Are reusable cloth nappies practical, affordable and manageable day to day?

[DChesh34]

Question for parents who have used “Terry towels”/reusable cloth nappies please.

1. are they are difficult as they seem?
2. are they feasible for being out and about?
3. how do they compare money-wise?
4. does your washing machine end up always on (as though it isn’t already with a family of 4)?

Trying to be a bit environmentally friendly (used Pura nappies with my first to avoid plastic) but is having a washing machine on constantly that friendly??

Feedback/guidance appreciated!
TIA

I’ve never used them but a friend did

she had liners in them all and they still need binning

she was constantly washing and would only wash them on their own for obvious reasons and daily so they didn’t build up

out and about? Liners aren’t full proof / I wouldn’t want a dirty one of them in my baby bag all day, would you???

I bought a huge pile of reusable nappies with my DS and couldn't cope with the washing, the liners and the faffing about. I was shown once how to put the nappies on then never looked at them again which didn't help... I think I tried to do it once, fell apart and put the nappy, poop and all straight into the bin and sent DH out for disposables.

I was massively overwhelmed when I had my son so maybe if you are better prepared?

I did the maths on this with my last child. If you only do it for one child, and use tumble dryer for at least part of the year (I live in Scotland so would realistically be 8-9 months), then would possibly be cheaper than pampers but more expensive than supermarket own brand. That doesn't account for environmental impact though.

I wasn't able to justify it.

They take some getting used to.

You need to find ones that work for you - and needs change as baby grows.

They affect the clothes that you can dress the baby in - they are much bulkier than disposables.

I don't think there's anything wrong with a mix - so you can buy a few and use them at home for a while and continue using disposables outside or at night if needed.

Washing wise, used a wet pail to soak them and then did a wash every few days. Poo was scraped into the loo first.

I used them with DD1 in the summer when I could line dry them. Using the tumble dryer for them felt a bit counter productive? I would put her in a disposable if we were going out for a while, and only took disposables in the change bag. We also used disposables overnight, so I reckon it worked out to about 50/50 reusable and disposable?

DD2 I decided we were already struggling with daily routines, laundry etc so didn’t use them to begin with, then a friend was having a baby and keen to try so I gave her our bundle.

Some areas have a voucher to get some for free, or you can get a bundle on marketplace etc cheap, which is what I did. Ran them through a hot wash but I think they were unused anyway. You need to have a few to make attempting them viable, really, so the cost does mount up if you get them new.

I predominantly used reuseable nappies with both my children. I used fleece liners rather than disposable ones, so they just get washed too. I generally washed 2-3 days at a time and used disposables overnight. I think drying them caused more issues than washing them.

Carrying dirty nappies wasn’t great but wet nappies were no problem. You just take a washable dry bag with you to put them in.

I didn’t find it unmanageable and when we went on holiday I used disposables and was shocked at the huge amount of extra rubbish.

I think the sliced bread podcast did an episode on this and it turned out environmentally wise not very different. Worth a listen if you have time

My kids are older now but I used cloth nappies and wipes for both. Once you get into a routine with them, they’re easy. Just make sure you have enough to see you through multiple changes and for a good couple of days at least. I used biodegradable/flushable liners (easier to get rid of solids) then fleece and bamboo pads/liners to increase absorbancy/stop leaks. I had different brands that I tried out and figured which worked best for us.

I used a lidded bucket for the wipes and nappies (with napisan) for soaking and then threw in wash with some stuff to sanitise and clean them. After the kids were toilet trained and out of nappies, I sold them on. I kept the cloth wipes as they were/are really handy. During Covid, I used the cloth wipes like toilet paper (for wees!) to eke out the meagre supply of toilet roll that was at home.

pros: works out cheaper overall, there are some cool looking nappies, you can sell them on afterwards. I bought a lot of them preloved and they were fine. It equated to one or two washes a week as I’d accumulated plenty.

cons: you do have to stay on top of the washing/drying/folding them. Oh and larger cost layout initially.

I've used them on two babies and found them to be perfectly manageable. I used a few new, but mostly secondhand and some vintage terry nappies. No tumble dryer. I've looked at a couple of stories that said they weren't all that environmentally, but they were looking at new nappies only used for one child, tumble drying everything and one even factored in ironing FFS. My council gives money towards them, they will give it for secondhand e.g. eBay purchases.

Also used flannels instead of wipes and washed them with the nappies. Wipes are rubbish.

My kids were born 2001, 2003 and 2005 and I used washable nappies the whole time. Started with terry squares, liners and plastic pants then discovered shaped washables and moved on to those. I had two nappy buckets, one for the pants then later the wraps I moved on to and one for the nappies. Washer was only on three extra times a week. I used them for years. No issues.

We really wanted to use them with our first and I borrowed a set from a nappy library to try but I just couldn’t get on with them. Leaks everytime and so I was doing full outfit changes every nappy change and it was just too much. I wonder if I might have got on better when she got bigger and they might have fitted better.

What I would say though is that the reusable wipes were great - more effective than disposable ones and easy enough to wash and dry and I felt like we were doing at least a bit for the environment even if we couldn’t manage the nappies too. We used cheeky wipes.

I had planned to and arranged to borrow a complete set from the local nappy library when my baby was about six weeks old.
The nappy library volunteer was terrifying, made it all seem
incredibly complicated and was
very scathing about my parenting as I wasn’t exclusively breastfeeding (apparently this made using cloth nappies harder?!).
I went home in tears, spent a fortnight looking at the pile of nappies feeling
too intimidated to use them, then left them outside her house without seeing her.
I suppose at least I didn’t waste any money on them. We used the eco
disposables and were very happy with how these worked.

Having seen a few friends use cloth nappies it can work if you’re prepared to try a few different ones, work on getting the best fit and be prepared for leaks.

Ive used them with two babies. Nappy Lady is useful site. Our council gives a voucher. Cheeky wipes are great, lot less smearing than with wet wipes. We still have a pile of coloured ones for hands and face on our kitchen table.

I used disposable for first few weeks, then tried them out at home. Used disposable on holiday. I used the disposable liners in mine. Washed every 2nd day but fairly easy habit.

I used them. Absolutely fine to manage work wise and saved a fortune i expect as long as you line dry. I used prefold nappies and wraps- 24 wraps did 2 kids including at the same time, and I had 4 wraps in each size (you don’t need to use a clean one unless it gets well you know!) I sold them after I used them for the same as I paid, 4 years later. I had a large laundry room with lines for drying when weather wasn’t good

I used disposables for the first few weeks because the prefolds are too big for tiny babies like mine were (6lbers)

I used them with 2.5 babies - the half because baby #3 got nappy rash at around 12 months that I couldn't get under control with the washables.

Loved them. Found them really easy to get on with - but prob easiest after about 3 months when baby is a bit chunkier! Our nursery has no problem using them either.

Bought lots second hand & didn't get caught up in the cycle of buying latest release designs, etc. Sold them on afterwards. Had both flushable liners and fleece liners for solids. Washed twice per week. No dryer in our house.

Washable wipes are brilliant. They're still used as washcloths in our house nearly 20 years later.

I had kids at a similar time and used them for all of mine too. Amazing, I really don’t see what the fuss is about.
For the first 2, because we thought the investment was a risk, we used prefolds with sized overpants as they were cheap. They were good enough, and the larger size paid for themselves many times over. The smaller size was from birth to about 4 months, so less worth the investment but I still have one, (so cute!).
Washing was easy, just put them in a bucket with the washing nets and then throw the whole lot in the machine without touching them when ready. We lived in a flat so I chose a quick drying option.
For the third I bought a second hand bum genius set, they really were amazing. Quick to dry, birth to potty, easy to wash. By this time I’d found out about fleece liners, so much better than the papery ones.
For me it was just 3 extra washes a week, I might rinse them and add other clothes, and really not a big deal. I also liked that the poop went straight down the toilet where it belonged. Friends who used disposables often had plastic wrapped used nappies stinking up the bin, even if it was one of those special nappy bins.

Financially, it Depends where you live/water type, how youll dry them, whether you have a water meter and how restrained or otherwise you are with extras / accessories.

Basic costs, supermarket nappies beat reusables just on running costs if you have hard water and a water meter.

Reusables beat branded disposables if you’re reasonably restrained on buying extras, use cheap washing powder, line dry them and dont have a water meter.

I used them for 2. We washed probably every other day, had a bucket with a net and a big weight on top I stole from work. We had a dryer in the winter, though any sunshine and out they went. I had waterproof bags I carried the wet ones in if out.
We always flicked the poo down the loo ( I did this with disposables too).
Also used flannels as wipes, hated wipes so slimy.

I had 2 in washables at the same time. Used the nappy style ones and fleece liners. All poo went down loo and nappy into dry bucket. Washed everything few days, loved line drying them ❤️
Nursery used them.too so that was easy.

Yes they're fine, especially once you're in a routine. We occasionally used disposables on holiday and hated the way they always smell faintly of wee.

I absolutely loved them. Used disposables for the first few weeks and when on holidays abroad but otherwise used reusables full time. We used fleece liners and tipped the poo down the loo and flushed water onto the liner if it was more liquidy. We had a nappy pail in the utility room and washed every 2-3 days. We had rails that hung over the radiators to dry them in the winter. A massive bonus is they contain poo really well. I don’t recall ever having a poo explosion, whereas with disposables there’s often poo going up their back or out a leg.

I bought most of mine secondhand and sold them on afterwards.

Oh and nursery were fine with them too, although they did just chuck them in a wet bag for us to deal with at home at the end of the day.

Agree reusable wipes are definitely worth it, even if you don’t want to commit to nappies too. They work so much better than wetwipes and come in handy for years to come for grubby hands and faces.