Reusable Nappies - Am i the only one who cant

its_smee

We've used cloth from birth and 2 parters like little lambs were great when he was little, mainly now I use totsbots easy fit and bum genius, plus 2 parters at night. If you find things are leaking my first advice is check the fit, are they loose around the legs / if they are btp do they need going up to a larger setting? Obviously not all styles suit everyone, speak to your local council /nappy lady many have a free trial kit to try out. Oh and I work 50 hours per week and manage full time cloth, many say they haven't got time for reusables but I say what is putting another wash load on really!

On the same subject I've been looking into saving by not using washing powder. Any other OS experts do this?

GobbledyGook

its_smee wrote: »

On the same subject I've been looking into saving by not using washing powder. Any other OS experts do this?

I use eco balls for my general washing, but I use powder for the nappies. I just didn't find the nappies smelled nice (though they didn't smell horrid either) without the powder.

clearingout

shortdog wrote: »

I looked into reusables, and tried a few with my daughter, but never really got the hang of them. When I was expecting my son, I started looking into it again, but found a report in one of those magazines (Mother and Baby or some such) that showed the cost and effect on the environment on both disposdables and reusables. Due to the original outlay, extra washing liquids, electricity, extra wear and tear on washing machine, etc etc, they discovered that both had pretty much the same cost and environmental effect. Obviously the cost of the reusables is better if you can use them for more than one child.

I think from a cost point of view on one child, it pretty much breaks even. It comes into it's own on your second child - and most reusables will last for at least two children. And they can generally be sold on after two children as well...

I disagree regarding the environmental impact - disposables cost who knows how much in transport costs (raw materials to factories, finished product to warehouse, warehouse to supermarket, supermarket to home) which again, the more children who use your nappies, the higher (lesser? depends which way you look at it) the impact. The real value environmentally is the lack of chemicals and the fact that disposables will sit in landfill for more or less eternity - if you think that every disposable ever used still exists somewhere....well, that's the reason I used reusables!

libra10

When my children were babies - over 35 years ago - we didn't have the luxury of disposable nappies, all mums used terry nappies.

I had about 24, and used about 6/8 nappies a day, soaking them in a sanitising solution as soon as baby was changed.

From memory, I also used paper inserts in case my baby did a poo, didn't mark the nappy as much. To reduce the risk of nappy leaking you could buy plastic cover-alls, which seemed to work well.

Basically, terry nappies worked well, although I was glad when my children became dry, as it resulted in much less washing.

If disposable nappies had been available back in the 70s, I am sure I would never have been able to have afforded them, they would have been a real luxury.

sweaty_betty

We have used cloth nappies - I bought some tots bots before LO was born and luckily they have fitted his body shape well (I'd not appreciated that different styles might suit different babies).

However, at first we did mix and match with disposables, to ease ourselves in gently - and we still occasionally use disposables if we're out for the day or in a situation where we don't want to be carrying around soiled nappies. So if you're really keen to use cloth nappies it might be worth mixing with disposables to get used to the idea, at least at first.

FunWithFlags

Ooh this thread has been really informative! We are prewashing our Little Lamb nappies atm ready to give cloth a try and lots of the replies here have given us little tips and stuff. I must admit, the fact they are taking like six million years to dry had made me nervous but the fact a few of you have said it takes getting into the swing of it has made me a little less stressed about trying lol!

OrganicNancy

Disposables smell because they have chemicals in them. We have used reusables for all our children (last 9 years) and never really had a problem with them. I wash them every two days, and OK- they take 24 hours to dry..but rather that then stick my children in something which can cause a chemical burn- and I mean proper burns, blisters and peels. Not very nice on your private parts!

I was horrified the other day when I was reading the Daily Mail, a little girl of 2 I think had her legs completely burnt by the chemicals from a nappy- it was bad she was taken away from her parents until they finally managed to get her back.

Madmel

To the OP: have you washed and washed the nappies several times? Prewashing them is vital, especially if they are going on a toddler because it makes them more absorbent.

As a former nappy advisor, I agree completely with the comments about council schemes, nappy libraries and advisors you can meet face to face. I found that there was no *perfect nappy* - if there was, there would be no need for all the others! So much depends on your personal circumstances, your views on washing, how you would dry them and how wet your child gets so it is very tricky to give specific advice.

However, 2 part systems [nappy and separate waterproof & breathable wrap] are more flexible and easier to launder as wraps can be used more than once before washing. I think terry squares on newborns are fantastic; they are cheap, adaptable, quick to dry and if you don't get on with them, they have a hundred other uses.

Various organisations have produced studies about the life-cycle of a cloth vs a disposable nappy. Unfortunately, the first of these which came out in around 2005 was deeply flawed and many of the misconceptions still exist. As an example, this study, carried out by the Environment Agency, supposed that every cloth nappy was tumble dried and then ironed :eek:. I must have been a terrible mum because I did neither . It also only considered the disposables until they were collected by the local council, rather than considering what happened to them in landfill.

If you want some impartial advice, please PM me. I haven't sold any for over 5 years and I am not up to speed with all the current brands. However, I wouldn't hesitate to put another child into cloth for various including financial reasons.

GobbledyGook

Madmel wrote: »

As an example, this study, carried out by the Environment Agency, supposed that every cloth nappy was tumble dried and then ironed :eek:. I must have been a terrible mum because I did neither .

Ironed?? Why would you iron a nappy?

If I started ironing my cloth nappies my family and friends would have serious concerns that there was something terribly wrong :rotfl: