HunnyBeez

Its more cost effective, you only have to buy one lot, and the price of washing is prob less than the price of nappies each week.
You probably have to change them more frequently cos they dont absorb as much as the disposables.
If you use a decent barrier cream there shouldnt be any trouble with nappy rash etc.
They are better ecologically cos when youre finished with them, you can reclycle them rather than have millions of disposables in a landfill somewhere.

cost effective yes, less nappy rash from hars chemicals in disposables, yes you do need to change often, i change nappise at least 1-2 hours, less if a really wet or dirty baby. make sure you have a few fluffies to go over them and you wont have any leaks, dont use plastic over pants as they tend to sweat and then cause rash problems of their own. they do take a bit of time to fold but that can be done with a cup of tea after baby is in bed. they need to be soaked and washed each day and hung on the line – babies love being in the pram and watching them flap in the breeze. i live in an area that doesnt rain much so if it does rain its a trip to the laundromat to dry but that is only a half hour job and baby loves watching them go round and round.
i still use disposables when away from home or out for the day so a small pack lasts a good week.
some of my friends as usinf all in ones but they are very expensive to buy out right. terry cloth are my personal choice.
hope this helps you to make up your mind.

almost forgot i bought 3 dozen and use about 1dozen per day at most usually about 7-10 but up to 12. also they are good for burping cloths and all sorts of other uses.

i love cloth diapering my baby!

i use hemp fitteds and they fricken rock

i don’t have a single negative thing to say about my cloth diapering experience and neither does mother nature

if you want to cloth diaper you need to buy QUALITY….that is what matters when gauging your happiness in cloth diapering

do a search engine for cloth diapers and you will become addicted!

they are many many wonderful websites that sell different and beautiful cloth diapering systems

your start up cost may be around $200-$300 (you don’t sound american but that is USD) but it is soooo worth it when compared to putting out thousands of dollars on sposies

good luck honey

edit…..and wanted to correct the uneducated here

they are no more timely than coming up with the money to buy sposies and wipes weekly(i also cloth wipe)

you do not have to sterilize them…..you just wash them!…put the diapers in the wash machine and wash…..given them an extra rinse and extra spin cylce to ring them out good and dry them…….is it that hard??

they are more “green”……nobody seems to factor in the resources it takes to makes sposies…..trees, plastic, water (more than it takes to wash cloth) chemicals, dyes and such…..then the fuel to transport them……they get used and trashed…..sposies leave a trail of waste from the beginning to the end

cloth you simply don’t have that trail

Terry towelling nappies require muslin inner nappies. There is no “green” value to them. The energy and detergent outfall, in keeping them clean, balance out any gains over landfill problems.

Cost is a consideration.

As for smell, disposable nappy bags are cheaply available. When tied up in these, it takes a very sensitive nose to smell them.

I found washable nappies less absorbent (my son usually wakes up wet when he wears them).

They are also more work than the disposables as you have to wash and dry them and they are expensive to buy. You often have to replace them as your baby grows (unless you use terry squares which are just one size and can be folded in a variety of ways).

You also have to buy waterproof “wraps” to go over the top of them. They are pretty expensive – wraps being around £7 each and shaped nappies the same, although cotton prefolds, terry squares and second hand shaped nappies are cheaper.

TBH I did use reusables for a while but I’ve recently just gone back to disposables because I found the reusables much too much hard work and they were not cheaper (despite what people say) because of the cost of washing and drying them – we have an electric token meter and putting them through a wash cycle (and a tumble dry when it was too wet to dry outside) really ate up the electricity!

Some people love them and don’t use anything else though so I guess its up to you.

The other problem I found with washable nappies was that my son’s bottom got really rashy, probably because the wetness is not “locked away” from the skin in the same way as it is with disposables.

But as I said, its up to you. Lots of mothers really love the washable nappies and won’t use anything else, I just didn’t feel they worked for me and my son.

I’ve never had a problem with disposable nappies smelling, maybe my nose isn’t very sensitive! I just tie them in fragranced nappy bags and put them in the kitchen bin and I have never noticed any smell. The smell from the dirty washable nappies sitting in the nappy pail for a day or so was WAAY worse, also the way my washing machine would smell of wee after doing a load of dirty nappies.

In all the answers I’ve read, all I see is that it’s too much trouble to use cloth diapers/nappies. You have to change them more often thus it’s more work, I have to fold them, so it’s more work, on and on and on and on about how much trouble it is to use them.

Not once have I seen anyone talk about the health of the baby being more important than the extra work it takes to use cloth diapers. Why bring a baby into this world if you don’t want to take care of it properly. All everyone thinks of is their own danged convenience over what is best for the baby. Thank God you weren’t my parents.

Yes, it is cheaper over the lifetime of diaper use to use cloth diapers, even the more expensive ones.

Yes, it is better for the environment, true, you use water and electricity to wash and dry the cloth diapers but it is nothing compared to the cost of manufacturing the disposable diapers when compared to the per diaper cost. Plus disposables will still be in the landfills when you are rotting in your coffin, it takes that long for the typical disposable to decompose.

Yes, rashes are almost non-existent with cloth if you change the diapers when needed and don’t let your baby wear them too long. We have become used to leaving the baby in a disposable diaper longer than necessary and because of that, rashes are more common because they don’t breathe like cloth diapers do, mainly because of the plastic covering, you don’t need that with disposables if you buy the newer wool covers and other waterproof covers that are now available.

Yes, disposables have chemicals in them that I wouldn’t put against my skin, much less a baby’s skin. The crystals that turn into a gel when wet is a harsh chemical and potentially poisonous and you let your babies play with these unused diapers, let them put them in their mouths and so forth, what are you thinking? When a diaper gets overwet and the side seams split and the gel spills out there is the chance of the baby ingesting the gel, it would be even worse if they ingested the crystals.

Yes, you have to take care of your baby and your baby’s health.

Yes, it is work, what the heck did you expect? A vacation?

Yes, you need to be a Good parent and be concerned about your baby’s health and not your own convenience. Since when do you come before your helpless baby? Think about it.

I wish your babies good luck, they need it more than you do.

My son wears cloth nappies and has done so since three weeks old. I felt that when I switched that he was much happier that first day than he was the last day in disposibles.
I planned to use cloth as soon as we came home from hospital but had a slight delay because the manufacturer could not keep up with demand.

There are many different cloth nappies available and I found the shere choice confusing so used a nappy consultant. Please bear in mind that different systems are suitable for different body shapes (long, short, thin, chubby etc..) so what works for one baby will not necessairly suit another, even sibblings.

Other than enviromental issues there are other reasons to switch to cloth – my local council only collects rubbish every other week alternating with recycling, so the idea of a black bag full of dirty nappies sitting in the summer sun for two weeks is pretty nasty, let alone the health issue.

On personal experince and professional advice I change nappies every 4-5 hours and around 8-9 over night with no problems – which is less often than I had to with disposibles. I keep the nappy bucket in the bathroom and it will take up to 8 nappies in soak at a time. I wet pail using a chemical soak, however you can also dry pail without any chemicals. With dry pailing you can use a small piece of cloth with a few drops of tea tree oil or lavender oil as well, however while the lid is in place there is no smell with either dry or wet pailing.

Dirty nappies and wraps can be washed in with your normal wash, however its not advised to use softener as this reduces their ablitity to absorb – exactly the same as with your bath towels. If you want to be more environmentally friendly you can wash using eco-balls instead of detergent – a chemical free method which can also be beneficial if your child has skin problems such as excema.

In terms of cost effectiveness I have sent under £200 on nappies and wraps. On average consumers in the UK spend £26 per month on disposibles. The nappy system I use, uses the same shapped nappies from birth to potty training (up to three years) and for any sibblings. Once they reach the end of their life they can be disposed of in the compost bin. My mother still has terry square nappies from 30 years ago which she now uses as floor cloths! Nappies vary in price depending on the material they are made of and the style. Bamboo is the most expensive at around £9 each, terry squares at around £2 each. Wraps vary too from between £6-£9, but you only need a few wraps as they only need changing once every 3-5 nappy changes. Wraps are also available to hire.

The environmental issues are constantly in debate, but I’ve noticed that most people seem to focus on the washing v’s landfill issue while ignoring the manufacturing and transport costs of disposibles as well as the fact you have to go out and buy disposibles, which unless you walk to the shop requires petrol to transport you – again adding to the carbon footprint.

Before you go ahead and switch I would suggest contacting your local council as quite a few now offer either free trial packs or special offers of up to 50% off the retail price. The contents vary but most contain one each of the various types of cloth (Terry, prefold, shaped, pocket, all in one). I’d also recommend using a nappy advisor such as – who from personal experince have been very helpful and pleasant to deal with.

If you plan on going back to work and using a nursery you need to check with the nursery if they allow cloth nappies – some do some don’t.

I use a shaped nappy called a ‘Bumble’ with a Motherease wrap. I am currently using disposible paper liners and plan on switching to fleece liners once my son begins weaning. I also have booster pads for when he gets older for added absorbancy during the night. There are also flushable liners which breakdown like loo paper, and washable wipes. I do a wash once I have six to eight dirty nappies (depending on the time of day) and use on average five nappies a day.

I hope this helps and is not too much information in one go. As I’ve said, check with your local council and try an advisor service.