In this series, we chat to mums, who share their stories, tips and hints about using cloth nappies. Emma is a mum of two, aged nine and eighteen months. She used single-use nappies with her first child and swapped to Baba+Boo reusables with her second. She lives in one of the growing number of areas where bin collections are now every three weeks.
In this series, we chat to mums, who share their stories, tips and hints about using cloth nappies. Emma is a mum of two, aged nine and eighteen months. She used single-use nappies with her first child and swapped to Baba+Boo reusables with her second. She lives in one of the growing number of areas where bin collections are now every three weeks.What made you decide to swap from disposables to reusables?
“I was keen to try cloth nappies with my second child having read about their benefits - comfier on baby's skin, more economical and better for the environment. I remember nappy rash with my first child and the softness of cloth was appealing to try and prevent this second time around
What are the advantages of using cloth nappies?
Cost - I bought a starter pack of ten to see how we got on with them. We're found them really easy to use and we topped that up with another five so that I have enough to use when others are in the wash. Over the time my son is in nappies this will be much cheaper than buying disposables.
Comfort - they feel so much softer than disposables which is really important to me for his skin. We've not had any issues with nappy rash or discomfort.
Obviously, they are better for the environment and aren't going into landfill.
With the move to three-week black bin collections, there won't be an issue of large quantities of dirty nappies building up in my bin.
The nappies look good too!
What are the disadvantages of using cloth nappies?
To be totally honest I imagined that the washing would be an inconvenience/disadvantage but it isn't working out like that for me. I've followed the instructions and not had any problems with the washing and I find that they dry really quickly.
They didn't suit me when we went on holiday, so I had to use single-use nappies. We didn't stay in a place that had a washing machine. However, I know I could use them for a short break and store used ones in the wet bag.”
As a mum, what problems do you foresee any problems using disposables when bin collections are three weekly?
For me, the obvious problem with disposable nappies and three weekly bin collections is hygiene/smell issues. I don't like the thought of dirty nappies in the bin for one week, let alone three!
Aside from that, I imagine that well over a hundred nappies would be used in a three week period (assuming roughly five or six a day) so the bin wouldn't have space for other rubbish, which is a massive inconvenience. I appreciate we have recycling centres where we can take black bin waste but this isn't always convenient with a baby.