cloth nappies 13 January 2013 at 5:45PM in MoneySaving mums 55 replies 7.9K views

clairelh

If anyone is looking at buying new, Ittibitti's have a big sale on (their UK distribution is closing down - very sadly as these are excellent reusables). You will get some fantastic nappies at fabulous prices so really worth checking out to see what sizes they have left. Their Home page says they're no longer accepting orders, but their FB page says otherwise.

Check with your local authority to see if they offer any incentives - some do a free nappy pack with some nappy samples in, others give you cash back - just need to provide a receipt against reusable sales.

I loved the Bumgenius (but not a huge fan of their Flip range), ittibittis and Fuzzibunz. I found Close PopIns great for night time or long journeys. I am a huge fan of All in One, one sized nappies - they do work out to be slightly more expensive, but I found the convenience and fit just too good to ignore.

Don't dismiss some of the cheaper brands though, I found a lot of them were perfectly fine with an older baby. Tbh, I've found the main difference between the big named reusable and cheaper ones is the quality and absorbency of the insert - once you've built up a stash of inserts you can chop and change/double up inserts with your outers (especially if using pocket nappies), making buying cheaper nappies much more of a better option.

Don't spend a fortune on a special 'nappy bucket' - a bucket is a bucket - one with a lid is preferable, but these can be picked up in the likes of Wilkos. Netbags can be bought very cheaply on ebay. As for reusable wipes - for home, very cheap flannels do the job nicely.

Beware - nappy buying can become addictive, you think you have enough and then a new pattern comes out....

notanewuser

snozberry wrote: »

Hi everyone,

If everything goes ok, I will be having my first baby later this year. I am starting to think about what we need to do to prepare ourselves for our little bundle of joy.

One thing that I am interested in are cloth nappies - mainly because they are kinder to the environment and will work out cheaper in the long run. However, before we invest in any I would like to know what they are really like to use. Please could you share your experiences of using cloth nappies with your babies. I have seen some youtube videos but they tend to be sales pitches and avoid the practicalities.

Many thanks in advance

That's a bit of a myth I'm afraid. No, they don't go into landfill, but the extra carbon emissions from the energy required to wash (and usually) dry them pretty much cancels that out.

Being cheaper or not really depends on what you buy and how long baby is in them.

Gillyx

I found Itti Bittis very low rise, if you have a baby who is in the least bit long they'l have builders bum, they are gorgeous nappies though and so trim fitting

notanewuser

viciouslittlething wrote: »

I really wanted to use re-useable nappies with DD, I was keen on the economy as I hoped to have more than 1 DC and that they were better for the environment.

I just struggled with fit and leaks, DD is slim, long and teeny of thigh and bum [no idea where she gets it from as me and DH are far from this!] and I tried 20 different nappies, with no luck.. I picked them up second hand on sites like Cloth Nappy Tree, swapping and re-selling. DD is now 2 and I'm using re-useables for the first time - potty training pants. She's just turned 20lbs and fits in the smallest totsbots bright bots.

So don't go loopy and buy now, disposables will be easier in the first few weeks when you are changing 15-20 nappies a day and with your DC's weight and shape in mind buy a few different ones to try and see what works.

Making my own re-useable wet wipes has saved me a fortune. I pinched MiL's sewing machine and used pinking shears to cut up a soft baby towel [stained, from SiL] and whizzed a bias tape edging around with zig zag. I still use them now, I will have to make more soon as DC2 is due in April and I can see us needing a bigger supply

Though we live in an area where re-useables are prolific, we have no nappy washing service and the council make a great fuss on their website, but the co-ordinator left post 3 years ago and still hasn't been replaced and no-one knows where the nappy trial packs for hire are.

Agree with this.

I bought about a dozen (gorgeous) ittibittis for my DD, but she HATED the feeling of being wet. So much so that if get through 18-20 liners A DAY in the first month. I bought 24, so was washing them constantly, and no tumble dryer so got really behind. Gave up and use the Eco disposables instead.

(Sold on 22 liners and boosters and 10 wraps and kept 2 for DD to play with when/if she ever has a baby doll.)

DD is also 2 and I just put her in normal pants when we're at home. She still hates the feeling of wet fabric against her bits so she's getting used to the whole potty training idea.

Gillyx

We use fleece liners here, they just whip all the moisture away, his bum is so dry when I take the nappy off. I'd say the type of nappies that need wraps definitely are soggier.

I do an extra 2 washes a week, we go though 5-6 nappies a day I'd say. I wash every 3 days and dry pail. Depending on what nappy you buy, some will dry in 24 hours on an airer. Inserts can be put on the radiator. I don't have a dryer at the moment

Aimless

In order of use here, Bumgenius (wish I could afford more but they aren't cheap!), Little Lambs bamboo pockets, then Ebay cheapies (try to get ones with snaps at the hip as well as waist for better fit). In the seldom use pile, Totsbots (just didn't suit his shape), LL two part nappies and Bambino Mio prefolds (too much faffing for me).

I made my own liners too, disposable ones aren't great. In fact I still have two or three rolls

I did disposables just to get me through that newborn 'fog' where you don't know what day it is. And use Nature Babycare eco nappies for nights and long trips out.

I do tend to get some leaking with the Ebay cheapies, even with a bamboo booster. This tends to be worse if you have a tight vest as it squeezes the nappy, best to buy vest extenders or just use a size up. We've been using 12-18 vest for ages and he's 9-12 or smaller

Aimless

notanewuser wrote: »

That's a bit of a myth I'm afraid. No, they don't go into landfill, but the extra carbon emissions from the energy required to wash (and usually) dry them pretty much cancels that out.

Being cheaper or not really depends on what you buy and how long baby is in them.

Mine go on a 30 degree wash, and dry on the airer, with the boosters getting a quick finish off in the dryer with the rest of my washing. Does two or three 30 degree washes equal the production of a pack of nappies a week? Particularly the ones that use plastics?

notanewuser

Aimless wrote: »

Mine go on a 30 degree wash, and dry on the airer, with the boosters getting a quick finish off in the dryer with the rest of my washing. Does two or three 30 degree washes equal the production of a pack of nappies a week? Particularly the ones that use plastics?

It's quite complicated science - there are lots of variables. And some/many councils now collect disposable nappies separately, they don't go to landfill and the methane is used in the production of biofuel.

The manufacturing process for reusables isn't so saintly and ongoing energy costs of laundering (even when assuming that 75% are line dried) and water add to the environmental impact. It's very hard to say categorically, but basically there probably isn't much in it.

Environment Agency study: http://a0768b4a8a31e106d8b0-50dc802554eb38a24458b98ff72d550b.r19.cf3.rackcdn.com/scho0808boir-e-e.pdf

radiohelen

I used a mixture of cloth and disposables for mine. I had totsbots and sandys both of which worked well. It really does depend how you wash and dry them. I used to wash at 40C, unless particularly foul, and line dry. The environmental impact is very low if you do this. I could also never get over the fact that a nappy takes 500 years to decompose completely. I have a horror of a robot Tony Robinson digging up my boy's poo in a couple of hundred years and getting excited at his Weetabix consumption.
Your tolerance to all things poo related will go up exponentially the minute you have a new baby.
Poomaggeddon will happen and you will deal with it. Scraping poo into a toilet and dropping the nappy into a bucket will seem positively hygienic in comparison to poomaggeddon.

notanewuser

radiohelen wrote: »

I used a mixture of cloth and disposables for mine. I had totsbots and sandys both of which worked well. It really does depend how you wash and dry them. I used to wash at 40C, unless particularly foul, and line dry. The environmental impact is very low if you do this. I could also never get over the fact that a nappy takes 500 years to decompose completely. I have a horror of a robot Tony Robinson digging up my boy's poo in a couple of hundred years and getting excited at his Weetabix consumption.
Your tolerance to all things poo related will go up exponentially the minute you have a new baby.
Poomaggeddon will happen and you will deal with it. Scraping poo into a toilet and dropping the nappy into a bucket will seem positively hygienic in comparison to poomaggeddon.

80% of a used disposable nappy will biodegradable now, and as I said, biofuel can be made from them. Its a bit like "environmentally friendly cars" and solar panels. The impact of manufacturing them will never be recovered by the apparently "clean" use of them.


They're unlikely, in the main, to be better for the environment as a whole*. It's really just down to personal preference.

*althoygh using them for more than one child will obviously help.