Resuables vs. disposables

We used to use pampers active fit, now we use clothies....comparing the cost of pampers, refuse charges, wipes, etc, etc - clothies are much cheaper....I only do one more wash a wk, I dry pail so no water used there, I use washable wipes, so that saves money too....

I know you can buy cheap crappy nappies for 2c each & wet pail (which ruins most modern clothies) & do 5 extra washes a wk plus rinses & so even up the costs but our calculations compared what we had actually been using to what we would actually use.

I bought a lot of my nappies 2nd hand, I will sell them when I am finished (my nappies cost about €250 & will do at least 2 children & will sell on for at least €180 - no way sposies can compare to that!) - I like that side of it....I like the look of them, I like that they don't go to landfill (tho you can get Moltex sposies which can be composted), I like the way they look on the kids....I feel better with the kids in them & my pocket feels healthier....everyone's a winner!

On the down side they do take a bit of getting used to as there are so many types of clothy out there, big poos while out & about can be dealt with via flushable liners but I still have to carry the pooey nappy around with me. When you visit people for a wkend, not everyone wants you to use their machine for dirty nappies. Power cuts are a nightmare for clothie users, as are rainy days for drying. Not every child likes cloth nappies, they are much thinner than they used to be but not every baby appreciates the bulk. The extra effort of putting them together (pocket nappies) or the effort of finding nappy, wrap, nippa, etc....it can seem like a labour of love sometimes! :rolleyes:

We like them, the kids like them, it suits us....but I'm a SAHM & I was instantly attracted to clothies because of the general lifestyle we lead....it's definately not for everyone - whatever suits you....:)

We tried reusables a few times(as in for a few weeks at a time), but every time DD ended up with terrible a terrible bum rash! I love the idea of them, they've come so far over the years and alot of the newer nappies aren't much bulier than a disposable and would save money in the long run if they worked out. But they didn't work for our little one at all.

I think you have to change how you wash Everything in order to get the best out of the nappies. I was using regular washing powder for our clothes but a tiny drop of ecover and vinegar for the nappies. It was a complete waste because the washing powder had already built up in the washing machine again by the time I'd wash the nappies and built up on the nappies anyway(most likely cause of rashes!).

I hated the feel of the clothes just washed in Ecover and vinegar though and it didn't remove alot of the stains from the older kids clothes(mucky so and so's!) so short of buying a second washing maching for nappies(not very cost effective!) or putting up with grass and mud stains ingrained into the older kids clothes there was no way we could keep it up:o

Well done to those who stick with it though! It really is a labour of love

Deb

Debracd wrote:

Well done to those who stick with it though! It really is a labour of love Deb

Well, 99.9% of the time it's easy peasy & not a question of "sticking at" anything ....and I have only one machine & use two seperate powders, lol!

Crea wrote:

Second hand cloth nappies???? How does that work?

How would it not work? Check out the buy & sell in most parenting websites/e-bay & you will find loads of folks selling on or swapping nappies....once washed they are clean you know, lol!

I know Debs, your final sentance made it sound like clothies in general are very hard work & people who use them should somehow be congratulated for slaving over them - I was just pointing out, that is just in YOUR experience

And it's Ickle Magoo

I knew what you meant Debra, I'm being pedantic ....there are days (big poos that go everywhere, hubby forgets to turn the washing machine on & I run out of nappies, etc) when I really miss sposies....so to a large extent you are right, clothies do require more "effort"....it's all down to the other benefits ie environment, cost, or whatever & if folks think the extra effort is worth it!

Wolff wrote:

what about the stink - friends of our use disposables and other friends recycle - and their houses stink of sh!te !!

especially last week...

Which ones do you mean? I used to hate the stink of rotting sposies in my kitchen bin yet there is very little smell unless I open it from my sealed cloth nappy bin....and even then the smell is predominantly vinegar & tea-tree oil....:) If you mean clothies, I think if the nappy bin they use is "stinking" they aren't storing them properly...

Wolff wrote:

what about the stink - friends of our use disposables and other friends recycle - and their houses stink of sh!te !!

especially last week...

Like Ickle Magoo said, there's no stink when they're stored properly(until you lift the lid of the sealed bin;) ).

Dame, there are definitely creches who cater for clothies out there But afaik they're stored in either a waterproof(both ways!)ziplock or drawstring bag in the babys bag until home time so no separate nappy bin per baby

Deb

On the other thread there was references made to the research that was done in the cost comparison. can I be clear and say that the 31.X cent was the AVERAGE price per disposable nappies. It included all brands, including tesco, pampers, huggies, boots own, and lots more and it also included ALL sizes, pull up pants etc....to try to get the most accurate average price. Just wanted to clear that up.

As regards to the report that said that disposables and reusables used much the same / energy resources, that was undertaken in 1990 by the Environment agency in the uk. Since then there has been another report by Landbank Consultants to look into the raw data that the Enviornment agency used in it's report. What they found was that the ASSUMPTIONS about number of nappies, temperature of washes, number of washes a week was not in keeping with what was actually happening with cloth nappy users - ie that their assumptions were not representative as they were based on 2 (TWO) nappy users out of the hundreds of thousands that use them in the UK. The report was also based on the life of 1 nappy - 1 reusable vs. 1 cloth nappy. The reality is that a baby can go through as many as 6000 disposables vs using 24 cloth nappies (which can then be used on another child as well) - again, the assumption here while accurate is biased as there is a SIGNIFICANT difference in the amount of energy used in 6000 nappies vs. 24. Also take into consideration the distribution and petrol used in transporting 6000 nappies vs. 24. There is much more to the argument than that report includes.

just some food for thought on the people who went off and did research on the findings there.

re making baby happy & healthy - YES that is definetly the most important thing. Debs, I know you tried everything missus.

Loyatemu, as regards washing the nappy at 40 or 60 - NHS guidelines say 3 mins at 72 will disinfect, and 10 mins at 63 will also do the same therefore 60 degree over a longer time (say 12 - 15 mins) will also do the same. If clothie users babies (most of whom wash at 60 and some even at 40) weren't being properly cleaned we would all have babies with terrible rashes - which we don't. A lot of clothie users also use a couple drops of tea tree oil in the drawer during the wash cycle. Tea tree is a natural disinfectant and antiseptic therefore the nappies are being disinfected during the wash cycle at whatever temperature.

re: clothies at creche. yes the drawstring waterproof bags are ideal for storing nappies. The smell issue tbh isn't as much of an issue as people think. cloth nappies actually tend to smell less than disposables because there are no chemicals in them for the urine to react with - they actually smell less than disposables (in my experience).


re: the price of disposables vs. reusables....as i explained above, the 31.7 c was arrived at by collating ALL nappy brands prices, ALL sizes etc. If you do use cheaper nappies, they tend not to be as absorbent as the more expensive ones therefore most times parents will use MORE nappies... edited to add that the more expensive brands of disposable nappies actually hold the greatest market share (up around the 90% of market share at the top cost end of disposables).

Also..cloth nappies usually don't end up in the dump, most times when they've reached the end of their life span after being used on SEVERAL children, you can recycle them in the textiles boxes and they can be made into something else. Or else used as dusters, mops, clean up clothes etc.

Hobbes you mention that polyacrolyte has not found to be harmful outside the body. What about when baby has nappy rash and there are open sores on the bum area? This happen to plenty of babies - I would not like to take the chance that polyacrolyte does not get into the blood stream that way. Not to mention that little babies have very thin skin and therefore it's easier for them to absorb external chemicals etc. NOTE: polyacrolyte has only ever been tested by the FDA (in the US), there has been no european or independent testing on it or it's effect over long time (frankly it hasn't been around long enough). Not only that, TBT's HAVE been found in some nappy brands - it's a particularly nasty chemical that is used on paint for ships and is known to cause gender changes in some molluscs. This has been found in the waist bands of some dispoable nappy brands in the past. Again, I would not want to put something like that against my baby's skin.

Just wanted to add that nappy companies are not regulated nor are they required to list out the ingredients in their nappies - therefore nobody actually knows exactly what type of plastics and chemicals are in them. Unfortunately, they have much bigger marketing budgets than any cloth nappy manufacturer/retailer therefore their 'stay dry' 'ease of use' message is prolific and is now accepted as 'the norm' in public opinion.

so that's my 2 cents worth. I made my choice for my children and I respect each and every other parent's choice. To borrow someone else's words, I'm a cloth advocate - not militant. I just felt I would like to add in some of my knowledge as I have researched the area extensively at this point and have also been involved in some of the research mentioned above and felt some points should be clarified.

Great topic and great points everyone.