Washing cloth nappies

[ukfirestorm]

I plan to use cloth nappies when our dd arrives, but not sure we could keep up with the washing schedule, and we dont have a tumble dryer, do we need to get one before we attempt this

how do laundry services work?

I can't help wrt laundry services sorry.

As for drying nappies, it really depends which nappies you buy. I used 2 part bamboo for dd1 and they took ages to dry and went a bit hard so I used the drier to fluff them up and finish them off. Dd2 is in pocket nappies which dry much faster so I don't use the drier at all. I don't find it hard to keep up - I do a wash every other day and they dry on airers in front of radiators at the moment, they'll go outside in the spring.

I didn't have a tumble drier when I had dd1 in cloth.

I used Motherease Onesize Dry, and airflow wraps. I had about 15 nappies, and had enough space to have an airet up permanently.

I washed every 24/36 hours, and it worked out ok.

Same with dd2.

Now I have ds, and I chuck the lot in the drier! Much easier, especially with school runs etc to contend with.

I haven't ever used a laundry service so can't help with that.

I use pocket nappies too but have a bamboo booster in them to make them last a bit longer. I wash about every 3 days and stick them by the fire or on radiator in the winter and onthe line in the summer.
There's a good nappy website called www.clothnappytree.com where you'l be able to find lots of helpful info altho you might be a bit overwhelmed when you first go on - I was!!!
Rebecca

is it difficult to work the liner bits etc ( i should add im a an expectant dad not mum) would i need 15 nappies? feel like cloth is the right choice but worried we might have a house full of wet nappies contstantly!

How many nappies you need depends on what type of nappy (ie how fast they dry), and how often you expect to wash.

Pocket nappies can be really fast drying, as all the inserts come out. You can also have extra inserts and not so many outers. Bamboo takes much longer to dry - I have a couple of bamboo boosters and even using a drier they still need bunging on the radiator for a bit.

I use Charlie Banana pocket nappies with ds, and am very happy with them.

You don't need liners with pocket nappies, they are lined with fleece that keeps dd's bottom lovely and dry (far better than my bamboos did with a separate fleece liner). You can use paper liners with some nappies but I never have so I can't advise you there.

My nappies are from little lambs, I've got the OSFA (one size fits all) ones. They do special offers all the time - I got 16 for £64 (17 in fact as one had a missing popper which they replaced straight away). You would need at least 15 - we generally get through 5 a day, newborns tend to go through even more than that, so I usually have just about enough to manage.

ukfirestorm google for "The Nappy Lady" - she can offer advice on what type of nappy would suit you best in terms of how often you can wash, what your drying facilities are like, etc. She's a little swamped at the moment, so may not be able to get back to you straight away, but if you fill in the advice form on her website, she can give you some proposals. If you are anywhere near her, you can also visit for a demo session - she is based in Surrey.

Sorry I just linked to a nursery , it's .com not .co.uk - try this

And if you 'like' their fb page you get sent offers and get access to their sales before everyone else.

I use real nappies and I don't tumble dry them. Have a look at The Nappy Lady website and you'll find nappies with quick drying times.

I like AIO nappies and I mostly use BumGenuis V4. I find they dry on the airer within 6-8 hours.

And look into what your local authority offer - ours will come out and see you and lend you some to try, and I claimed £50 back for each child for the nappies

Thanks guy my local authority offer 30 quid back which is good.

Sorry to be dense but with the little lamb ones you just wash the whole thing? Sounds easier.

I use a mixture of Fuzzibunz, Bumgenius and a really cheap brand called Sunbaby. Iv'e got about 20 or so - can't quite remember. I bought and sold a few different brands - all 2nd hand until I worked out what was best for us as it was quite difficult to start off with.
One tip though - if you do use them I'd definitely invest in some flushable liners once your baby's on solid food - means you can just chuck contents down the loo and makes cleaning FAR easier........... (I use totsbots flushable liners and get them from Amazon and they were a REVELATION).

I used a laundry service for a while, it was dead easy. They delivered a big bin & bin liners, I stored the used nappies in there & once a week left it outside for them to collect. At the same time they left a bag full of clean nappies for me. It was prefolds (flat nappies like this www.goreal.org.uk/which/type/prefolds) & wraps, I washed the wraps.

Now I wash my own, don't have a tumble dryer. I have about 30 but I could manage with 20. All second hand or bought with the council grant. I have a mix of Tots Bots bamboozles & bamboo terries, so I use separate wraps. I wash about 2/3 times a week.

It seems really complicated when you are starting out (or it did to me), I found it easiest just to get started & figure it all out as I went along

There are FB selling groups btw, that seem good to me. Search preloved cloth, cloth nappies for sale etc. I've bought a couple of times off there. Also clothnappytree has a for sale section that I have bought off.

Yes, with the little lamb OSFAs you just chuck the lot in at 40 degrees and the inserts just fall out in the wash. With their bamboo ones I used to wash the nappies at 60 and the wraps went in the normal wash.

I don't use liners, any solid poos just fall straight off into the toilet. Before weaning there's no need to do that. I dry pail them in a bucket lined with a net, then at wash time just chuck the whole net in the wash, wipe out the bucket and that's it!

how do you find laundry services are they dead pricey?

yes, pricey - you are paying for the convenience though. I was paying about £50 a month. I stopped after a couple of months because it just wasn't worth it to me. My council paid for a trial month though.

I wash every other day (although when DC2 arrives might have to wash every day.. ). Just make sure you have enough nappies to last you for whatever washing/drying schedule you are on. I have a tumble drier but prefer not to use it as it would just negate the whole 'good for the environment' bit. It's definitely possible to use real nappies without even having a tumble drier.

I dry my nappies on an airer in an unheated room. The nappies (microfibre) take a bit over 24 hours, the bamboo boosters I use can take a bit longer. Obviously would be quicker if I turned on the heating in that room, but haven't found the need to. All my nappies tend to be on the airer for 48 hours though (I take them off when I hang out the next wash) at which point they're definitely dry. For a young baby you'll probably need more nappies, but fwiw we started with DS at 12mo and have 16 nappies. It is very rare that we run out of nappies between washes (we use disposables at night though).