Disposable or Reusable nappies?

[Newlywed123]

Firstly what will you be using and why?

Wanted to use reusable for my daughter but didn't know which were better etc so used disposable. Thinking of using reusable with this baby.

Does anyone know what brand is reliable but affordable?

Tia

Ok, is this a really stupid question... how do you wash the reusables? Like the really dirty ones? I promise that I am not a terrible mother and I have successfully raised an 11 year old to date - I used disposables then for the same reason... didn't really know what I would do with disgusting nappies??

Well, I used liners right from the off, and sometimes I would hose them into the toilet to remove the excess, sometimes not, depending. But they wash much more easily than poo after the baby has weaned anyway.

After weaning, the liner would be either dumped down the loo, or the poo tipped down and the liner put in the wash bin with the nappy.

So you get rid of as much of the poo as possible down the loo.

Then, prior to washing, my nappies would get 24h soak in Napisan, which would then be tipped away too - and the nappies go into the machine after that. This means that there wasn't much "solid waste" going into the machine, and I never had any problems with residue or after-smell.

DS's poo is fairly solid now, so goes straight down the toilet. Nappies stored ('dry', rather than being soaked) in nappy bucket with net bag/liner. When the bucket is full, bag goes in the washer and I do one or two cold rinse cycles (only two if he's teething and nappies are extra minging), then normal wash at 40 or 60, then extra rinse cycle and a spin cycle because the rinse cycle on my washer only spins at half speed.

BF poo when newborn was pretty much rinsed out after the first rinse, no need to get rid of it down the toilet. The in between stage of weaning can be nasty, I tended to use the so-called 'flushable' liners instead of fleece ones then.

Drying wise: Microfibre nappies dry the quickest but are the least absorbent - can be useful for newborns though as they go through nappies quicker anyway. Cotton nappies take a little longer, but are more absorbant. Bamboo and hemp nappies take the longest to dry but are super absorbent, and a good choice for nappies worn overnight.

glinda - Re-usables aren't (usually) one "all in one" nappy. They normally have a separate cloth part which actually absorbs the wee/takes the poo, then the outer "shell" which is waterproof. For some types, you can change the cloth part and chuck it in the wash, but re-use the outer "shell" a few times. Some you can't and have to wash with every change. There are lots of different types available.

Nappies/cloths filled with wee or poo during breastfeeding can go straight in the wash.

Once the baby is eating food, the poo gets scraped down the loo (or flushed with a flushable liner down the loo), then the cloth gets rinsed and washed.

Even with disposables, everyone should be flushing the poo (once weaned) down the toilet. It does actually say this on the vast majority - if not all - disposable nappy packs. Human excrement in land fill sites is a major cause of disease and the spread of disease. It's shameful how many people are too lazy to do it.

You can use both - I mix and match depending on how busy we are etc. I have mainly Charlie Banana which I am pleased with. Definetly get cheeky wipes whether or not you intend to use reuseables or not. Aldi disposables are the best IMO. I use a two part Tots Bots bamboozle as a night nappy.

The best benefit of reuseables is that children in cloth tend to potty train much earlier - DD is dry at day at 2yrs 4 months.

Thanks Seffina

We've been using gNappies for our 5 week old for about a fortnight. His nappy rash has cleared right up, and although we have had a few wee leaks, they happen with disposables too (DS is just a champion wee-er!). I like 'em as they're sooo adorable, breathable and easy, and you can choose either disposable biodegradable liners or cloth ones (or both). We're currently on disposable liners but plan to make the change to cloth ones at some point. We have 8 pairs of the pants which last us about 2-3 days before we need to put them through the wash.

Have been watching this with interest as also thinking about going down the reusable route and it's good to hear all your positive experiences. I did the nappy lady survey (as suggested by a couple of people earlier in the thread) and have had a really helpful response. Tots bots also have a special offer on their trial pack so might give that a go too....

I just need to say that, despite verypunny's positive experience, that doesn't always work. DS1 was in cloth nappies throughout the day (except when we went on holiday) and he wasn't toilet trained until he was 3.10. He was trained for poo a good year prior to that, but it took a lot longer to get him round to working out when he was going to wee.

Tots Bots Stretch are good, I've got some that I use as night nappies as they still give a good fit even with an extra booster in.

Even if people decide to use disposables, reusable swimming nappies can be good if you go swimming a lot, and you can also get washable training pants for potty training. Disposable versions of these tend to be expensive, and if you use them a lot it can add up.

I bought reusables and stopped using them as they became so stained and there was just endless washing. I bought them to be kinder to the environment but embarrassed to say I probably was more UNKIND as then went straight on to buy disposables anyway!

Ours were def drier earlier because of reusables. Both dry before 18 months. Because the reusables had poppers to do up we could undo and put child on toilet from young age ( under 12 months), and put nappy back on if dry. So didn't mind sitting them on toilet 20 mins after clean nappy on as we weren't wasting loads of clean nappies that couldn't do up anymore.

I use disposables, I am of the understanding that there's negligible environmental difference between cloth and disposable nappies once all the washing/detergent taken into account?

I use Sainsbury Eco green nappies, or the Waitrose environmentally friendly ones. I'm sure none are ideal for the environment, but must be a bit better than standard disposables?

Ribbit - the main thing with reusables is they can be reused for more than one child. We washed ours with an eco egg so no extra detergent. Same 40 nappies did both our children, and now both nephews. Will be passed on again.

Based on a child wearing 6 nappies a day for 2 1/2 years that's 2500 nappies per child.

So 40 reusable nappies, plus washing and poss detergent lasting 4 children

Verses

10,000 nappies over 4 children

There was an article saying similar ribbit but it was ridiculed as it assumed people were washing at 90, tumble drying from wet and ironing (wtf?!) the nappies.

My nappies were largely 2nd hand to me, did my two and will soon do a third. I washed at 40 with the occasional 60 wash, used minimal detergent, line dried and definitely didn't iron!

Most reckoning is it'll cost you about 30p extra per laundry load. And water is nothing compared to environmental toll of producing disposable nappies.

Thing that bothers me most is the idea that every single nappy ever used in the entire world is still at least 450 years (based on 500 year lifetime) away from decomposing. Every single one! Eugh.

Please note I don't usually evangelise about this, but as it's the thread topic... That's one of my motivators.

There was a second study done, that used information from the people who were actually using modern cloth nappies, that showed there was a difference, but it depends on how you wash them. Things like wet pailing (adds up if you're on a water meter), washing at high temperatures, ironing them (some people do iron everything) etc. will obviously have an impact. I think once you start using them on multiple children it decreases massively, as they only have to be produced once.

For me though, it's not really about the environmental bit. There's the landfill thing, but I do think we create too much rubbish generally. I mainly use cloth because I find it more reliable, and so I don't have to worry about running out of nappies when the shops are shut. I have had to get a bit inventive with night nappies before to try and make something absorbent enough to last the night!

And it makes a shitty job ('scuse the pun ) a bit more interesting and DD (5) loves picking out the nappy wraps for me.

Please note I don't usually evangelise about this, but as it's the thread topic...

x-post - YY this!

How much on average would I save?

And could anyone post a link of a good brand of reusable nappies which is a set from birth-potty training? Really want to use reusable but there is so much out there!

The problem with buying a btp set is a) different nappies fit different babies and b) different nappies fit at different times!

Close Parent Pop Ins are my favourite, but I've got a wide selection. The Pop Ins won't fit much past 18m but they're great at first. Conversely, my Bambooty and Bambinex nappies are a total disaster before about 6m but come into their own for a toddler.

Can I go against the grain here and say I'm not a fan? My mil bought us the little bloom ones from amazon.

I have to change dd constantly when she's in them.if she's asleep she wakes up as soon as she's wet. When she was first born I was changing her every 45 minutes.

We weren't actually saving anything because of the cost of washing them although I didn't find that bit traumatic at all.

Mil just keeps telling me to try again which I did when I ran out of pampers the other day but dd got a very angry nappy rash within the hour.

We went back to pampers because we were able to get some sleep that way. I am disappointed they haven't worked for us though there are some beautiful designs out there.

MRSNEC it's good to hear another side. I'm planning on breastfeeding this baby with a nearly 2 year old so already dreading getting the washing done. That's the only thing putting me off is having to wash them and then dry them (my house is small). I think I may try them but have pampers on standby. My hhusband isn't interested in reusable.

It might just be the brand though although I'm surprised they have such good reviews on amazon. We don't live in the UK and have solar power and can easily have them drying outside. It was just dds comfort being our main concern. In your situation op definitely consider the washing also others upthread had some good suggestions for making that bit easier.

What I would do is just not buy too many. Maybe just a dozen or so. I have hundreds of the things and I dread to think what they cost mil!

You could do reusable during the day and pampers at night .We did that for a while. Nothing wrong with using both in my book.

Wonderoo v3 are a very good birth to potty brand. They are very absorbant, easily last all night. In comparison the little bloom ones mentioned above we tried were rubbish.

Just to mention the brand I use as no-one else has- Bambino Mio. I have used these from a couple of weeks old for 2 DCs now and think very highly of them. We don't use them exclusively, always disposables at night and sometimes on long trips out in the day.

This my be why I am aghast at the numbers talked about on this thread! I have only had 12 of each size in use at any one time and have done a wash every second or third day with no tumble drying. My total outlay on them was no more than £30 (all second hand), plus a few quid on liners, which makes me feel pretty smug