Re-useable Nappies

[Joey]

Has anyone tried these nappies?

We are due in mid Nov. and are contemplating buying the starter pack available here

http://www.nurturedfamily.com/detail.aspx?ID=41 .

We figure using re-usables - when we can - will be kinder to the environment and cheaper in the long run.

Any thoughts?

[Kirsty_Lane]

Hi ya,

Yeah my bestfriends mum has just had her 8th baby in February, but the 7th has just turned 1, so shes up for about $40 a week in nappies. So she started using the re-usable ones on the newborn, and she reckons they are wonderful. She actually found someone on e-bay that sells them for $12 each and then they send them too you. and she then buys 100 pack of nappies liners for a couple of dollars. but it saves her about $10 a week, and with 8 kids,you need it :) hehe.

Good Luck!!!

[mamafelix]

I'd say go for it but I'm a total cloth convert, you can get fuzzi bunz through Australian stockists too, and there are a bunch of other kinds of fitted nappies out there...
check out these Aussie sites:

www.theweewuns.au.com (stock fuzzi bunz and others)

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~truig/modnap/ (list of Australian cloth nappy distributors)

http://www.forums.ecobubba.com/ (forum discussing types/brands of cloth nappies and with links to WAHM (work at home mum) nappy makers- often cheaper and better made than commercial nappies.)

Have fun!

[Joey]

:) Thanks for the tips. This is our first, and no one else we know has used them, think we might buy one or two to start with and see how we go. Has anyone found any trouble with re-useables ie. leaking, rashes, washing/cleaning etc. as compared with disposables.

[kamckellar]

i bought several different brands with my first ds.they took ages to dry.he was a summer baby and i lived up north at the time but on cooler days they would take a full day sometimes more to dry.

[bubbalove]

Joey, ther are heaps out there! I am a total convert - love them love them love them! Take a look here for lots of WAHm mums that make and sell beautiful/functional nappies;

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~truig/modnap/

Feel free to ask any questions, here or by PM. I have both my kids in cloth - a 2yr old and a 3 month old

[monique]

The reusable nappies are fabulous. If you get the ones with elastic legs they fit just like disposables and don't leak. There are heaps available on Ebay and some people sell them for a lot less than the WAH Mums ones, which are about 12 each. I bought 5 flanellette ones for $26 plus postage and they've been great.

[bubbalove]

The ones on ebay are often cheaper because they are second-hand - not always, but often.

[Joey]

You've all been really helpful. Other things we're concerned about:

Some have reusable inner "pads", is this a suitable/hygeinic option?

Can you tumble dry re-usables and the absorbant "pads" that go inside them?

Is any dampness transferred from the nappy to bedding - some have waterproof external layer - is it effective?

How do you clean the poo up - we've got one of those toilet hose contraptions for this - any better options?

The best way to clean the nappies themselves.

Thanks,

Joey and Andre.

[sopolicha]

I have been seriously looking into this option for number 3. If I get organised enough I am going to have a go at making my own. There was a meeting at the local library recently with some of the women who make these nappies and who supply the materials for you to make them yourselves. It was pretty interesting. This is what I found out. I hope this helps.

The reuseable pads are taken out and washed everytime you wash the nappy. So it would be just like washing another part of the nappy.

I would think that if the material that has been made to make has been pre-shrunk before the nappy is made (so it can't shrink anymore) it should be okay to tumble dry. But I reckon there is nothing like sunlight to get them and fresh looking.

For night time, they recommended that you use a wooly cover which can help keep the outside dry because of the lanolin in the wool. Or you would use an extra booster or pad inside the nappy.

With the poo, they recommend with the nappies that you use a re-useable liner anyway so you would just take the liner out and wash it off (or hold it in the toilet and flush).

With the washing, none of the nappy makers recommend soaking them in a bucket of napisan. They say just to put them in the nappy bucket dry and when you are ready to wash them add some vinegar to the rinse cycle. So you can wash them in a normal wash cycle. I don't know about that idea, so I asked if you would soak the liners. They again said no need. But I reckon I would at least soak the liners and probable the pads/boosters, but that might just be me.

There are some interesting websites about these around, someone mentioned the ecco bubba one (the woman was at the meeting) and they have all the linksso just have a look around.

Good Luck, I have made my mind up to use re-useables but it is just a matter of which ones and how.

[bubbalove]

Joey

By reusable inner pads, do you mean boosters? I think you do. These just get washed the same as the rest of the nappy, there's no problem with them. But thinking about your post, you might mean the inserts in pocket nappies...which are also washed the same...

You sure can tumble dry! It's a wet winter here in Canberra, and I wouldn't have dry nappies if I didn't tumble dry them for a little while! Wherever you buythemfrom wil usually have washing/drying instructions.

Dampness is not transferred if youuse the nappy prpoerly. The waterproof layer in most modern cloth is PUL - polyurethane laminate, which is waterproof but breathable. My 2yr old is a tummy sleeper, and there's no problem. Some other nappies use fleece as the water-resistant layer, and there are wool covers you can get which are water-repellant...

With regards to the poo - the inner of most nappies are fleece, or you use a fleece liner with them - poo rolls straight off! Except for newborn breastfed poo - with this you can either use your little squirt or just chuck it in the wash - it'll all come off! Any stains come out in the sun.

Washing - most people these days 'dry pail; - that is, out the used nappies in a nappy bucket without water or anything. You don't need it! Then wash them in cold/hot/warm, whatever takes your fancy. Some people do a rinse first, but most (if their washing machine allows) out it onthe soak cycle, and off it goes. Use half orless of the recommended amount of detergent, and NEVER use fabric softener! It coats the nappies and makes them water repellant. You can use white vinegar instead - I do, and it works beautifully. Good for normal washes too - the towels still feel soft.

Gosh, I have rambled! But like I said, most WAHM websites have the washing and care instructions on there, so have a look around. Hope this helps!

[samuelboy]

If you are thinking of making your own you may want to have a look at www.bubbaearth.com.au. They have all the supplies you need.

[Joey]

I guess this is all info. I could have found out myself with a little more web-research, but I find it's always better to get the low-down from those using a product rather thatn those selling it.

Thank you all very much for helping with this decision, I don't care for disposable anything when there is an alternative.

Does the wool outer liner really prevent the moisture escaping....I'm a little dubious. Would have thought some other space-age material like gore-tex would do a better job?

And another queetion - do these nappies cause/prevent nappy-rash?

Last one - why do I use so many hyphens? :)

Again, thank you all so much.

[sopolicha]

Hello again

If you use a micro-fibre fleece liner it draws the moisture into the nappy and stays dry (apparently) . If you have any microfibre (the fuzzy tracksuit material) tip a bit of water on it and watch it and notice how dry they are when they come out of the washing machine.

I would think like any nappy if it is changed often enough and you use a bit of powder or cream or whatever, nappy rash would be easily avoided.

(Don't worry about the hyphen-thing, I seem overly fond of the brackets)

The wool is better because it is natural ie. breathes better and they recommend that you lanolise the wool cover (can explain further if you want) (i've used them again) and that helps repel the wetness staying dry.

I think goretex or something along those lines would be really sweaty inside.

[mamafelix]

Wool is only waterproof if it's lanolised- ie soaked in a mix of hot water and lanolin. You need to relanolise after you wash it- but- the great thing about wool is that is doesn't need to be washed very often. Wool may sometimes get a little damp if used overnight and you have a heavy wetter.
If you're really worried about waterproofing I'd go for a PUL cover- Truly as waterproof as PVC or any other kind of plastic, but breathable!

I've never had a problem with nappy rash and I've never used a disposable... if you use a polar fleece (100% polyester)/microfibre (those special cleaning cloths are great) liner as the top layer (ie next to babies skin) they will stay as dry as in a disposable- even if it's overnight. If not, then you just need to change every couple of hours (probably more hygenic anyway).