Reusable nappies

[Celestae]

Yesterday my partner and I came across a local supplier of reusable nappies. They look really well made, quite funky, but at £18 each, they are a lot of money. We came away from the shop with a lot to discuss.

Basically, we are due to have dc2 in 9 weeks and as we are both environmentally conscious would like to at least consider reusable nappies.

Two main questions I have in mind, and I am wondering what you mumsnetters think.

-Are they environmentally better when you take into account all the extra washing you will have to do to them ( we estimated a wash every day or every other)

And,

• are they really worth the initial fork out of nearly £200 to get enough to get you through?

We were considering getting like one a week or something because we are on a tight budget.

[NewBlueCoat]

would you consider second hand? that can be a cost effective way of using cloth.

and you don't hav to spend anywhere near £18 per nappy, there are lots of options that are far cheaper than that, even brand new.

as for cost-effective? well, it depends, on mnay variables. such as frequncy of washing, tumble drying, how many children etc.

I bought some for dd1 nearly 10 years ago, and I am still using them now, on dc3. I have had to supplement a bit as my dc grew (dd1 is disabled, and still in nappies overnight, so obviously had to buy bigger ones once she was past 'normal' age) but yes, I have definitely saved money (and I tumble dry!)

right now, with dc3 at 18 months in nappies fulltime, and dd1 using them overnight, I owuld be spending £18+ each week on nappies/pull ups. There is no way I spend that on washing/drying alone, and I have (over 3 children) long paid off the initial cost of buying them.

[Celestae]

Do you find they are hard work when out and about?

[NewBlueCoat]

no, not any harder than disposables, tbh.

you take any spares you need (as you would with disposables), and wipes (as you would), plus a wet bag. the only difference is that you don't throw the dirty nappy away once you've changed your dc.

I am not religious about it, though. If going for a full day out (ie breakfast until bedtime), I may well decide to use disposables. and I certainly do when on holiday, too.

[Madratlady]

I got over £200 worth of Little Lambs nappies for about £40 second hand on ebay because I didn't see the point of buying them new when they cost so much.

[neversleepagain]

If you wash at 40 and don't tumble dry then they are very environmentally friendly. Pre loved cloth is always a good idea and like others have said, you can get cheaper nappies. £18 is the high end price for cloth.

We have saved nearly 1k on not buying nappies and wipes for our twins.

[neversleepagain]

And your council will give you a cash incentive for using cloth. We got £50 towards cloth nappies from our council.

[Indith]

They don't have to be expensive.

Ones like these ones are great. The seller I've linked to is good, the lady who runs our local nappy library rates her.

You can also just use bog standard terry squares which are cheap, easy, quick to dry and will last from birth to potty.

I used cloth from day 1 with my eldest so my nappies have done my 3 dcs and been on a few other bums in between. I will admit that my old squares have got a bit flat and don't hold too well with a nappy nippa any more so I have a bunch of cheap pockets like the ones I linked to (I did a swap, some old toys for some second hand nappies!) and I stuff them with my old squares rather than buying inserts.

Have a look round facebook for nappy selling groups, have a google for local stuff as you may have a nappy library who will be able to lend you some different nappies to try and your council may have an incentive scheme where you can get some money towards cloth nappies.

They are def environmentally friendly. There was a study done a while back but it was flawed and didn't correctly take into account the manufactiring process for the paper nappies and assumed washing on 90, ironing (who irons nappies!) tumble drying (again, a lot of people don't tumble) and assumed buying something like 30 nappies every 6 months when you can happily do birht to potty on 30 nappies total and reuse them on other children.

The nappies are fine for out and about, just change as normal and stick your wet nappy in a wet bag and take it home.

[BlueChampagne]

Freecycle is worth a try too.

[growltigersontheloose]

Depending on where you live, you might be able to find a cloth nappy library. Ours was amazing - we hired a full set of nappies, in a selection of brands and styles, for a full month for £20 (+ £20 deposit which was returned). We received a full explanation of what all the different types were and how to use them and wash them. When we returned them the lady spent a long time talking to us about what we liked/didn't like so she could advise us as to which brands would best suit us.

It does seem quite daunting at first, but the lady we saw was so helpful that we've never had a problem. Our DS has been in them since he was 3 weeks old.

Also, look for a local "nappuchino". I shudder at the word but I went to a local one when I was pregnant which is where I met the cloth nappy library lady.

Also, I love this lady: www.thenappylady.co.uk/
She is often one of the cheapest suppliers and offers amazing advice.

[Celestae]

Thank you for your input, this has given us much food for thought, and if we can use cloth we shall