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 a lot of people don’t want to have to scrape poo off nappies then soak them in a smelly bucket indoors, then wash them in a machine that’s used for everyone’s clothes. Personally I think it’s unhygienic unless you sanitise your machine after each nappy wash. Then the faff of drying them, stuffing them and the fact most modern baby and toddler clothes don’t fit over huge padded cloth nappies. They’re bulky and unless you buy only Frugi or Scandi or expensive ‘cut for cloth’ brands you’ll struggle.

Also the cost of re-usables is ridiculous.

@HikeForward

Because a lot of people don’t want to have to scrape poo off nappies then soak them in a smelly bucket indoors, then wash them in a machine that’s used for everyone’s clothes. Personally I think it’s unhygienic unless you sanitise your machine after each nappy wash. Then the faff of drying them, stuffing them and the fact most modern baby and toddler clothes don’t fit over huge padded cloth nappies. They’re bulky and unless you buy only Frugi or Scandi or expensive ‘cut for cloth’ brands you’ll struggle.

Also the cost of re-usables is ridiculous.

Using a bucket is not advised for modern nappies so there are no smelly buckets here. And I can't see how putting a rinsed poo nappy in the wash is any more unhygienic than any other item that has had poo rinsed off it, like vests or pants. Or did your children never have a nappy leak or accident in their pants?

I've not found any of that to be true. My washing machine is fine. We do maybe an extra load per week at most but I don't know because it goes with other clothes anyway.
No need for soaking nowadays and it's much cheaper than before (about 4-5 quids a nappy with inserts, need a stock of max 20 to be comfy - I need 4 during the day and 1 night one).
No issue with clothes on top, just normal clothes.
They dry over the course of a day or so on a line in the utility.
The hygiene issue - not something I have any issue with personally, it's a washing machine, it washes :)

@Sargass0

YANU to to wonder what the hell you like. We're not quite yet at thought crime. Are you PR for "The Nappy Lady?"

I’m definitely not PR for the Nappy Lady, but her website is to cloth nappy advice what KellyMom is to breastfeeding 🤷‍♀️

We are literally out and about all the time and we've managed with washable nappies just fine for 7yrs over the last 9/10yrs. It certainly hasn't stopped us joining in 'modern' life :) we're far from being hippies (nothing wrong if we were), we're 2 professionals in busy full time jobs (apart from when I'm on mat leave) and with kids... worked for us!

I found the cloth nappy community to be very cult like and judgemental tbh.

I tried cloth nappies, but found them a nightmare and very expensive. My baby had a cleft lip and palate so I had to pump milk instead of breast feeding. I couldn't do that and cloth nappies too, due to a complete lack of time. Disposable nappies were a life saver for me at a very difficult time, and I'm not ashamed to say that.

I would try not to be so opinionated about this OP (if this post is authentic), with your friends and family in RL, especially given that your baby is so tiny and things can change significantly as they get older. People don't like to be lectured about parenting, especially by a new parent!

And this does read a bit like a PR plug. Constant updates (60 posts in 24 hours) when you have a new baby is a little hard to believe.

And this does read a bit like a PR plug. Constant updates (60 posts in 24 hours) when you have a new baby is a little hard to believe.

At 9 weeks old he spends a great deal of time sleeping, feeding (what he’s doing right now) or in the care of his dad. Leaving plenty of time to piss about on MN

KatyClaire

You are very fortunate. I'm v jealous, as my experience when having both my children was the opposite.

No issue with not choosing washable nappies but I can be easy.
My youngest has additional needs and I need to pump for her too. THAT is a faff I could do without. The nappies... well to me they are just nappies and it doesn't make my life harder, quite the opposite. It works for me. And I'm glad it does as I've gone through all 4 kids with them :)

'It'

I used cloth nappies for my now 8 and 4 year olds.
No new machine needed after and I have never had a tumble drier or Aga 😂 No soaking, no smelly buckets and cloth nappy prices have come down hugely since I first bought them for my 8 year old, you can pick them up pretty cheaply and also there is a huge second hand market for them. I think there are some people it doesn’t suit due to medical reasons but really many people are just a bit lazy and disposable is easier.

oblada

I take my hat off to a fellow pumping mother, it is not easy!

Do you not find the extra washing makes things harder? That's one of the reasons I gave up cloth nappies. I just couldn't keep up with it all!

So many reasons why "people" don't
Initial cost
Cost of electricity to wash
More than one child in nappies
More than one child/several children
Lack of time, if working
Space (to store unwashed, and to dry them)
Ease of baby and personal ease of adjustment to having said baby/or not
Absolute militance and misplaced classist sanctimony of cloth nappy community
Not actually substantially that much more eco-friendly , as it turns out

@KatyClaire

And this does read a bit like a PR plug. Constant updates (60 posts in 24 hours) when you have a new baby is a little hard to believe.

At 9 weeks old he spends a great deal of time sleeping, feeding (what he’s doing right now) or in the care of his dad. Leaving plenty of time to piss about on MN

And for extra washing, which might be why you can't understand why anyone finds it burdensome...

@FridayNightAtTheBronze

oblada

I take my hat off to a fellow pumping mother, it is not easy!

Do you not find the extra washing makes things harder? That's one of the reasons I gave up cloth nappies. I just couldn't keep up with it all!

Thanks! It helps that she's my 4th child and otherwise I've been breastfeeding for 9yrs (direct nursing for the other kiddies). I certainly wish I didn't have to pump :( - are you part of the pumping mothers Facebook group? Join if not :)

I don't mind the extra washing no. I just wait till my bucket (no soaking just a bucket) of dirty nappy is full and I chuck it in the washing machine along with the other clothes that need to be washed. We have a big machine. Given we're a family of 6 (incl baby) I don't think it makes much of a difference :) we're quite laid back, don't wash everything every day (apart from undies of course) and do bedsheets and towels every 10days or so. Maybe we're grubby :) works for us away.

I used them for DS, from birth to potty training. He is 15 now. I loved the cotton bottom look on him as a tiny baby and never regretted it. I also used reusable swim nappies.
My washing machine was fine- it lasted until he was 11 and it wasn’t new when he was born. I generally hung them outside to dry as much as possible- the sun is good for bleaching stains and frost helps them soften!
DS potty trained quickly (and was non-verbal) at 2, partially I felt as he knew that weeing felt wet, modern nappies are so good that I don’t think the connection is easy to make.
I did use disposable nappies when he caught rotavirus as I couldn’t keep up with the washing!

I used them all through my maternity leave and found them easy enough, but once back at work I just didn’t have time to wash them more than once a week, and didn’t have enough of a stash to last the week. I’m a primary teacher and every waking moment during the working week is accounted for, and I work from the moment DD goes to bed until 10 or 11pm. We don’t have a tumble dryer, so washing at the weekends is a careful balance of getting things dried on time.

Tried to start again during the summer but turns out my toddler is now too chunky for the BTP ones!!!

@Hardbackwriter I haven’t actually ever expressed an inability to understand why some people find it hard.

[quote KatyClaire]@Hardbackwriter I haven’t actually ever expressed an inability to understand why some people find it hard.[/quote]
What, apart from starting a faux-naive thread asking, wide-eyed, why everyone doesn't use reusable nappies and positing that it must just be that they're misinformed or don't know enough about them?!

@lockeddownandcrazy

"Plus the energy used to wash and dry them is as environmentally damaging as the disposables and makes them just as expensive."
This is not true, they are still better for the environment.

@Hardbackwriter oh behave, you know fine well I haven’t done that.

Also all those saying OP is a new mum so doesn't know what it's like.... that's as may be, but actually I think it's much better if you go straight into cloth nappies from birth. We did and never ever went back. Whereas I know loads of people who said they wanted to use cloth nappies (and even bought a load) but said they would use disposables "just at first", and then got so used to using disposables they never switched.

Washing and drying them never seemed like a huge faff for us. We never bucket soaked. Breastfed newborn poo doesn't smell bad anyway, and once they are older, the majority of the poo falls off straight into the loo before putting it in a bucket. A nappy bucket with a lid is no more smelly or disgusting than a bin full of disposables. In fact probably less so because you empty it more frequently.

We saved a fortune because our nappies and wipes were used for three children, and then we sold them on afterwards ( and wipes later got used as cleaning cloths etc once they were all potty trained). And no, before anyone says so, there is nothing disgusting about second hand washable nappies. They get washed you know....

Or did your children never have a nappy leak or accident in their pants?

Of course, but the soiled item was scrubbed in the sink first then soaked in something like Violets, then put through a hot wash with bio powder and Dettol Laundry.

If it was badly soiled eg a white sleepsuit or pair of knickers I just binned it, some things it’s impossible to remove stains from and not worth the hassle or running the machine.

Also most nurseries won’t take children in cloth, they want disposables as it’s more hygienic than wet bags of soiled nappies hanging from pegs all day. And I’m sure staff don’t want to scrape poo off nappies by hand when they could just dispose of it in a yellow bag!

I was pretty sure we’d only have one child so it didn’t seem quite as worth it for us. And obviously having one child means our footprint is smaller anyway.

I've never had any issues with any nurseries or childminders taking washable nappies. Certainly not a problem in my area. I would hope most nurseries would adjust just fine really and wouldn't be impressed if they couldn't handle it.