Our forums are always busy with the nappy debate, here babyworld members share their thoughts, practices and experiences. Disposable or reusable nappies?
“Terry squares are ace”
“I started using terry squares with my second baby when she was 10 days old and they’re ace. She never gats nappy rash and we’ve had hardly any leaks. I used my Boots points to purchase the squares so they didn’t cost anything, and the wraps I got off ebay so I’ve saved loads. Even if you end up buying brand new nappies of other brands they still work out cheaper than disposables And there’s no rubbish for landfill sites.” Karen
“Disposables are better for skin problems”
“I used disposables for my two on the advice of my dermatologist who said that they were much less likely to get skin problems with disposables than reusables! But, even if we hadn’t got a family history of skin problems I would still have used disposables simply for convenience!” Kaye
“We use biodegradable nappies”
“We used a nappy laundering service for the first year of our daughter’s life, and now use “Nature boy and girl” nappies, which are 70% bio-degradable, and don’t cost any more than Pampers, Huggies etc. You can get Moltex nappies, which are, I think, entirely biodegradable, but they are sooo expensive.
“The report I saw said that keeping a baby in nappies for 2.5 years is the equivalent of something like driving a car for 1500 miles. My husbandand I probably drive 50,000 miles in that time, so maybe we need to think of that more than nappies!” Tracey
“The bin was horrendous”
“I swapped over to reusables when Toby was about 7 months old and haven’t looked back. He always had nappy rash with disposables and the amount they used to fill up my bin was horrendous. Where I live if you have more bags than your bin will take and just put them next to it the bin men won’t take it so I always had lots of rubbish.
“I do an extra wash a week and unless it’s really bad weather, when I use the tumble drier, then the nappies go on the line or a clothes horse, to me there’s nothing nicer than seeing snowy white nappies on your washing line! I don’t soak my nappies – I dry-pail with a few drops of tea tree in with them and then use very little powder as at 60C you don’t need a lot. I also put a little white vinegar in with the cycle. Any poo left on the nappies, which is normally minimal, is then washed through the machine. If they are really bad then I do a pre-wash first.” Vickie
“Disposables mean more washing!”
“Disposables leak much more than cloth, so you don’t really reduce your washing load by using disposables, as you end up washing sheets and clothes instead of nappies. Our first daughter (now 6) was in disposables and when she was a newborn (breastfed) I had to change her from top to toe several times a day. I used the washing machine at least once a day for her clothes alone! My second daughter (six months) has been in cloth since she was 2 days old and we wash her nappies every 2 or 3 days and her clothes about twice a week, so in total fewer washes than for my first daughter!” A-L
“I have enough trouble doing the washing as it is!”
“I use disposables. I have enough trouble getting the washing done as it is; I’d have no chance if I had nappies to do as well! Also they greatly exaggerate the saving made by using terries. They compare the cheapest terries and plastic pants with higher than normal prices of top brand disposables.” Lieb
“I burn my nappies”
“I’ve used both reusables and disposables as, 19 years ago when I had my first the disposables, they weren’t as good as they are today. Back then disposables were bulkier and didn’t have that gel in them. I use my old terries, which did cause nappy rash, to wipe my horses down when sweaty, so they are being recycled! As for disposables, I burn them and I don’t know why more don’t do this. I work at a care home and we have special bags for incontinence pads that are collected and taken away to be incinerated, why don’t they provide this service for nappy users?” Liz
“They are not the environmental saviour we are led to believe”
“I use disposables and, to be honest, it is mostly for the convenience. That said, I have never been entirely convinced that reuseables are as economically sound as some quarters try to suggest.
“If you take into account the additional power, water and detergents used to wash the nappies; the additional power used to dry nappies (whether it be in a tumble drier on putting your heating on), not to mention the increased wear on your washing machine/tumble drier (meaning that it needs to be replaced more often and the associated costs of manufacture, transport etc), plus the additional environmental costs of manufacturing, transporting and packaging all that extra detergent and, of course, the increased damage to the environment by the additional detergents in our waste, then I am not convinced reuseable nappies are the environmental saviour we are led to believe.
Or maybe I am just trying to justify my laziness! Nx
“Reusables have saved me a fortune”
“I use terries on my daughter and have saved a fortune! I do them on 40C and they come up clean. I also shove all my other whites in with them to make up a full load so the washer isn’t used that much more. They are either dried outside or on a clothes airer or the radiators, if they’re switched on. I definitely think they’re better for the environment.” Karen
“The environmental impact worries me most”
“I’m planning to use reusables with my first, due in August. I don’t think that it is greatly inconvenient and still do believe it’s better for the environment. There have been many reports saying it’s better and few saying it’s not – I’ll go with the majority.
“It’s the environmental impact that worries me most (and hence my choice to at least give reusables a fair go). I don’t want my son to be buying his first house on a nappy landfill site! Also, when I started researching it, I realised how many chemicals disposables have in them. They also, until recently (being phased out) had something in them that was know to affect the hormones of animals. The chemicals and things worry me too!” Sus, x
It’s poo, and poo you get rid of”
“I used disposable nappies with Sam and I will be using the same with my next. To me it’s poo and poo you get rid of, not wash it with all my other whites. It just seems wrong to me – just my personal choice.” Heather
“You ain’t saving much
“It gets me how they say you save so much money on terries. Disposables cost me £3 a week (11p each x 4 changes a day x 7 days = £3.08). If I multiply that times approx 2 years’ use, that’s 104 weeks, equalling £320.32.
“My friend has just bought terries etc, costing her £166. She then had to buy bigger folding thingies now her baby’s bigger and that cost her an extra £60. Total cost £226. She then has to buy nappy liners and has around an extra washing machine load to do every 2-3 days. Over the space of 2 years, the liners, detergent and electricity must come to at least 50p a week, totalling another £52. Add that to the £226 & you have £278.
“So you ain’t saving much are you? £278 compared to £320. Jan
“I never use a tumble dryer
“I have to say that I just couldn’t justify using disposable nappies by the amount of time it takes them to decompose alone, let alone chemicals, etc, etc. Add to that the cost – I’ve saved hundreds! But then I don’t have a bad real nappy ‘habit’, buying tonnes of wraps etc. (There are people out there who thrive on buying them!)
“Yes, I do an extra wash a week of nappies (which will doubtless go up once no.4. arrives), but they don’t always need to go on a boil wash. I think the argument re. extra packaging of washing powder is rather laughable. I buy washing powder in cardboard packaging (including the scoop) so the packaging is recyclable, unlike the plastic that disposables come in (and the plastics in them). I use Ecover, which is slightly more environmentally friendly than some washing powders anyway – and I know plenty of real nappy users who use washing balls and the like.
“I NEVER use a tumble dryer – they really do suck up energy. I’m lucky enough to have space in my dining room to hang nappies if it’s wet outside – and there’s radiators etc.” Dottyspots
“I can’t be bothered with the hassle of it”
“I used disposables with my first, and will be doing the same with my second.
“Yes, it worries me about the amount of space they’re taking up in a landfill somewhere. But we haven’t an enormous house with a separate utility room, and with two children who will potentially both still be in nappies, that’s a lot of washing, ironing and drying to be done, never mind the dirty ones around the house.
“My son is 2 and has never had nappy rash or a wet bottom, whereas friends who have used terry nappies have had cases of rashes and wetness. The reusable ones are bulky too, I think, and from a selfish point of view I just can’t be bothered with the hassle of it all.” Morag
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