To wonder why more people don't use reusable nappies?

[GinGeum]

I know this will be controversial and I know there will always be some circumstances when they are not suitable, but since becoming a parent, I've not come across a single other parent using reusable nappies.

Everyone I know has also said they were never mentioned to them at all by antenatal classes/midwife/anyone. In the hospital, none of the staff we encountered had any idea what our baby was wearing.

Surely now we are all thinking about reducing plastic, disposable nappies should be fairly high on the list of things to cut down on? Programmes like the war on plastic on BBC barely mentioned disposable nappies. Even switching to reusable wipes would make a huge difference.

AIBU to wonder why reusable nappies aren't promoted more?

Yeah I’ve reported your post @oddsocks123

So hideous and utterly false

Interesting that no-one challenged me on small newborns and reusables.

Those trying to make reusables prescriptive need to remember they don't make reusables for small babies.

I know those with premature babies can only get one brand of nappies who make minus sizes.

I get that people would rather believe that the numerous chemicals (including ones which are known to be dangerous) in disposables won't harm their child, but surely once it is pointed out it seems like common sense? One thing using them and never having considered what is in them, but another using them aware and not caring about risks to your child.

If you've already decided to believe what you want to be true so you don't have to turn the washing machine on, it'd be like arguing with a trump fan about ICE or gun laws, there will be no convincing you so I shan't bother! But I'll still feel bad for your baby...

Will leave it there...

Thanks oddsocks123 DC2 is due in Jan, so I might try in the spring (DS pooed with every bf as a newborn, plus they'll dry quicker)

I think one thing that the supermarkets could do really easily is to make baby wipes really expensive...then people could still buy them for travelling/emergencies etc...but everyone would just use flannels for day to day face drying/wees etc. Midwives/HV could give vouchers for babywipes if needed for women where it would be impractical.

About 2/3s of my reusable nappies are second hand, and I didn't know anyone using them before I did. It's a bit of trial and error but essentially it comes down to fit and what the material inside it is (as that affects absorbency). A reusable with only micro fibre (eg bambino Miosolo) is not very absorbing without additional boosting. Any pocket nappy stuffed with hemp and/or bamboo is a good start and then see if you need to adjust.

Our nursery was absolutely fine with using reusables. We supply each pre-stuffed with a disposable liner and they put the nappy in a wet bag that I take home and empty at the end of every day. Easy. I would agree the only difficulty is in the depths of winter as generally washing everything is more of a pain but that is quite a short time.

Disposables would end up costing me loads more, as I have concerns about what is inside the average disposable (chlorine, fragrance, dioxins, phthalates) so would personally only buy the brands without these but appreciate that is an individual preference.

I also recognise there are some situations where using reusables would not be possible but if at all possible it would be great to give it a go, and certainly not be concerned about a tiny bit of poo in the washing machine (never been an issue here, it goes in the loo).

Nope sorry I’m sticking with pampers, I have 4 children and I was on my own with them since the youngest was born, I wasn’t going to give myself any more work than I already had. I already have mountains of washing all the time as I struggle to get through it all (I don’t have a tumble drier) and nothing seems to dry in my house (takes days)

We use them and even buying the most expensive reusables compared to Aldi disposables there was a saving to be made for one child and any subsequent children it’s money in the bank.

I also agree that disposables stink, perhaps you get used to the smell, but I hate using them when I’m on holiday the smell makes me want to vomit. I imagine you use more disposables nappies than reuseables just to get rid of the smell.

We started with reusable wipes and went from there. Put them in the wash at babies bedtime twice a week and hang them out to dry overnight. It takes maybe 15 minutes out of my week to do it

But I'll still feel bad for your baby...

Another post reported y’all

When I started using washable nappies with DC1 (now a teen) about half the people I knew with babies/toddlers used washables. Has it gone out of fashion?

I started using washables because disposables were such a massive faff and so expensive which is amusing when you look at the opinions in this thread. I was a single mother on a very low income when I had my first DC. Getting disposable nappies involved getting everyone up and out of the house to walk to the supermarket, or spend money on a bus, spend money on nappies, and carry them home again. Every few days, whether I wanted to or not, I’d have to do that if I wanted to use disposables. Supermarket deliveries were starting to be a thing but there was no way I could meet the lower spend limit with just me and a baby and a £22 a week food budget.

Instead I used washables, bought secondhand nappy wraps for pennies and started by putting old face flannels in there which worked fine. I could buy new face flannels from the supermarket at something like three for a pound, microfibre cloths at something like five for a pound. I cut up an old fleece blanket and got about 100 liners from that which I also used as wipes. Later on I got more branded nappies very gradually secondhand. I couldn’t run out of washables in the middle of the night, alone with a DC and no shops open. I couldn’t create a stock of disposable nappies and wipes because I didn’t have the money to buy in bulk or the ability to carry things home in bulk. I didn’t have to schlep out of the house to buy washables. They hardly cost me anything and a washing machine was something I had already. When I did use a disposable- I stated doing so overnight sometimes because DC would stay with their Dad some nights as a toddler - the disposable really smelled. I’d just open the door to DC s nursery in the morning and be bowled over by the chemical/wee smell. Maybe that has got better with current disposables and that it why the difference of opinion here about smell.

I use both. About 50:50. Still use a disposable at night or if we haven't caught up on laundry.

But for reusables:
Look better in pictures
Aren't as plasticky and sweaty as throwaways
Less stuff to carry around as often we just stick a liner in the 'wet bag' and that goes in my handbag
They smell nicer - laundry not plasticky

As for reusable wipes:
Actually remove shit from DD's arse and crucially fanny better
Great on mirrors, bathroom chrome, etc
Don't smear shit around
Cheap

I'm a selfish eco conscious person.

Also get milkman to deliver because:
Milk is nicer
Convenience
Sick of taking the endless recycling out
The eggs he brings at the weekend make good dippies

@chanklybore there's also videos on youtube about making nappies/diapers from old t-shirts! Towels can be cut up. Cloth really doesn't need to be expensive, I really admire people who have DIY'd nappies. All mine are shop bought but I just love the frugal-ness of it!

Because we live in a small, damp house & didn't have a tumble drier. In summer we usually manage the laundry ok, but most winters since we've had DD my mother had to take regular loads to her house to dry them - and that was just with the clothes & bedding etc. We could actually have borrowed some cloth nappies for free, but had no way of laundering them. Not if we wanted to wear clean clothes or change the bedsheets & towels in the winter...

I used washable nappies with DC1 who is now 13, and some of the time with DC2 now 11. Only reason DC2 didn't wear them all the time was sheer overloading of laundry when I had two under two and a csection. I preferred them. I hate the smell of disposibles. Never let a visiting friend or family put a used one in my kitchen bin as they smelled rank, they were asked to take them home.

If I were to have another I'd use washable again, but that ship has long since sailed

@ColaFreezePop my DS was 5lbs6ozs when born. We used Muslins with a wrap - you can get teeny wraps. And also g-pants do super small ones. It’s just for the first few weeks. But really, no problem with using disposables and then switching. It’s not an absolute, people should do whatever works for them.

I think the OP is just wondering what the barriers are. I could completely understand if someone didn’t want to try with a poorly baby as there’s enough else going on.

I would have used cloth nappies if it was viable though. I use reusable sanpro, washable cleaning cloths for the house & the bath/shower, & a DE razor. Soap instead of shower gel. Metal straws if possible. We don't do one-use plastic if there's a workable alternative. But for us, there just wasn't.

I wanted to use them (I have friends who do) but with a small premie baby with - until he was 4 months - undiagnosed CMPA they were not practical. Also my husband was a bit reluctant as they are harder/ more likely to leak and Aldi nappies are only 5p a nappy. So cost wise disposable is still cheaper. However, we're looking to introduce them at night now as with poppers we can adjust them to fit our son's small waist but still stuff them with enough boosters that he can sleep most of the night before getting a wet bum. He's a size 4 in disposables. And they're on the tightest on the waist. But they're simply not absorbent enough at night and he has ways hated when he realises his bum is wet. The next size up is far too big, so I suggested we tried some of the one sizes we had to test the idea at the begining. First eight hours solid sleep (two nights in a row) for nearly a month. DH though he may just have been going through something, so tried disposables last night. Up at midnight, two and four. Husband was the first to get online and order some more reusable nappies and boosters this morning.

It may not be perfect. And TBH disposables in the day are probably still going to be our norm, especially as nursery. But I guess that takes a couple of disposables a day out of the system for a year or two?

If there's more demand, they will get cheaper with more fit options. They're fairly easy. But not as easy as a disposable when out and about.

Poop wise - we used a washable felt liner (you can make easy enough!) And take that to the toilet. Flushing away offending poop. So the main nappy gets very little actual poop on it. Not sure if that's all brands? Easy at home. Less easy out and about.

Don't feel guilty AwdBovril sometimes people just can't (individual circumstances, poverty, health conditions, allergies etc) do the most environmentally friendly option and we should be wary of saying everyone can do XYZ or else they are selfish/ruining the planet etc.

Bit scared of getting them washed
Because I don’t want poo in my washing machine.

Like many of the older mothers, grandmothers on here, I cannot begin to comprehend the stupidity of some younger mothers! My children, 40+ years now, had terry nappies almost exclusively, we were in Germany and used pampers occasionally with No 2, long before a decent disposable nappy was available here. I never had 'poo in the washing machine', there were liners, they were more messy then pampers certainly. They were then soaked in Milton and then washed with surprisingly little difficulty!
Because they were pretty uncomfortable when wet, our children were out of nappies quicker too.
Do realise that there are millions of mothers who did things differently, it doesn't mean that they were wrong or right, like you they went along with the norms of their period, which will doubtless horrify your children in time!

Just wanted to add. DH does and has done the majority of nappy changing in our house. So I did feel he got a decent say in what we used.

Thanks Camomila. I did feel guilty about it. Especially when the person who offered to lend me them kept pressuring me about it... didn't offer to help with the laundry though!

We use them. It's not difficult at all. It's a cloth nappy that you lay out under your child with a paper liner on top and then do up the velcro/popper fastener. When you take it off, you stick it in a wash bag instead of a bin. Simple.

Regarding the poo, unless it's an explosion, it is basically entirely removed when you take off the paper liner. So very little (if any) poo ends up in the washing machine.

Whether disposable or cloth I was always told you should be tipping solid poo into the loo. Also the flushable liners are, like many of the wipes marketed as flushable, quite likely to block the pipes.

For me, with access to a garden to line dry, and a washer drier for the times nothing would dry outside puttin on a load of nappies was by far the easier option than dragging the kids out to the shop to buy more disposables. Never had a leek with cloth, disposables were a nightmare on my very long skinny baby.

I can't really understand the "eww, poo in the washing machine" factor, I mean I can but it kind of comes with having kids. Although I'm finding more and more people whomjut say, buy cheep clothes and chuck them in the bin when their children have accidents while potty training. So wasteful.

It's kind of hilarious that so many people on here say washing nappies is too much effort, give that mumsnetters are usually so obsessed with washing.

I thought mumsnetters would be glad of the chance to run another washload after the daily towel wash, bi-daily bedsheet wash, daily pyjama wash, etc. etc. It's every mumsnetter's favourite activity!

I wanted to use reusable nappies but DH refused. He said he wasn’t having buckets of shitty nappies hanging around the house waiting to be washed (because you can’t put the washer on for every single nappy). And also he didn’t want shit in the washing machine, or carrying shitty nappies home to wash. They’re not without environmental cost either - the washer uses electricity. Personally I struggled with exhaustion and having to wash and dry nappies as well would have tipped me over the edge.

@MRex of course The Nappy Lady recommends a big expensive package of nappies, they're a big company and that's what they sell! The advice isn't necessarily tailored to your needs or impartial as they will only advise on what they sell - if it was impartial and not related to making a profit and you said you were on a tight budget then surely they'd advise to look for secondhand, but they don't do they?!

If you're on a tight budget you can buy 2 dozen terry squares off eBay or any nappy seller for about £50, and 4 decent wraps @£11 each (we liked the nature Babies ones as they're made in UK and very reliable), and a pack of Nappi Nippas for £5.
A bucket, any bucket form the cheap shop that sells everything in town is about £5, and they also sell cheap flannels (or you can get Ikea ones) or cut up old flannelette sheets and Tshirts and make your own, £10 should cover that.
You don't need nappy liners, but if you do use them there's a minimal cost there or cut up a £5 fleece blanket to make fleece liners, so all in all you can re-do that list for just over 1/4 the cost, less if you bought secondhand.

I think there needs to be a move to force cloth whether through subsidies or other methods.
The cost of disposing of a baby's nappy waste is or was a few years ago I think about £90 (collection costs and disposal costs incl landfill tax). If councils gave a package of nappies bought wholesale in bulk to every newborn, then it'd probably work out cheaper than disposing of nappy waste with disposables.