I have always wanted to use these but hubby has resisted quite strongly!  Last time we talked about it was when i was pg with dd2 and, being as at the time we were stopping at her, we decided not to look in to it too much.  Now we’re back to the idea of 4 I’d like to at least look in to it again and then talk to hubby if it seems like it might be appealing to him!  (And it would have to be VERY appealing!)  Obviously it wouldnt be something we’d do unless both wanted to and he’s been very against it from a convenience/washing point of view..

So..

What ranges are out there, what do I need, how much to set up, are there any “nappy meets” like you get with sling meets to be able to see lots of different ranges and try any on to get an idea of fit, do different brands fit differently, do I need lots of longies too, are there any council things to wash them for you or did I dream about reading that, how many would I need, how long do they take to dry bearing in mind we dont have a tumble drier but do have lots of radiators and a boiler cupboard which gets lovely and warm even when heating water and can take a couple of drying racks, do they leak more than disposables, would I still need any disposables, where do you store dirty ones while waiting to wash them, what about the smell, what liners go in them (and do they catch the poo at all and do you flush that liner down the loo?  Isn’t that as bad for the environment?), what do you do when out and about and is there anything else I need to think about?

Sorry, I know it’s lots of questions, I always really wanted to use re-usables for as long as I can remember but hubby has always met me with unswerving resistance to even talk about it so I’ve never gone there but if we’re having a big family I really don’t like the thought of LOTS of nappies going on to a landfill and there’s the cost perspective too given that we’re spending, what, £4 a week on nappies per child and will be for, say, 2.5 years which is therefore a cost of just over £500 per child - with 3 more children that’s a LOT of money on nappies, I can’t imagine even the most super deluxe version of re-usable would cost £1500!!

Hi, GoReal website is a good place to start: [url=http://www.goreal.org.uk]http://www.goreal.org.uk[/url]
All the different types are described there and what you need.

“how much to set up”- that depends what you want to spend! I got mine from Freecycle, and used from eBay and http://www.usednappies.co.uk I hardly spent a penny for 2 children in cloth over 5 years in total, maybe £50 total I guess.

“are there any “nappy meets” like you get with sling meets to be able to see lots of different ranges and try any on to get an idea of fit,“ Look locally for ‘Nappicino’ meets and some resellers will do a home visit with their ranges for you to look at or even borrow. Try teamlollipop.co.uk

“do different brands fit differently”: yes, [url=http://www.thenappylady.co.uk]http://www.thenappylady.co.uk [/url]has a good questionnaire to help you choose a type. Or just get a few, randomly, secondhand and try them

“do I need lots of longies too” we’ve never used longies. We used Motherease OneSize, Sandy’s and Motherease AirFlow wraps.

“, are there any council things to wash them for you or did I dream about reading that” Do check what offers your council does, some give vouchers or free nappies.

“, how many would I need” You could just start with 5 or so and see how you go with them, buy more as you find them (secondhand is my fav!). Or buy a bulk pack if you are sure you like the fit of them. 20 or so would be a good number for 1 baby, but depends how often you want to wash them.

“, how long do they take to dry bearing in mind we don’t have a tumble drier but do have lots of radiators and a boiler cupboard which gets lovely and warm even when heating water and can take a couple of drying racks,“
Ones with a built-in waterproof layer take longer to dry. Thick towelling ones take longer too. My Motherease OneSize dried over night on radiators. I rarely used tumble drier for them, only in real emergency!

“do they leak more than disposables” Depends on the fit- our leaked less than disposibles. Waterproof cover do not last forever, Motherease told me 6mths is the life span of a waterproof cover but they can last longer than that. NEVER use fabric conditioner on nappies or wraps!

“, would I still need any disposables” They can be handy to have in the house in case of washing machine breakdown or long distance travel/camping… but people also manage through all those things with cloth nappies only.

“, where do you store dirty ones while waiting to wash them, what about the smell” Nappy bucket, no water in it, called ‘dry pailing’. Add a few drops tea tree if you want. Lid fits so well there is no smell, until you take the lid off!

“, what liners go in them (and do they catch the poo at all and do you flush that liner down the loo?  Isn’t that as bad for the environment?),“ I used home made fleece liners- buy a meter of fleece (lovely patterns available from haberdasheries) cut into rectangles. Keep old blunt knife by loo and scrape solid poo into the toilet, fleece liner goes in the nappy bucket. You can get flushable liners but I didn’t like them, and they are an unnecessary cost.

“ what do you do when out and about “ I took cloth nappies with me and plastic bag for the dirties, used a clip-it sometimes to seal the bag. You can get waterproof drawstring nappy bags. If I wanted to minimise stuff to carry on a day out we would use eco-disposibles just for that day.

“and is there anything else I need to think about?“  No, just give it a go! Even if you just get 5 nappies and never get any more you at least would be saving yourselves (and the planet) 5 disposables in landfill every week. Any every additional nappy you get and use is a bonus.

Hi Lovely,
  Just a brief one as I have very muddy lo’s who need a wash (however much they’re protesting that their wet, filthy clothes are actually very comfy lol).

Check out the nappy lady website. She has some great stuff for beginnings.

I do all mine on the radiators in the winter and we find that fine even when we have two in cloth.Obviously outside in the summer months.

We use a nappy bucket (well,two or three!) which is kept in the bath. My theory is that if your old enough to climb into the bath on your own then your old enough to know not to stick your head in the nappy bucket! The buckets are airtight so never had smells. I gather from other people though that if you go for a bag that doesn’t seal then the smell kind of doesn’t build up.

Liners can be chucked or you can use fleece (as we do) which are just washed with the nappies, longiies are optional.

A two part system in my experience leaks far far less than ‘sposies especially for breastfed poo.

There are nappy laundering services but non in our area, plus I gather they’re expensive.We have no incentive scheme atm either BUT the neighbouring county does so if you know anyone over the border who would be willing they can send your receipt to the council and claim back £30 for you.

There are nappy agents who’ll come to your house to show you types. I can show you what we use but cloth is as individual as people and you’ll want to look at lots of types. xx

Thank you both very very much, there’s a lot of information there, that’s really helpful!

Thank you xx

To make things even more eco you can find fleece blankets in charity shops to make the liners. they are so easy as there is something a bit teflon about fleece - poo just drops off leaving the fleece pretty clean. I use paper liners on the odd occasion when poo is a bit runny as its easier to flush away in that situation.

As far as leaking is concerned if you get well fitting ones they leak less than disposables in my experience.

My waterproof covers are nearly 4 years old and still going strong - several of them are motherease so they definitely last longer than 6 months!!

I wouldn’t use drawstring nappy bags - they never really close properly. The best ones I found were zipped bags from babykind expensive but very good and you continue to use them after kids are out of nappies for wet clothes etc when potty training and out and about, or trips to the seaside etc. So a good investment.

Finally the very best thing about cloth nappies imo is cloth wipes - just think of the waste of all those disposable wipes and their packaging and the COST as they are so expensive! Invest in about 20 cloth wipes (I like a mixture of smooth fabric, like the ones from green baby, and cotton or bamboo terry - bamboo stays soft for years) or make your own (I’ve made them from old pyjamas) and they last forever. They are in fact much more efficient than disposable wipes which I find a bit slimy as well as being better for baby’s skin. Some people make up all sorts of concoctions to soak their wipes in but I’ve always found plain water adequate and the cheapest/greenest option.

Go for it!

Oh yes, forgot to mention cloth wipes- I used old baby muslin square cut up and hemmed the edges, just put water on them and chuck in the nappy bucket. I always changed nappies in the bathroom so easy access to tap and toilet.

My dh also took a lot of convincing to spend the money on reusables, as it can seem a lot to splash out in one go, but especially if you are planning on using them on more than one child, the overall financial cost is even lower. 

I would second the nappy lady recommendation.  I found the site second to none for down to earth advice and I bought about 10 bumbles from her to start with (would really recommend bumbles, by the way, as they are birth to potty, fleece lined and dry really quickly, so you can get away with buying fewer overall).  After that I bought second hand from ebay, but unfortunately they no longer sell used nappies, although I believe there is an area of the nappy lady site where used nappies can be bought and sold, so definitely worth a look to try different types out and cut costs.  The ones I bought were always in good condition, but went through an extra hot wash anyway.

We used Motherease wraps during the day, which were fantastic and never wore out and wool longies at night.  I did buy mine, but you can make them by cutting off the arms of an old wool jumper and stitching together, plus there are, I think, fairly easy knitting patterns out there if you knit at all.

I also used my own cloth wipes, which I soaked in cool chamomile tea (great for nappy rash).  I had some fleece ones, but the best were actually cut up squares of old terry towelling, not hemmed or anything fancy and they did the job great for very little money.

We didn’t convert to reusable until ds was about a year old and when we did, we noticed a massive difference in the amount of rubbish we were putting out each week, plus I just loved using them.  I had fewer leaks than friends who used regular nappies and ds hardly ever suffered from nappy rash, they smelled far less than the bagged up disposables plus ds was out of nappies much quicker too.  Even dh was converted and always recommends them to friends when they have babies.  The only downside is that there are so many lovely ones to choose from they can become quite addictive!

Autumn Girl - 17 July 2010 08:29 PM

...After that I bought second hand from ebay, but unfortunately they no longer sell used nappies…

Not officially… but read the item descriptions carefully… I say no more… (winks)

Agree with Moggy re preloved on eBay, I managed to get my mits on 10 size 1 totsbots cottonbots and 4 wraps, *barely used* for £40 last week, which I have gone halves with my sister on as she is tempted by cloth but also suffers reluctant hubby syndrome, lol.

Fabulous - thanks for the eBay tip!

We’ve found a scheme in our county that gives you a 4 week free trial of various types so that has taken the pressure off hubby in terms of being able to give them a good try without a big outlay. Will get in touch with them tomorrow!

I’d also recommend nappylady as we got ours from there - bambinex teddies which have been great and dry really, really quickly. I’ve also brought secondhand ones too from http://www.usednappies.co.uk which were really cheap.

The council round here gives you two free packs of nappies. However, I also discovered they get lots of returned ones that are unused so if you phone up and ask then they’ll send you more for free!

The other thing to bear in mind is how much your hubby will be changing them…. in reality my DH changes maybe one nappy a day; simply as he’s out at work and I do the night feeds/changes. So although he was really keen on it I don’t think it would have mattered too much if he wasn’t!