not planning to be able to use them for subsequent children though.

esio_trot

Puzzledbubbles wrote: »

Working out on start up costs and our desire for a bargain we believe that disposables will prove no more expensive than washables, infact, we just worked out we could get 2 years worth of nappies for £20 more than our washable start up costs and that doesnt include the washing or work etc - but this is based on averages.

Really? I'm not convinced your calculations are right if that's the case. Either that, or you're budgeting on the cheapest nappies you can get rather than branded (we found with disposables we only got on with pampers, not huggies, not store brands - they all leaked!).

It's estimated that the average child gets through about 5.5k nappy changes from birth to potty training. At 10p per nappy (cheapest we could get our chosen make for) that works out at £550 at an absolute minimum. If you buy your branded nappies in a supermarket when not on offer, you're looking closer to 17-22p per nappy which works out at £1200 from birth to potty.

I paid between £200-250 on 15 nappies, a mixture of shaped and disposable looking pocket nappies, including all accessories - reusable wipes, nappy pail, washing mesh etc. My local real nappy network had a washing breakdown calculation (can't find it now) that estimated the cost of washing nappies at £33 birth to potty, being as economical as you can be. I work that out to be at least half the cost of disposables over 2/2.5 years. As I've said before, I wash my nappies with other bits that need doing at high temperatures so there's more of a cost saving there.

Puzzledbubbles

Thanks for the repsonses guys.

We worked out our figures based on the following:

20 washable inners
6 x size 1 outers
6 x size 2 outers
100 x paper liners (which we cannot flush becuase of the victorian drainage out side the house)
£220 online

We were in Asda yesterday and their Size 3 nappies are £10 for 120 - working on 5 nappies a day that is just short of a month - the size 4 and 5 pampers were on offer for £14 for a box of 148 therfore another months usage for £14.

Working on the general Asda ones (which i have seen hold more than Pampers on children in the nursery where i worked an i noticed no difference between any general brand other than pretty pictures and things) we could get 24 months usage for £240 based on me being able to keep little one nappy free at least part of the day and on them being an average wetter.

We already have enough size 1's to last around 3 weeks and size 2's to last around a fortnight based upon an average of 8- 10 nappies a day so and the size 2 nappies seem to be more in a pack than size 3's so cheaper again.

We know that this is all based on generalisation and that this is purely hypathetical but as we discussed last night (OH and I) we have said tha the cost benefits for only one child seem negligable, the main difference would be our personal feelings on the environmental impact and upon our quality of life as a family which comes back down to it being my decision, aaaaaa Lol

Nicki

little_angel wrote: »

i don't like the idea of having dirty nappies in the machine

Not sure how to break this to you gently but even using disposables, you will have all kinds of unsavoury things in your washing machine for the next 3 years at least

When you read in magazines or on websites about explosive poos, it means that the poo squirts out of the disposable nappy, up baby's back and down their legs, covering their vest and trousers in poo, and probably also your clothes too if you are holding them at the time, or their bedding if in their cot. It happens much more frequently in disposables than washables as washables have an outer layer to keep it in. And once toilet training starts, there will be all kinds of unmentionables on pants and trousers until it's cracked. And that's before we start on vomit!

A normal wash at 60 with a good powder is fine to get rid of it, and your machine will come to no harm at all, as everything will be flushed down the pipes with the waste water. If you're really squeamish, you can use a product called nappisan to get the washing extra clean. But unless you plan to bin all clothes when this happens (and it happens a lot in the first 6 months particularly), poo in your machine comes as part and parcel of being a mum!

bylromarha

Puzzledbubbles wrote: »

Thanks for the repsonses guys.

We worked out our figures based on the following:

20 washable inners
6 x size 1 outers
6 x size 2 outers
100 x paper liners (which we cannot flush becuase of the victorian drainage out side the house)
£220 online

We did just fine on 3 outers.

Paper liners - we used to wash the wet ones as they do about 3 nappy changes. Used fleece liners as they got older as the poo was less liquid.

Also, don't forget to factor in your resell cost when you've finished with them. There is a huge market out there for 2nd hand nappies.

Obviously your decision, but if finance is the motivation, then washables will be cheaper using your figures. Only you can decide if the motivation is environmental.