Category Archives: New to Cloth nappies?

Why use cloth?

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Cloth can save you money

Even if from the start the investment is important, cloth nappies are more economical than disposable ones. Even taking into account washing costs, you could save hundreds of pounds by using cloth nappies rather than disposables. The more children you plan to have, the more you will save, cloth nappies can be used again and again.

Cloth is better for the environment

At the moment, about 8 million disposable nappies are thrown away every day in the UK. The average baby will use more than 6,000 disposable nappies before potty, disposable nappies take 300-400 years to fully decompose.
By choosing cloth nappies, you could reduce your household rubbish by half.

Cloth is better for your baby’s health

By choosing cloth nappies, you are helping to protect your baby’s skin from harmful chemicals. (Sodium polyacrylate, chlorine, plastics, adhesives……)

Cloth may help with toilet training

Toddlers in cloth nappies appear to be toilet trained earlier than those wearing disposable nappies. This may be because they become aware of when they have wet, as the moisture is not whisked away as quickly as by a disposable nappy.


How many nappies do I need?

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It is important that you have enough nappies to comfortably fit in with your washing cycle:

-some clean nappies ready for use

-some waiting to be washed

-and some drying.

However, allowing adequate washing/drying time, i suggest approximately:

A minimum of 24 nappies for a newborn with one cover per every five nappies for two-part nappy systems.

A minimun of 18 nappies for a toddler.

I can’t be responsible if you become addicted to cloth nappies ;-)

  

Washing your nappies

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 - Before using cloth nappies

The nappies need to be pre-washed at least once before use. If you are using hemp nappies, you will need to wash them alone several times before the first use to remove the natural plant oils.

Care instruction: It is always best to follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

- Before washing machine

1- Remove as much solid matter as possible. It’s better if you use a flushable biodegradable liner. The liner which contains the poo can then be hygienically flushed down the toilet.

2- Place soiled nappies in the nappy bucket.

They can be stored in a nappy bucket until there is enough nappies for a full wash load.

There are 2 basic methods for storing wet and soiled cloth nappies:

- Wet pailing (cloth nappies are placed in a bucket filled with water.) You can put 5 drops of tea tree oil, which has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties.

- Dry pailing (placing dirty nappies in a nappy bucket without water). You can put 5 drops of tea tree oil, as well.

This method seems to be the preferred method.

3- When the bucket is full you simply empty it into the washing machine.

- Wash the nappies in a washing machine

  • If your nappies were stored in a ‘wet pail’, dump the nappies and the soak water in the machine and run a spin cycle to remove the water and run a cold rinse . ( Or like me, you can do it by hand ;-)
  • If your nappies were stored in a ‘dry pail’ , run a cold rinse and wash.

-Wash in hot water.

-Use 1/2 the amount of detergent recommended by the manufacturer.

-Rinse in the warmest water possible.

-Run a spin cycle

To dry your nappies, the best option is to line dry, sunlight is a natural bleach.

I know! We don’t have a lot of sun here in England.. so i am using my cloth dryer ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can:

Wash your nappies/covers at 40° or 60° depending on the wash care label.

Wash them with other clothes if the solids have been removed.

Do not: 

-Do NOT use bleach, or fabric softeners. ( fabric softener can reduce the absorbency of the nappies.

-Do not use too much washing powder when you wash your nappies.
-Do not regularly soak your nappies in chemical sanitizers.

-Do not wash or dry your wraps at high temperatures.

-Do not use nappy sanitizer when washing your wraps.

-Do not use nappy rash cream on your baby unless you place a paper disposable liner    between your baby’s bottom and the nappy.

These creams can affect the absorbency of the nappy by coating it with a waterproof film.