Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

No washing line, no tumble dryer, can I use washable nappies?

42 replies

hopingforanother · 02/06/2010 16:01

I have no garden- hence no washing line and no tumble dryer. Well - I have a washer-dryer, but the dryer takes a VERY long time to dry anything and to all intents and purposes, may as well not be there.

Can I use reusable, washable nappies, with any degree of success?

Has anyone tried it?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
AngelDog · 02/06/2010 21:01

Mine are Wilkos right price flannels (but Fibilou, I'm gutted as they were more expensive than the Sainsbury's ones! I store them in a tupperware food box, and use a solution of cold cammomile tea, a few drops of lavender oil and a tbs of vegetable oil.

Teatree oil is good for antibacterial action, but some babies can have a bad reaction to it, apparently (according to The Nappy Lady website, that is).

Lionstar · 02/06/2010 21:02

With the terry squares you would obviously need some kind of wrap. Boots do the old style plastic pants, or you can bring things up to date with something like a Motherease Airflow which has poppers so much more adjustable - you will need different sizes though as baby grows.

I would definately recommend Nappy Nippas for holding the terries together rather than old fashioned nappy pins.

You might want to have a few extra boosters for overnights e.g. hemp or bamboo. But you can always use bigger terries or them up or use a muslin, or even an old owel cut up and hemmed.

You might also want to use a liner of some kind - flushable paper or fleece to catch the solids and make them much easier to dispose of. In the early days of liquid poo a liner wont make much odds and you can just chuck it all in the washing machine (honest!). When it gets more solid then having a liner will probably make more sense. I use fleece (keeps the wet away from the skin) and I just used a cheap fleece blanket cut up in hourglass shapes.

You will probably want to have a waterproof bag of some kind to store dirty nappies in when out and about, with a zip to keep the smells in. You can buy them in different sizes, or look for an adequate wash bag.

A nappy bucket is of course essential, try and get the biggest you can - at least 14 litres. No need to saok nappies, just dry-pail and wash every 2 days at least. You can add some tea-tree oils to the bucket to keep smells down.

Finally washable wipes are a no-brainer when you are already washing nappies. As others have said cheap flannels do the job well. IKEA do a cheap pack of 10. I find I only use 1 per change (use loo paper too to remove the worst first), they have much more surface area and friction than a paper wipe. I use tupperware which holds 10 flannels comfortably and pour over a cup of chamomile tea with a little squirt of baby wash and sometimes some tea tree oil. You can take them out on the go in a ziploc bag.

Hope this helps!

Lionstar · 02/06/2010 21:05

Must preview sorry!

"But you can always use bigger terries or cut them up or use a muslin, or even an old towel cut up and hemmed."

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

RobynLou · 02/06/2010 21:09

Yes, I lived in a flat with no outdoor space, just a clothes airer for drying and dd was only ever in cloth. We used flat terry nappies that you fold with plastic pants over the top - very 1970s...
the flat terries are great because they dry so so quickly, we did have some of the fancier ones which we were given as presents, but they all took an age to dry in comparison - the terries would all be dry in a couple of hours.
The folds are incredibly simple too - after a few you can do them in your sleep (literally.....)

RobynLou · 02/06/2010 21:13

Ah I should have read other's posts - plenty of terry fans here already
we used nappy nippas, the cheapness of them is fab, means we could have loads and so didn't have to wash everyday. (DD even wore some terry's my mum had stashed in the loft - second generation!!! now THATS ecologically sound )

RobynLou · 02/06/2010 21:13

^ cheapness of the terries, not the nippas.....

hopingforanother · 02/06/2010 21:45

Wow! Thank you all so much for the info! The cheapness, simplicity and quick dry of terry squares is very appealing. You have filled me with terry confidence, and my mum agrees :-) Sadly RobynLou my mum didn't offer any she'd stored away...

I like the look of tots bots covers, but I think it will be much easier to start off with a small selection of different covers with simple terry squares as it seems you can use quite a few different ones, and then we can hone in our favourites as DS gets bigger.

Lionstar thanks for the guide - this is exactly what I needed to know

Even DH is enthused by the colourful outer wraps you can get! We didn't even think about there being other kinds of nappies when DD was born, it's nice to have the luxury of hindsight - I just don't want to be so disposable this time around! And it was so expensive...

OP posts:
RobynLou · 02/06/2010 21:53

I got bored with our's going a bit grey and dyed some terries crazy colours later on too.....

all my disposable using friends were always having leaks, only a couple of dd's truly nuclear poo's ever escaped our terries!

Fibilou · 02/06/2010 22:05

"DD even wore some terry's my mum had stashed in the loft - second generation!!! now THATS ecologically sound "

Same here - we have 16 of the 1976 models. They are my fave !

peachybums · 02/06/2010 22:08

Yep we have some of the sock dryers, the ones with the pegs on, i peg my BG on them then hang on shower rail infront of window to dry. I also have an over bath airer which i fill if sock dryers are full.

RobynLou · 02/06/2010 22:10

fibilou

RobynLou · 02/06/2010 22:11

is it wrong that at 8 weeks pg with number two, discussing terries on this thread is the first time I've felt genuinely excited about having another baby?!?!

hopingforanother · 03/06/2010 15:27

RobynLou I feel a bit extra excited now having made a nappy decision!

Thanks all - I'm really glad I posted and you've helped me feel quite confident about what stuff I can use, what I need to get and that it isn't a silly idea!

OP posts:
RobynLou · 03/06/2010 19:04

do remember to get a few disposables for the first couple of days, esp if you're in hospital.
I spent so long finding out about terrys that I didn't look at the disposables at all, packed a few in my bag and didn't know what to do with them - I thought they were peel off and stick type things, but they were velcro and I was peeling off the bits that made them stick, so poor dd's nappies fell off for the first day or so until a midwife took pity on me....

hopingforanother · 04/06/2010 10:30

Thanks RobynLou I have some newborn disposable nappies left from DD! I don't suppose they have a use by date... This time if I'm in hospital, I'll also be taking antibacterial cleaning wipes, food and a good book. We were in for 4 days last time and they were long, long days...

Oh slightly veered off there!

OP posts:
EasilyConfusedIndith · 04/06/2010 14:46

I have some nappies from the 1950s that my gran used on my mum and handed over to me all beautifully white and starched as well as some that were used on my sister and I. They don't look quite so well kept now . Do I win the eco race?

RobynLou · 04/06/2010 16:19

3rd generation beats my 2nd generation ones! anyone using victorian heirloom nappies?

New posts on this thread. Refresh page