Using Real Nappies

Modern shaped reusable nappies are made from a wide range of materials including soft breathable cotton, quick drying polar fleece, super absorbent micro fibre, nature friendly organic cotton, fashion conscious bamboo and many others besides. The soft fibres of all reusable nappy fabrics make them a great choice to have in such close contact with your baby's skin and when used with a combination of liners and a waterproof cover, they offer a reliable, comfortable and convenient alternative to disposables.



Environmentally Friendly Cloth Nappies!


Whether it's environmental, economical or ethical, there are many reasons why you may choose to use reusable cloth nappies.


Kind to your baby - Like babies, modern washable nappies come in many shapes and styles. Designed to be comfortable and secure, it is easy to find the ideal nappy for your baby. You even get to choose how you wash them, just like baby's clothes.


Kind to your wallet - Using real nappies over disposables will save you up to £500, considerably more if you use the same nappies on subsequent children.


Kind to you - It has never been simpler to use real nappies. Today's options have no pins - most use poppers or velcro and come in a wide variety of colours and patterns to coordinate with your baby's clothes!


Kind to your environment -Using real nappies instead of disposables you will halve your weekly rubbish and your carbon footprint could be up to 40% smaller! This means less rubbish filling up our landfill sites and a kinder option for our planet.


Now is the time for change - by choosing real nappies you are choosing real benefits!


An informed choice - I aim to provide parents with all the information you need to make an informed choice about the nappies you choose. Whether you plan to use real nappies all of the time, or combine with occasional disposable, I am here for you!


Of course there are also the environmental benefits to consider, disposable nappies were invented for high days and holidays not to be used every day. We don't use plastic cutlery every day so why use plastic nappies? (In spite of the manufacturers claims of 'cotton like' and 'cotton soft' the average disposable nappy is made from over 95% extruded plastic and contains no cotton at all). It has been estimated that every disposable nappy ever used is still sitting in a land fill site somewhere and scientists think they will take up to 500 years to decompose.


Here in the UK we are throwing away 8 million nappies per day so it doesn't take a genius to work out why our council tax is rising. Local councils pay large amounts to remove rubbish and with 4% of that rubbish coming from disposable nappies that's an awful lot of their money being thrown away.


How Cloth Nappies Work


Cloth Nappies are very simple these days, in fact some are as easy as disposables. In general cloth nappies follow the same basic principles:


1. Decide which type of nappy is best for you, I can help you come to this decision as you'll want to make the right one.


2. Some nappies are All in Ones (very similar to disposables), Shaped or Pre-Folds, again this sounds daunting, but it isn't. Our website will provide all the info you need on the pros and cons of each type.


3. Most Nappies allow you to add in extra adsorbent pads (called boosters) to absorb more liquid. This is important at night, or if your baby is a heavy wetter. You won't know this until your baby is here, but the adsorbent pads can be purchased separately.


4. All nappies have a waterproof wrap to stop your babies clothes from becoming wet. Some have separate wraps, some are integrated into the nappy.


5. All Nappies need a liner (compostable paper or fleece) between the nappy and the baby, this allows the wee to pass through to the nappy and the solids to stay on the liner. The liner can be flushed away or put on the compost heap.


6. The nappy can then be put in a mesh bag inside a lidded bucket with no need to soak.


7. When the mesh bag is full, usually every 2-3 days, lift it out the bucket and put it straight into your washing machine.


8. Most nappies need washed at 40 or 60 degrees centigrade, using half to a third of the detergent that the manufacturers recommended. Liquid detergent as better than powder as this can clog inside the fibres of the nappy causing a build up. I recommend Ecover liquid. Sanitiser can bve added to the wash to aid cleaning. See Sanitisers on our website


9. Do not use fabric softer, this will stop the nappy from being adsorbent


10. Run an extra rinse cycle every month or so to remove soap residue


11. In hard water areas white vinegar can be added into the fabric softer compartment to soften the nappies


12. Most nappies can be tumble dried, but I find hanging them outside or on an airer works well, and sunlight helps remove stains!