Disposable vs cloth nappies Post Reply

[LTBattersea]

Hi,

I'm about to have my first child and trying to decide on whether to opt for disposable nappies or reusable cloth ones. Does anyone have any advice?

Many thanks

[schoolgatesmum]

I used washable nappies for all four of my children. My main reason was ecological. I dread to think of the mountain off disposable nappies I would have got through with four children! The other benefit is cost and one which I hadn't realised before was that they all potty trained very early (one of them was dry day and night by her 2nd birthday). Once you get in a routine of washing the nappies it really isn't much hassle. I would say that for your newborn use disposables until you're in the swing of all the other things associated with newborns! There are some brilliant washable nappies available now which weren't around with my firstborn - really lovely soft fleecy ones. If you don't want to wash them yourself there are services which offer to wash them. I'm so pleased I went the washable route.

[LTBattersea]

Thanks for that. I feel the same about the landfill aspect but appreciate your idea of using disposables initially (maybe a little too much to cope with!). I have looked at a few websites and it all seems very confusing. Do you have a recommendation on which types/brands are easiest and best? Many thanks

[erinisle22]

I've come across a woman called Sapphire Clark and her website:

http://www.facebook.com/saffysnappies

She seems to know her stuff - I was going to do an article for the Wimbledon and Wandsworth NCT magazine about real nappies with her but haven't got around to it yet...she seems to do trial and starter packs too.

[topmama]

I used reusable nappies for both my children. They are a bit harder work than disposables but once you get used to them they are fine.

I lived in Fulham when I had my first child and at the time (2008/9) the council gave all new parents £30 towards cloth nappies they also hosted monthly events called nappicino's presented by couple of parents who were very pro real nappies. They talked about why to use real nappies and demonstrated a few , may be woerth checking the H&F website. At the time bumgenius were the favourite and I bought 20 of these. I think they were the 3rd version they are an all-in-one nappy (over cover and 2 inserts) that grow with the child so you only need about 20 to last from birth to toilet training. They cost about £15 each but I got a discount and the voucher so paid about £200.

With real nappies you have to change every 3/4 hours otherwise you get leaks but as long as you know that they are great. You wash as 60 degrees and use very little detergent and sometimes a napisan. I considered using a washing service but we have a warm large kitchen and the nappies tended to dry over night, they are made of a quick drying material. I washed every 3 days, kept the soiled nappies in a bucket. Once you wean use a very fine paper liner that generally contained the poo which you flush down the loo. So there is very little poo and not much smell.......particularly compared to disposables!

I did however use pampers at night, I could not find anything better and did not want my babies waking because they were wet ....as well as hungry! However I know there are some good environmentally friendly disposables, that have a high percentage of biodegradable material. Websites like 'spirit of nature' are good for this.

I totally agree with the previous poster that they are probably too hard work for a newborn when you can have frequent changes and there are lots of other things to get used to. Mine were both quite small and had thin legs so the nappies did not fit around the leg until 6-8 weeks.

Once my babies started feeding they grew fast and were both chunky babies. So there were some clothes that did not fit so well around a larger bottom so no skinny jeans!.... i know there are some websites that sell clothes for real nappies but I just made sure the bottoms were not too tight.

Youtube had some great videos of how to use a range of real nappies I loved bumgenius and I am sure there is a version 4 or 5 now.

Good luck with the new baby. Please pm me if you want anymore info.
Sorry for the long post.

[ekf]

If you are concerned about disposable nappies and the landfill consequences but like the convenience. You could use a nappy recycling company. they collect your used nappies and process them and they are turned into new products. Its not expensive to do either. I saw this company at the Baby show recently. I've not used them but it looks interesting.

http://www.nappies2go.com/how-nappy-recycling-works

[LTBattersea]

Thanks so much for all of your suggestions, I've got a good place to start now to investigate all the options.

[SJ1979]

I used Close Parent / Modern Baby all in one washable nappies, basically an all-in-one nappy, works very much like a disposable, so no need for an outer waterproof wrap, you just put the whole lot in the washing machine each time. Once you get a system going, soaking, washing, it's fine. I find it far less smelly than those awful disposable nappy bins which seem to really smell, we never had that problem with washables. You do have to pretty dedicated at first and drying them can be a pain, but I used to hang them out to line dry in the summer, and in the winter, they'd quite often be on my radiators! Around 20 nappies was usually enough. You may find at nights you need to use an extra insert.

Some good websites are http://www.cleangreennappy.co.uk/real-nappies
http://www.twinkleontheweb.co.uk/acatal ... Sized.html

Bum genius ones are fab too.

Maybe get a few samples first, and then you won't break the bank if you find that washables aren't for you. Second hand bundles too can be great, as quite often people buy them new and then never use them, or just don't get on with them.

I did use nature baby disposables for first 6 weeks till I'd got through initial phase to get the courage up to use my washables.

Good luck!

[mrsbfrombalham]

I know it's probably not very eco-friendly, but for me there is so much already to do and worry about when you have a new-born that I don't think I could have coped with the extra hassle of washable nappies. All my friends who tried them ended up back on disposable because it is so much more convenient.
I agree that it is awful from an environmental perspective, but to be frank, when you are exhausted and sleep-deprived that's not necessarily something that's top of your list.
Just being honest.
Good Luck!

[LindaS]

My first son wore cloth diapers, my second disposables.

There is a brilliant book, out a couple of years ago, titled "How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything". And, truth be told, depending on how many children use the diapers, how hot the water used for washing, etc. you may not come out ahead, from an ecological perspective on cloth diapers. Shocking, I know. Worth investigating.

I use an so-called environmentally friendly disposable to assuage my guilt, and they work brilliantly.

Good luck.

[Pod]

LindaS - I know the book you are talking about - I read it last year, but if you read the fine print - it states that although there is not much difference in terms of carbon footprint regarding - manufacture of disposables to the hot washes etc of cloth nappies, it does state that THE ALMOST EQUAL CARBON FOOTPRINT DOES NOT FACTOR IN LANDFILL matter, so in actual fact, cloth nappies are way ahead in terms of earth friendly.

good compromise on the environmentelly friendly disposables that are 60% biodegradable

No dig intended above - just a point regarding the facts in the book

[schoolgatesmum]

I really don't think I found it hard using washables - I did it for four children. It's like anything - once you get into a routine it's part of your day. I always had times when I used disposables (the Nature ones) - if we were on a long journey, staying at friend's houses etc. Let's face it, our parents survived with terry towelling nappies and probably not even an automatic washing machine! I know there is some debate about the ecological difference between washing cloth nappies and disposables. However for me it's the landfill issue and the consuming of goods. The nappy companies are producing more and more efficient nappies meaning that potty training is delayed. They produce night time "pants" for children up to the age of 14! There's only one reason for this - to get people to consume more and therefore give their shareholders more dividends. Rant over!

[AmandaA3333]

I used real nappies from when my daughter was about 9 days old. I used disposables when travelling for overnight or longer. I found fewer poo leaks with the real nappies, and the real nappies not really an extra hassle- nappy bin with net liner, stuck liner in wash every 3 days. I used Eco disposable at night - seemed too much to ensure enough padding to keep them dry at night, and to get night clothes to fit over the real nappy.

I've just gone back to work and couldn't face carting real nappies to and from the childminder, so 1 year on we're using disposables. I use supermarket Eco ones, seem fine. Not really an alternative now, but not ideal for landfill.

Good luck with the new little ones. Nappies of all descriptions are easy once you start, you'll be an expert by day 3!