how difficult and time consuming are reusablel nappies?

[DuelingFanjo]

My DH is not keen on what he calls the extra work of real nappies. I am not keen on adding to landfill with disposables.

Can someone simply explain how reusable nappies like bum genius work? Do you just wack them in the washing machine or soak them first or put the turds down the loo?

I have honestly not found them much work at all. I dry bucket them with a few drops of tea tree oil, then a couple of times per week I do a nappy wash at 40. As I'm doing so much washing anyway at the moment (who'd have thought such a tiny creature would create so much washing?!), two more loads per week really don't make any difference.

It is the landfill aspect that bothers me, and I was prepared for loads of extra hassle in order not to use disposables. But it's really not.

(Re poos, pre-weaning they are so liquid you don't need to dispose of them prior to washing. Post weaning, my mum tells me you just flush the liner in the loo then wash as before!)

Go for it!! Will it really be your DH doing the extra work anyway ?

No trouble, and very little extra work imo.

I dry pailed (ie, chuck in bucket), and then washed at 40. If not pooey, then they went in a mixed wash, otherwise a nappy only wash.

Upsides - you never worry about running out of nappies (i've stayed over unexpectedly with DS and just bunged my dirty nappy bag in their washing machine and therefore no worries), I've only ever had one poo explosion (wheras disposable users seemed to have poo escapes regularly), and you save money

Bum Genius is an all in one (aio) whereas some are 2 parters (nappy plus cover (pvc/wool/fleece). An aio is just like a disposable, in that there aren't lots of 'parts' only you wash it rather than throw it away.

There are various brands and even an AIO can be a one size (birth - potty training) or sized. It's pluses and minuses on both sides. It's infinitely cheaper to get a one size, but they tend not to fit as well as a sized nappy.

It's not that much more work. I had 2 in nappies at one stage and did an extra load every day. Not sure the bin would have coped

so how many will I reawsonably need? I was planning on disposables at the very start but quickly moving on to re-usables.

And yes, sounds like I will be doing the bulk of the work but I will stop washing his stuff so I have more time for the nappies.

Dueling - I use the Bumgenius V3 pocket nappies and don't really find them much work. My DH doesn't find them any extra work at all as I wash and assemble them so for him its not really any different than disposables.

I dry pail them and wash at 40deg. Once dry I stuff the inserts back into the pockets and then they are ready for DH to just put straight on, no more tricky for him than disposables.

I had 15 nappies which was about enough but recently bought a few more and now have 20 which is plenty for one baby (though I need more now with 2 in nappies)

My DD2 is about 6 weeks now and I'm going to try her in them later on, I tried last week and her thighs weren't chubby enough for them so she is still in disposables. My DD1 was chubbier and she was in them by 6weeks.

I didnt find them that much more work at all. Im really lazy when it comes to washing and DD never run out of a nappy yet pmsl. I dry pail and wash every 2 days, sometimes chuck in the odd towel to make up a full load. I dont have a dryer so mine go outside or on the airer if raining. My DP didnt want us to use them at first but now he realises they are not much different to reusables he loves them!

dueling I used Sandy's Extra Small initially (and again on DC2 and sold for a third of what I paid for them ) and then sized nappies. Think I had about 18?

There are various nappy web sites, but Kittykins have an on line calculator that takes into account things such as hardness/softness of water, drying method etc.

You are wise to use disposables for 1st week or so.

I'm nearing the end of my nappying experience (fingers crossed) but when I've used disposables (holidays etc) I've found them more hassle than reusables. Once you move onto more 'grown up' poos post-weaning, being able to just flush them down the loo is great, the nappies aren't left with much on at all. My nappy bucket doesn't smell much at all. Having to deal with a nappy sack & pooey disposable is horrible.

I use all in ones now, but used terry towelling squares with nappy nippas and wraps when mine were little as they were very cheap (about £2 each, although wraps were more) and quick to dry. I became a little obsessed with different folds and enjoyed my nappies much more than you would a disposable!

Don't worry at the moment about how many you'll need. Buy a couple of different types, try them out, then buy more of the kind you like as you need them.

I used Totsbots on my DD, it's a two-part system, and honestly was no extra hassle than disposables. Two or three extra loads a week and they dried quite quickly, even on clothes horses in the winter. We had 24 and never ran out. Dry pailed also, with either tea tree or lime essential oils - flush the, erm, solids down the loo - you can get flushable liners too. I kept them in a separate load, but there's no reason why you can't put them in with the rest of the washing.

Try your local council - some offer a trial service (ours does), where you get to borrow a selection of nappies. Also, see if you have an real nappy advisor near to you or google The Nappy Lady - they are very helpful and offer great advice.

HTH

thanks all. I eed to do more research I think but will maybe ask my SIL as I know she's used them.

Have checked out the council and they don't do a scheme ehe that I am aware of (Cardiff) so will look into buying some myself I do thik there is a nappy advisor though so I will get in touch with her.

Just had a look. Amazing, but you're right about Cardiff not doing a scheme. They do offer a loan, if that's any use?

here

oh fab, thank you ... I'm going to chase that up

Just wanted to add that I use BG v3 on my DS (20 weeks) and they're no hassle at all!

I wash a load every 2-3 days (at 30 degrees, using my normal ecover powder plus a scoop of Bio D nappy fresh) and they dry overnight (even though we do have an outside line, so I stick them in the sun when I need some help removing stains). Takes minutes out of my week to assemble them and then they're just like a disposable (though much cuter!) in terms of ease of use.

I dry pail them with a couple of drops of tea tree oil and use wet bags for when out and about and have had no problems with smells. I have liners for when we start weaning and have "proper" poo to deal with.

While I did use disposables in the early weeks (was recovering from a c-section) I only use them now on holidays and definitely prefer the bum genius...am quite proud that we're teaching DS by example in terms of trying to tread a bit more lightly on the planet.

Also, if you do get washables then I'd recommend washable wipes as well. I went with cheeky wipes, but they're quite expensive (but worth it in terms of the use I've gotten out of them) and would be very easy to do yourself with flannels...they're so lovely (and convenient) and a lot less harsh on the skin than disposable wipes.

Good luck whatever you decide!

Just to let you know that while Cardiff City Council don't offer a scheme South Wales Nappies have just introduced an incentive discount scheme for Cardiff residents when they buy nappies in their shop or over the phone!