Edenbee: Reusable vs Disposable nappies

nicepaul wrote 5 months ago

Our little boy is now 22 months old, and although it was our intention to use reusable nappies it just hasn't happened. He was fairly poorly when he was born, and frankly we had enough on our minds without having to wash his nappies too. Now that he's better, we just haven't got into the habit, although at nursery they do use recyclable nappies, which is better than nothing.

Does anybody have any experience with reusable nappies? Or know the impact disposable nappies have on the environment?

cheers,
Paul
Busybee replied 5 months ago

Hi Paul

These are great Paul http://www.gdiapers.com/
boxman replied 4 months ago

Busybee...I'm intrigued...I just watched the <a href="http://www.gdiapers.com/includes/vid_pop3.php">video</a> on gdiapers and to be honest they look like A LOT of hassle. Sounds like you're pleased with them though?
Busybee replied 4 months ago

Ahh well to be honest Boxman I must admit a friend recommended them to me but I never used them! So there I'm exposed as the charlatan that I really am. I must admit after watching the little video clip they did indeed look like alot of hassle. By the way what you doing dropping in html links! you should know better!:-)
doctoral replied 4 months ago

We've been using washable nappies that my sister bought for her son. They've been great, even though you have to keep on top of the washing and drying. They show no signs of wearing out and will hopefully go on to another baby.

I've read the reports that say disposables have a lower environmental impact, but I just don't buy it. How can something disposable compete with a resuable item that just needs washing. Especially if you have the best case scenario of a second hand washing machine, using hot water from solar or wood heating and a totally natural cleaning agent.
simonrjones replied 4 months ago

We have a four month old son and we've been using Bambino Mio nappies since he was born. http://www.bambinomio.com/

We occasionally use disposables when we run out of outers. I find the reusable nappies are nicer for Will to wear and are really easy to use.

I realise washing nappies creates an environmental impact but I believe it is far less than having 1000s of nappies manufactured and having to dispose of them in landfill. Plus there are strange chemicals used in disposable nappies that your baby could really do without.

Some also say its easier to potty-train a baby who has used real nappies since its more obvious to the baby when they have gone to the toilet.

http://www.wen.org.uk/rnw/nappy_facts.htm

It's also cheaper!
honey33 replied 4 months ago

i hold my hands up i did use diposable nappies at the time it crossed my mind to change my ways but i didnt i should have ,another thing has anyone noticed how many baby wipes people use , i mean a soft face cloth like our mums used and plain water far better.....
BeePositive replied 4 months ago

I did use disposables when my son was born from a company called ecobaby. I could ring up and order and they would deliver within a day. The nappies had a six-month biodegradable life-span, were made with a percentage of re-cycled material and didn't contain any of the weird gel that the other nappies have. They were the best option considering he had super-sensitive skin and to wash the cloth nappies properly would have demanded a strong wash powder and a hot wash to make sure they were clean. I believe since then there have been better options developed but at the time I was happy with my choice even though they were twice the price of regular disposables.
doctoral replied 4 months ago

We wash our nappies on a medium wash with Lilys all-natural laundry liquid. If you really want that brilliant white appearence, a good spell on the line in the sunshine gives them a great bleach.
kamikat replied 3 months ago

We used washable diapers with both of our sons. I will admit that we used disposables at night, since they were both heavy wetters and when we were out and about or traveling. We used Kushies, which have a water proof cover sewn in and Velcro closures. These features made them as easy to put on and take off as the disposables. In terms of washing, we only had enough for 2 days, so I just threw them into the washing machine until our stash was used up, ran the wash and were ready to go with the clean ones.
abbyamadan replied 2 months ago

We used reuseable nappies with our daughter 9 years ago simply because I didn't have enough money to buy disposables! 5 years later our son was nappied in real nappies because I found how easy they were and because we didn't have to fill the bin with poo. We used many of Eilis's old nappies on Daire and they are still going strong, but I treated myself (and him)to some Bumgenius nappies from www.thenaturalbabyresource.co.uk and I really wish they had been around for my first - they are brilliant - bomb proof even for breast fed poo (korma curry as my other half calls it)so easy to use (just like a disposable) wash at 40, and line dry in an hour on a day like today. If anyone wants to know about the impact of reuseable nappies check out the Women's environmental network (great site for other stuff too) they also do a great cost comparison. env Agency did a life cycle Analysis of real nappies but conculsions were very suspect - they expected people to wash at 90 , tumble and iron their nappies - all practices that went out with ark! WEN reckon you can save an additional 24% of green house gases by simply following the instructions to wash at 40 -60 not tumble or iron but air dry.