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?

[Starface]

Please don't flush the liners. They are like baby wipes. I know because I did it and it all backed up eventually. Lots of things that are labelled flushable actually aren't.
You can get washable fleece liners where you flick the poo into the toilet, there is no poo stain on nappy and the fleece acts to keep baby's bum a bit drier.

Wrt the original question, so many pp answers apply: initial expense (any subsidy quickly went with austerity here); expensive trial and error to get right fit, cope with night times etc; difficulty with drying them in many properties or expense of launderette drying alongside all the rest of laundry generated by baby; time of washing & hanging to dry (may be much harder on return to work, eg may not be able to turn nappies/inserts to promote drying). They do eventually smell of urine in a way no strip wash can get out, which seems triggered by the first new wee baby does. Much more hasslesome initially at a time parent feeling overwhelmed learning everything else. And much harder to keep on top of if returning to work for a substantial contract. What about your childcare setting? Are they prepared to learn & listen to how you do it? Are they prepared to flush poos etc? Some won't due to cross infection risks etc. Washables are not the default so there is a lot to learn and more of a mental barrier to doing so.

I think like so much of our convenience lives, disposables makes specifically women's lives easier and the burdens of changing will fall on women via "wifework".

Everyone used to do washable because it was cheaper and disposables didn't work well. Now that balance is the other way (price wise for initial outlay certainly). I don't think either the economics or the environmental benefits are as clear cut as some make out. This over simplifying makes it hard to trust information which makes the initial outlay seem much more risky. It's not even as straightforwardly environmentally friendly - washing uses water & energy; fleece leeches microplatics but doesn't block the loo, or need putting in a plastic bag (like if you bin paper liners). Though on balance to me it "feels " better than putting a nappy in landfill, that is not necessarily evidence based.

Tl:dr it's not as obviously cheap or easy to try out or to take on as it can be made out to be. There is not a critical mass of social acceptance and knowledge/still niche.

[Ginandgingers92]

@Celebelly yep! I think some people still have in their head that it's all brown stained terries, boiling away on the hob to get them clean haha.

[Rtmhwales]

I have the opposite problem as a lot of posters. I find disposables leak and my cloth ones never do. I use one disposable overnight though, but cloth the rest of the time. Saves money and the environment for me.

[Ginandgingers92]

X

[Ginandgingers92]

www.thenappylady.co.uk/news/plastic-disposable-single-use-v-cloth-nappies.html

[Toneitdown]

If you washed cloth nappies at 60° and then tumble dried them you would quickly ruin them.

Mine are designed to be washed at 30 max, ideally cold, and dried on the line.

I think the misinformation comes from that nonsense study that a disposable nappy company did (can't remember which one) where they said all cloth nappies need to be hot washed and tumble dried, and also completely neglected to mention the huge amount of water and energy used in the production of disposable nappies. Obviously it worked because some people actually believed it.

I'm not the nappy police - I don't care that much whether people use disposable or cloth. We are all entitled to make our own choices. But it does annoy me when people pretend that they use disposables to be environmentally conscious. It's simply incorrect and it's a shame that there's so much misinformation out there.

[Toneitdown]

Ginandgingers92

X posted! I was just looking for this study, thank you! I'm hoping that with all the media coverage of environmental disaster people are going to start looking into these things more closely and stop perpetuating myths.

[Trebla]

Because I don’t want poo in my washing machine

That selfish attitude is why my children, who were and are in cloth nappies will be facing an uncertain future. Get a grip. Take responsibility and do your bit for the rest of us.

[Trebla]

A FWIW poo goes in the loo. Flicked in from a washable liner and flushed down just like your poo.

I bought ours second hand and they've been used for all my kids. I'll pass them on when we are finished too.

Wash at 30 with a small amount of detergent. We have an eco washer and condenser dryer with 6 star efficiency.

The worst offenders in my eyes are disposable nappies, wipe and plastic bags that then go straight into landfill.

I use a mooncup and washable pads too. I'm not virtue signaling I just think its morally fucking reprehensible not to be taking direct action to reduce waste. It's easy to fit into your day.

[sarahg216]

Just on the getting them dry thing-
I like the idea of reusables and am expecting dc2 in December. Have been put off as a friend used them and said it was hard in winter to get them dry, especially in a small space. She was trying to get her reluctant almost 2 year old potty trained in autumn cos she said she couldn’t face another winter of waiting a long time for nappies to dry all over the flat.
We don’t have a tumble dryer. Did other people have the same issue?

[Ginandgingers92]

@sarahg216 I must admit, when we couldn't hang outside it was a bit of a pain, they'd dry eventually, but it took a good few days. When they're out in the garden though, it's great! They oddly dry faster when they've been in the rain for a bit?!
I know a lot of people without external hanging space get heated dryers and they seem to work well on a low heat :)

[BikeRunSki]

@sarahg216, I found 2 part nappies much easier to dry indoors in the winter (easier than all in ones).

[Woodward12]

Your nappies shouldn't smell of wee, you need to look at your wash routine if that's happening.

[hardyloveit]

I used to nanny for a child who wore reusable nappies - you don't put them straight in the machine if it's got poo on!
I used liners and then soaked them first!
Just like you would with a reusable period pad (soak them I mean)
So very minimal poo or wee would even end up in your washing machine!
If we have another child I will be using reusable nappies - and see how we go. I can't remember the brand the child I looked after used but they didn't leak - even over night

[Namechangeymcnamechange11]

A mixture of:

1. Lack of awareness - I've been told by someone that she'd have loved to use them with her's, but they weren't around then - 8 years ago now. Well, they were 😂 but just not as well known about.

It's the same myth that the start up cost is extortionate - yes if you buy a 'starter kit' from one of the brands that hand sews in the UK, you're looking at circa £100-200. But it's perfectly easy to kit yourself out pre-loved for a fraction of that on eBay - brands such as little blooms, Alva etc. It just takes a bit of research and ideally 'someone in the know'. We need to advertise our nappy libraries far and wide - they're the best way to try before you buy!

1. The idea that the protection of the planet is someone else's responsibility, or that it's not an emergency. The ongoing use of disposables is terrible for the planet and they take 300 years to degrade the first ever disposables are still around and will be in our children's and grandchildren's life time.
2. Myths from the past - that you still need to boil on the hob or soak in napisan nope, they can go from bum to bucket. twice per week, take the net from around the rim of the bucket and shove it in the washing machine then hang when done 🤷

[Piglet89]

All being well, our new little son will be with us on Wednesday. He will be my first child and I anticipate being a bit overwhelmed to start with (plus elective C section as he’s breech, so my mobility will be affected). For those reasons, I intend to start on single use until I’m (literally) back on my feet, and then try to go to one of the “nappy libraries” in London to try out reusables before making the initial substantial outlay.

A lady did come in to one of our antenatal classes (after birth and care of the newborn) at Homerton Hospital in London to speak to us about reusable nappies. I have bought as much stuff as I feel I can second hand for our baby and I would like to give reusables a go as soon as I can. To pps who are speaking about how great extra washing makes it not as environmentally friendly as it might at first appear: this is a myth, which this lady quickly debunked.

The amount of disposable nappies being thrown away into landfill makes me feel sick. I also hear that children are happy enough to be in disposable nappies longer, as the advanced technology draws moisture away from the skin, so they are less likely to realise they’re even wet, which isn’t the case with reusables - so, as at least one pp has said, it’s a good incentive for them to toilet train. I have zero experience of all this, though, so trying to keep as open a mind as possible!

[Woodward12]

Also, a lot of the more commonly known brands are pretty unreliable, and that's a lot of people's first experiences of cloth and it understandably puts people off to get leaks - the Bambino Mios, TotsBots easyfits.

I'd recommend trying a few different types, most areas have nappy libraries, who also offer great advice, to see what type and brand suits your baby.

[Piglet89]

@Namechangeymcnamechange11 perhaps initial outlay won’t be as much as I think though!

[DoraleeRhodes]

I use cloth for my second, although I didn’t for my first. I think with my first I just assumed it’d be a faff and didn’t really look into it, I’m so pleased I did, I think they’re fantastic.

I’ve never had any leaking or rash issues with cloth, they last 3-4 hours which is as frequent as you should be changing disposable anyway (just because they can go longer doesn’t mean they should). I do a nappy wash every other day and really don’t notice it as extra workload. No issues with cloth overnight either, just need an extra booster in there. I use reusable fleece liners which catch the poo which then goes straight down the loo, but you can use disposable ones if it Ices you out that much, no more ‘handling’ than you do with a disposable.
There are loads of myths out there about the ‘inconveniences’ of cloth, but I’ve found them all to be untrue so would urge people to just get one or two and give it a go before dismissing the idea.
I use Baba and Boo nappies, and Little Lambs bamboos. I initially got several different brands second hand on Facebook to work out what was best for us which was as inexpensive.
I barely knew anyone who used cloth when I had my first, now I’d say about a third of babies I know in nappies are in the. So from my perspective it is becoming more common.

[Heatherjayne1972]

Awful if you’re a working parent tho

Can’t imagine nursery’s would be very keen. Lots of babies with lots of wet/dirty nappies No one wants to be presented with a bag of dirty cloth nappies and whatever at the end of the day

[DoraleeRhodes]

Oh, and my nursery are absolutely fine with using cloth, they said about half the babies they have at the moment are in them.

[user1480880826]

@HalleLouja what’s the nappy liner made out of? Seems a bit odd that it can be flushed along with the poo yet it’s strong enough to not disintegrate with contact with poo and wee. It really doesn’t sound like something that should be flushed down the toilet.

Does everyone use these liners?

Also, do you wash the nappies in the washing machine by themselves or do you put them in with a whole load of other clothes? If they have to be washed separately then I’m guessing reusable nappy users are doing more laundry than those who use disposables.

For me the thought of have to clean dirty nappies was just one more thing my sleep deprived body couldn’t handle. Especially given that my baby had CMPA and would do up to 10 slimy poos every day until he was one.

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

EVERYONE should be putting everyone’s poo into the toilet, disposables or reusables!!!! Our bins are collected fortnightly, I do not want 2 weeks worth of shitty nappies festering in front of my house. Yes it’s a bit trickier in the pre-weaning days, but I always managed to knock the majority into the loo before putting the nappy in the bin (disposbales) or wet bag (reusables). Poo goes in the loo!!

Therefore ‘poo in the washing machine’ isn’t really an argument against cloth nappies. Breast milk poo is barely even poo and we didn’t have any washing machine issues with 2 formula fed babies anyway.

[Wellandtrulyoutnumbered]

I used cloth part time with my eldest 12 years ago. Pretty much full time with my daughter 8 years ago and not at all with my 2.5year old.

My partner refused. We'd got rid of the reusables and with PND I just didn't push back. So annoyed with myself now.

Reusable wipes are a quick win for everyone even if you only use them for wees or keep some /flannel for food.

[HalyardHitch]

I have masses of regrets for not using reusables with my youngest.
My eldest, I had reusables for but he was the most ridiculous wetter. Only disposables would do, no matter the advice I followed.

My youngest, I feel, it more normal and he would have been fine in reusables. Unfortunately I'd sold them all on by then