AIBU to wonder why more people don’t use reusable nappies?

[KatyClaire]

I have a fairly new baby and I’m a little surprised at how few people I’ve encountered are using reusable nappies. I haven’t met anyone using them in my antenatal group / baby classes / local parents group etc. There has been such an explosion in the use of reusable products (sanitary products, straws, cups, make up wipes etc) that I had assumed it would have crossed into nappies as well.

I don’t know whether it’s a perception issue (people thinking they’re messy and hard to clean), the upfront cost, confusing information etc?

Because I've got 5 children here altogerher and already feel like widow twanky and when this baby is born well have 2 in nappies.
No thanks

@shouldistop

The next? It’s been a stealth boast for years!! Nothing quite as smug as an evangelical cloth nappy mum.

Reminds me of a baby grow I saw once

'Breast milk in my tum, cloth on my bum, worn by my mum'

< not envy

Oh that definitely wins the smug mum award! Yuck!

I think everyone should make an effort to minimise the damage they cause to the environment. I don’t think that everyone has to choose the most environmentally friendly option for every single thing in their life.

This is a much nicer sentiment than just calling anyone who doesn't use cloth nappies lazy. It also shows that not using them doesn't mean you automatically hate the environment and do nothing to reduce your impact.

@shouldistop are you joking?!?

Jesus Christ.

And anyone who says you don’t have to scrape poo if you use cloth, has clearly never used cloth.

because its a gigantic pain in the ass, gross, still has desposible elements and extra work most people dont have time for.

Our washing machine is in our kitchen, I have 2 very young children and I’m expecting ours 3rd in a week or so. Our washer never stops as it is as a family of 4 and I do not want a bucket of poo sat in my kitchen waiting to be washed. If a dirty nappy is changed it goes straight in the outside bin. I just don’t get why you’d create such faff for yourself? Plus you’ll be using extra energy and water putting the washer on for an extra wash each day anyway, kind of cancels out the environment saving thing.

I agree, my last baby is finally out of night nappies and I worked out that in night nappies alone we’d saved £800 over 3 babies. I never used any disposables and didn’t use a dryer. It was fine, I worked full time, had 3 kids who didn’t sleep and never found it burdensome.

I don’t preach about it though as in many other areas I’m shit. We’re meat eaters, we have two cars and work in energy greedy tech industries so it’s a bit empty to be pious.

I think everyone should make an effort to minimise the damage they cause to the environment. I don’t think that everyone has to choose the most environmentally friendly option for every single thing in their life.

100% this!

Though reading some of the reasons on here makes me despair for humanity. “Because it’s gross”, really?

And energy usage from an extra wash load? Get over yourselves, babies are gross and polluting generally and trying to hand wave tons of landfill over pathetic reasons is childish.

babies are gross and polluting generally

Wow.

@willFOURbagsbeenough I’ve never scraped poo! Since weaning DD’s poo just plops into the toilet. Pre weaning BF poo is also very easy to deal with, just rinsed the liners.

I don’t preach about it though as in many other areas I’m shit. We’re meat eaters, we have two cars and work in energy greedy tech industries so it’s a bit empty to be pious.

The worst thing you've done is have 3 children 😂😂

And you then go on to preach about it in your next post anyway. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[quote Megan2018]@willFOURbagsbeenough I’ve never scraped poo! Since weaning DD’s poo just plops into the toilet. Pre weaning BF poo is also very easy to deal with, just rinsed the liners.[/quote]
Really?? You never had a singly smushy one?

Single*

We tried them. I was given a big mixed bag of them and really wanted to use them. We just couldn't find a combination that didn't leak like crazy, and after several weeks with an increasingly sore, uncomfortable baby who was constantly having to be changed out of everything he was wearing, my lovely MIL gently advised me to have a break from them and I never went back. I passed them all along to another mum and she got on much better with them.

@Siepie

I think that most of my lifestyle is fairly sustainable. Vegetarian/almost vegan, buy local products, walk to work, etc.

I refuse to use reusable nappies or sanpro though. I don’t want to deal with poo or blood any more than I have to.

A lot of my friends use reusables. Many of them drive massive diesel/petrol cars to places within easy walking distance. One of the most evangelical about eco-friendly baby products ‘doesn’t see the point’ in sorting recycling.

I think everyone should make an effort to minimise the damage they cause to the environment. I don’t think that everyone has to choose the most environmentally friendly option for every single thing in their life.

Absolutely agree. Problem is a lot of people are making no effort whatsover. They take no responsibility at all. We are far from perfect as a household, but we are really trying. I really object to people that can’t be arsed and hope a future government will tax them in to changing their behaviour, because reasoning seems to have no impact.

Because they don’t want to.

I think it depend on which circles you move in. Ive always known quite a few people who used them. I used them on my eldest 20 years ago and it was a bit more niche then, but i still new loads of hippy types. I think its a lot more mainstream now and fairly popular.
I used them on both of my other kids too, but at one point I had 2 babies in one year and I ended up just going back to disposables for the convenience, but I still used the odd cloth nappy in the house, as disposables were terrible at containing explosive poo in comparison to a decent fitted cloth nappy and wrap, so it wasnt saving me much washing.

I think more people should give it a try, but a lot of people just wouldnt even consider it

@Worried830410

Op if you are not using reusable toilet wipes for yourself then you are a hypocrite. Please don't act surprised as to why people are not as good as you if you are not going the whole nine yards yourself.

This is the stupidest thing I've read on this thread.

Toilet paper doesn't take about 500 years to decompose in landfill. Unlike disposable nappies.

Bought them, baby soaked through every time she pissed. Disposables are absorbent and the baby stays dry.

Honestly I don't think it will be much of an argument in a few years, as I expect all disposable products will go the way of plastic straws!

@Ileflottante unnecessarily rude. Also, assuming @Megan2018 is a woman, she would be an ignorama.

Too expensive.
Too cumbersome.
Too time comsuming.