Johnson's Bath Products

kandr10

lazygal wrote: »

Two extra washes a week with an eco egg and drying on a line is way less energy than the energy used to manufacture, transport, sell, and dispose of a one use item that will never biodegrade. And cloth nappies can be recycled after they aren't usable any more.

Is it really just 2 extra washes a week? That's incredible! I thought I'd be washing every day and I can't keep on top of regular laundry as is so was put off. Can you machine dry them? We don't have a washing line outside

dori_dormer

Lots of Americans do tumble dry them, but it's not recommended as it can degrade the elastics faster and can melt the plastic outer layer (pul) if heat is too high.

Although you could go for the 2 piece style ' fitteds and wraps' and you can tumble dry all the insides and just hang dry the plastic outers ( which dry in an hour) or pockets nappies which might take 2-3 hours to dry the main nappy on a line, and tumble dry all the insets.
Bumgenius Flips are also v popular. Inserts dry really fast too.

There are options for every situation. I have 1 in cloth and wash every 3 days

lazygal

kandr10 wrote: »

Is it really just 2 extra washes a week? That's incredible! I thought I'd be washing every day and I can't keep on top of regular laundry as is so was put off. Can you machine dry them? We don't have a washing line outside

My machine has a large capacity so its two washes for us. Three when I had two in cloth. We've never had a drier so they're dried on a clothes horse or line. Modern cloth nappies are really easy. For about €200 I've had two so far in cloth and lots of mine are second hand and could easily be used for many more years.

mordeith

lazygal wrote: »

Two extra washes a week with an eco egg and drying on a line is way less energy than the energy used to manufacture, transport, sell, and dispose of a one use item that will never biodegrade. And cloth nappies can be recycled after they aren't usable any more.

As I said you can get biodegradable disposables. Cloth nappies also have to be manufactured, transported and sold. Not forgetting the energy, land and fuel used to grow the raw materials for manufacture

pwurple

mordeith wrote: »

The cloth nappies are good in theory but there's a counter argument against all the extra energy used in washing them. We used to get biodegradable disposables.

Cloth nappies are more eco-friendly in every way possible. Mine are all second-hand in the first place from someone local... so any transport costs have been offset already. And I can reuse them when I'm finished for other things if we don't pass on to another child. (dolls clothes etc).

I use a few disposables here and there alright, but cloth all the way here since our creche started supporting them.

I don't like the concept of disposable in general, which is why using disposable wipes for cleaning ovens, hands, your face, every surface in the house seems like massive overkill. I even see disposable wipes available for floor mops. Too much for me, there must be billions of these things in landfill, and stuck in our water system.

mordeith

pwurple wrote: »

Cloth nappies are more eco-friendly in every way possible.

The environmental benefits are very much dependent on the users habits. Washing above 60 degrees, tumble drying and ironing all contribute to increased energy usage. Of course not everyone uses them the same way but blanket statements don't apply.

I fully agree with your views on disposable wipes for every little job in the house. I mean what's wrong with a j cloth?

pwurple

We also use a night meter... and only do washes at night, reducing load on the grid. I'm pretty sure that cloth nappy users are fairly energy aware.

Ironing a nappy?

mordeith wrote: »

I fully agree with your views on disposable wipes for every little job in the house. I mean what's wrong with a j cloth?

ahem...

mordeith wrote: »

Need a greasy cooker top cleaned? Ground in foods on your kitchen floor? Oil on your hands? Reach for the Johnson's baby wipes

mordeith

pwurple wrote: »

We don't use them much at all unless we are out and about with the baby. Warm water and a cloth all the way.

I didn't say we have a truckload of them. One pack which usually lasts about 2/3 months. No more than yourself I'd say ;-)

madeinamerica

dori_dormer wrote: »

Lots of Americans do tumble dry them, but it's not recommended as it can degrade the elastics faster and can melt the plastic outer layer (pul) if heat is too high.

Although you could go for the 2 piece style ' fitteds and wraps' and you can tumble dry all the insides and just hang dry the plastic outers ( which dry in an hour) or pockets nappies which might take 2-3 hours to dry the main nappy on a line, and tumble dry all the insets.
Bumgenius Flips are also v popular. Inserts dry really fast too.

There are options for every situation. I have 1 in cloth and wash every 3 days

As a cloth-diapering paddy in america, I can speak to this. I use flip covers and inserts - I hang dry the covers for a few hours but usually tumble dry the inserts as we don't have great drying options in our apartment. I've three pockets and I hang dry those. It takes about 2-3 washes a week. I used disposables till he was about 10 weeks. I find that he has no leaks when he's in cloth and therefore he goes through far less clothes, so the overall amount I wash hasn't changed massively since switching.

madeinamerica

mordeith wrote: »

As I said you can get biodegradable disposables. Cloth nappies also have to be manufactured, transported and sold. Not forgetting the energy, land and fuel used to grow the raw materials for manufacture

Ah but the difference between a disposable item and a reusable item is in how may times they can be used - those manufacture/transport costs need to be paid each time a disposable is used while the costs of a reuseable/cloth are just paid the once for 2-3 years worth of use (or more if secondhand). Same for the production of materials needed for manufacture.

Cloth suits our life for reasons I didn't even realise before I switched from disposables. One of the reasons is to do with transport. we live in a city center without a car where the supermarkets that sell nappies are way out in the suburbs. Having to regularly go to buy nappies is a major hassle/expense/time suck for us. A couple of machine washes a week is a lot easier

madeinamerica

On the point of Johnson products, they gave my guy a rash at the start. As did Burt's Bees stuff and another 'friendly' brand whose name escapes me. And some moisturisers. I just washed him in water for a while then a doc recommended Dove hypoallergenic bar soap. Works fine for him. Can be so hit and miss, can't it!

kandr10

madeinamerica wrote: »

As a cloth-diapering paddy in america, I can speak to this. I use flip covers and inserts - I hang dry the covers for a few hours but usually tumble dry the inserts as we don't have great drying options in our apartment. I've three pockets and I hang dry those. It takes about 2-3 washes a week. I used disposables till he was about 10 weeks. I find that he has no leaks when he's in cloth and therefore he goes through far less clothes, so the overall amount I wash hasn't changed massively since switching.

Thanks for the info! I need to google some of the terminology like flip cover and 3pocket and then convince the other half that it's worthwhile...wish be luck