To think cloth nappies are hard work

[Mummyof287]

So I'm privileged to be benefiting from a months free cloth nappy trial from a local organisation.
It's only day one, so early days and would like to give them a good go.

All started well this morning, the nice lady dropped them off, then i spent awhile getting to grips with them and watched the video about how to use them.
Felt the pocket ones would be preferable, so popped one on DD and was pleasantly surprised by how much comfier they looked than disposables, and loved the colourful designs too.

Went out to the shops though, and part way through took 8mo baby out of her carseat to find that poo had leaked all out the top at the front and was all over her dress, in her tummy button etc (which i get can happen with diposables at times also) but the nappy itself was absolutely covered too (the thin disposable liner I had put in was all crumpled up inside the pooey nappy!)

I spent some time with her on the grass area in the retail park carpark trying to sort it all out, and now am panicking I won't be able to remove the poo stains from the blooming nappy (it's currently in a cold water soak in an old bowl ready to go in the washing machine....obviously don't want to use chemicals on it.

I thought I had fitted it right, and that the liners would catch most of the poo so it didn't end up in the washing machine, but maybe I used them wrong? I also thought that the padded removable parts would just need to be washed after being weed on, meaning I wouldn't have to wash the whole nappy, but doesn't seem to be the case? If so it would never be affordable for me as I'd get through loads before wash day.She has only just started eating a fair bit of solid food, and is still breastfed alot, so her poos aren't particularly well formed yet.

Am I missing something/not using them correctly, or are they actually rather a faff and that's the price to pay for a healthier, environmentally friendly product?

Don't give up, they are fantastic. You will soon find out what works and get in a routine. I never looked back. The bamboozles were my favourite, it was a while ago though -soft, lovely creamy colour, always came up spotless. With Motherease covers. (That way you get two lines of defense against poonamis, compared to the all in ones, and they dry quicker.)

It’s 30 years plus since I had DC in nappies but disposables were too expensive
I thought cloth was more eco friendly too
it was best to get into a routine and then wasn’t a huge issue

I tried them in a nappy trial. Hated then with an absolute passion. I'd rather hug Boris Johnson with Covid than try then again if I have another child.

I use reusable swimming nappies, but that's as far as I'll go. They aren't for everyone.

They're definitely more with than disposable, but it's ok once you have a system.

They leak less once you've worked out the fitting. You never run out (definitely a bonus when nappies were scarce in crazy 2020 times). You don't have a bin full of stinking plastic.

It takes a while to get into your stride with them. I agree that fleece liners are better than disposable ones. You should be able to just hold liner in the loo and blast poo off with the flush. There's a knack to it! We used to dry pail and do a nappy wash maybe twice a week. No soaking. Fleece liner prevented poo stains and drying in the sun helped too.

People get a bit weird about them, as if there weren't plenty of other sources of plastic waste to worry about. But it's easy enough once you get going.

i recommend the flushing dirty nappies in the toilet and then dry pailing method (wet ones go in wet bag, turn it out in the washer). I thought the soaking would be a real faff, didn’t realise that’s not necessary.

Then I just do one short cold wash to rinse out the baddies and a long 50 or 60 wash, sometimes with an extra rinse, every 3 days. When you’re doing so much washing anyway it’s not much more and they are just SO cute

We didn’t find them much faff, flick poo off into bucket with mesh bag and then into the machine. Very few leaks compared to disposables. We tended to use disposables on holiday though. (And that was the worst poonami ever!)

However some of the cloth nappy groups can be a bit cult like and the competition over certain prints - they were going for ridiculous prices a few years ago. Ignore all of that and any that you use are going to be better than a disposable sitting in landfill, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Once you’ve worked out the ones that suit you then you can get some second hand or new.

Strip washing can help with the cardboard feel - you need to get rid of all traces of detergent. And even in November putting them on a window sill on a sunny day can help get rid of the stains.

You can get nappy rash with disposables as well as cloth.

Yeah it took me a while to get into the grove but now I don't even think about it. Using pad folds and wraps with DD but just bought a load of Terry's for DD due soon so we'll see how we get used to that.

Used cloth for all 4 of mine - had 3 in them at one time! Once you find the ones that work for you and you're in a routine it's easy. Pockets were not for me. Bright coloured popper (not velcro) wraps, mother ease popper (again no velcro) with paper inserts. Dry nappy pail with mesh insert in the house and waterproof bag for out and about. Line drying whenever possible or on a clothes horse in the window to bleach.

The only thing I regret is the cloth baby wipes as they broke two washing machines. One by getting stuck on the element - no idea how it got there - and the other was constantly getting them in the drain despite the use of mesh bags, it was a monthly session of tipping the damn thing up and playing search for the lost wipe.