So many people ask just that.
"Don't you know you can buy nappies that you just throw away?"Yes, of course we do. Then they look at you even more puzzled! But the decision to use cloth was an easy one for both of us, unquestionably the best product choice, but for very different reasons.
There are many good reasons to use cloth instead of disposable nappies. In our experience the top three are:
(You may be surprised that we have not listed the environmental advantages - click here for an explanation and an insight into how we both came to the same product decision with such different objectives.)
This may sound too good to be true - if cloth is this good, why are they only used by a small minority of parents? The answer is… we have absolutely no idea! Well, actually we have a few, and for what it is worth here they are:
Firstly, familiarity and popularity are everything. Inexperienced parents rely heavily on the advice of their friends and family - and few people these days would actually know someone who uses cloth themselves. It all seems terribly complicated and not very realistic for new parents in the thick of newborn-chaos. Initially, the world of cloth nappies may seem daunting, but reading through the information on this site is a great start - it will soon seem less scary! And you can also contact us or access cloth nappy discussion forums with any questions.
The second problem is that the legends of yesteryear live on in a rather startling way. To listen to some people, you would think that using cloth nappies still entails boiling them up in the copper in the backyard. The truth is that modern cloth nappies now outperform disposables, and modern washing machines have virtually eliminated the work in using them.
Next time somebody scoffs at the idea of using cloth nappies, ask them how they would compare the performance of polyurethane laminate versus lanolised wool. If they do not know what you're talking about, then they do not know what they are talking about. If you really want to know whether using cloth nappies is realistic, ask the people who actually use them. (You can start by having a look at our section with Personal Experiences.)
So, getting back to the strengths of cloth nappies…
This was the issue that converted Elizabeth to cloth nappies. Disposable nappies just cannot compete with cloth on reliability - which may come as a surprise to you if you have heard the usual stories of cloth nappy leakage.
There are two quite different issues with nappy leakage - containing wee, and containing poo. Containing wee is simply a matter of absorbency. Most of the absorbency in disposable nappies comes from a chemical gel which is able to absorb large amounts of moisture. The average disposable nappy, especially the premium ones, can absorb a lot and for many babies, this is adequate. However, in many cases disposable nappies simply aren't absorbent enough - typically at night, when the nappy may have to last 12-13 hours straight.
Elizabeth came across this problem when her son was 4 months old."I would wake him up for a change at 10.30pm before I went to bed, and by 4am he was cold and wet, virtually floating in his cot. I tried different brands of disposables, I tried putting maxi sanitary pads inside his nappy, I tried everything I could think of, but I had what they called a 'heavy wetter' on my hands, and nothing could cope. Finally, I got some good advice about cloth nappies and we never had another leak. It's a story that I've seen repeated dozens of times."
The advantage of cloth is that boosting absorbency is simply a matter of putting more cloth into the nappy. There are various ways to do this but the point is that it is simply a matter of finding the right nappy cover and filling it with the right amount of cloth to get you through the night. With disposables however, once you reach the limit there is nowhere to go.
The question of poo containment is quite different. The problem is with runnier poo, which is mainly an issue for younger babies (especially breastfed) or for a small minority of babies (like Elizabeth's son) who never grow out of it but instead, as they grow older, simply produce larger quantities of runny poo. Leakage occurs from the waistband or the leg holes of disposable nappies, and cloth nappies have two advantages in preventing these leakages. The first advantage is that the elastication on a good fitted nappy will almost always contain the poo, however runny. Secondly, even if it does escape the nappy itself then there is a nappy cover in place as a secondary line of defence.
"My son presented a challenge of titanic proportions on this front (he is notorious at his day care centre for producing the worst nappies they have ever seen)! Since starting to use cloth over two years ago we have never had a poo leak. Every now and then my son has spent a day in disposables, and almost every time we have had a poo leak. Washing nappies is one thing - washing down clothing and car seats and carpets after a poo leak is quite another! Bleeeeuch."
– Elizabeth.
Even a cursory inspection of a disposable nappy will reveal that they just cannot compare with this aspect of cloth nappies (especially around the waistband).
The other point to make is that you should not judge the reliability of cloth nappies from stories that you have heard about having to change them every hour-and-a-half. This would only be the case if you were using a poor quality cover (see more on this here) or had not fastened the nappy snugly enough. With a good quality nappy and cover a cloth nappy does not need to be changed any more often than a disposable - and in fact may well last longer because absorbency is virtually limitless if you boost the nappy.
Basically, cloth nappies outperform disposables on containment of both poo and wee. This has been the experience of ourselves and many others that we know who have had constant problems with leakage until changing to cloth. Interestingly, most disposable users that we know simply accept semi-regular leaks (weekly or fortnightly or monthly) as part of life (which is quite amusing when you consider how many people think that cloth nappies are unreliable!). However, we simply do not accept that leakage is inevitable. If your nappies are leaking more than once or twice a year, you are using the wrong nappy.
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Well, let us be honest - anyone making claims about what babies find more comfortable is simply guessing. But here is what we think and why!
If you believe what the ads for disposable nappies tell you then dryness is the main issue for baby comfort. To be honest we have some scepticism about that since we remain unconvinced that healthy skin is much troubled by dampness. (Prolonged contact with ammonia can be another thing - but see the section on nappy rash.) However, if dryness is a concern for you, then fleece liners (our favourite) are the solution - they easily compete with disposables for dryness.
To our minds, however, there are more important comfort issues. Which underpants would you rather wear - the ones made out of cotton? Or paper and plastic? Which do you honestly think would be more comfortable? And why would your baby be any different? (And have you noticed that the most expensive disposable nappies are advertised as having a "cloth feel"?)
Another point is the padding of cloth nappies and this is something which can go either way. Many of us like the extra thickness on the bum - especially when they reach the stage where they keep falling down with a bump onto the floor while learning to walk. You cannot help wincing when you see a baby do that on a hard floor in a thin, papery disposable.
Conversely, some people are put off by the extra padding of a cloth nappy - they think it looks uncomfortable for the baby, and worry that it will inhibit mobility. That worry is understandable but it is probably due to the fact that we are now accustomed to seeing babies in disposables and cloth now looks "funny". Bear in mind, however, that babies have been wearing cloth for millennia with no apparent problems on this front. And if it is any comfort you can point out that cloth nappies are, if anything, better for the physical development of babies because in the early days they push the legs further outwards and place the hip joint in a better position. Babies born these days with hip dysplasia are put in a brace, but in the old days the treatment was to put them in a double cloth nappy to push the legs further outwards. Wearing cloth is positively good for your baby's development! (Some people have other health concerns about disposable nappies eg the possible link between lowering male fertility and the fact that disposables keep the scrotum 1°C warmer than cloth. They are legitimate concerns and many are being researched as we speak.)
Finally, there are many toddlers old enough to express a preference, who actively choose to wear a cloth nappy over a disposable. So there you have it from the horse's mouth!
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There is a full explanation of costings here. But what it boils down to is that you will save between $1500 and $3000 per child - depending on things like how you wash and dry them, what kind of nappies you buy, and at what age your baby toilet trains (as well as which disposables you are comparing them to). With savings like that you can buy yourself a new fridge or a new washing machine and still have loads left over for the odd luxury for yourself. There are certainly many things that most of us would rather spend our money on than nappies!
All the detail of the calculations is on the costs page but there are a few points to be made here about the cost of using cloth. You will see in other parts of the site that, while we like all cloth nappies simply for being 'cloth', we do strongly recommend the fitted nappies and covers which are at the middle to more expensive end of the scale. The cost of fitted nappies and reasonable covers varies greatly, so you still do not have to spend a fortune to get an adequate system of fitted cloth nappies. At first sight, a nappy or cover that costs $15 or $20 seems unbelievably exorbitant. Some people simply say that they cannot justify the cost. But bear in mind that disposable nappies cost between 30c and 50c each. If you use just 5 nappies a day (and you could use double that for a newborn), you will recover the cost of even the most expensive cloth nappy in just a week or two. Then consider how many children one nappy can span and you start to put the saving into real perspective.
Another point which is rarely made (and which is highly relevant to cost) is that once you are using cloth nappies, you can use cloth wipes as well. Most people either use disposables wipes or cotton wool (with water or baby lotion) when cleaning the nappy area. But these also cost money - especially the disposable wipes. In fact, a premium brand wipe such as Johnson & Johnson costs about 7c per wipe. Using just 5 wipes a day over, say, 2.5 years would cost around $320 - and you would probably use more than 5 wipes a day anyway. Using your own wipes costs you literally nothing as you are already washing the nappies. Plus they do a better job as the texture of a cloth wipe cleans the area more effectively - which equates to as little as one wipe used per dirty bottom (hard for some disposable wipe users to believe)! For more on making and using your own cloth wipes click here. So that's another cost saving to be thrown into the calculation.
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We have opted to do something slightly unusual for a cloth nappy website in that we are not going to bother putting the environmental argument to you in any detail. The reason we have taken this approach is because we believe that most of us fall into two categories:
The first category is the eco-warrior type who would choose the best environmental option no matter what. (Deborah would class herself as one of these!) These people already know that cloth is best for the environment. So there's no point us wasting time arguing it all again here. Instead we would rather spend our time convincing the eco-warriors that there is no need to make any sacrifice at all in this case - because the most environmental option is also the best product. So read this site to make sure that you are using the best cloth nappy product for you and your baby!
The second category, into which most of us fall, comprises those people who would quite like to do something for the environment, but they are not going to sacrifice their baby's comfort or huge amounts of time in order to do so. (This is Elizabeth's category.) For these people, we would be wasting our time emphasising the environmental argument because they need to be convinced that cloth nappies are better than disposables and are easy to use. And there is also the risk that these people will feel pressured into using cloth nappies out of guilt for the environment - and there are enough things to cause guilt in parenting!
It is not necessary to spend too much time on the environmental issue because as far as we can tell everyone will prefer cloth nappies if only they get the proper advice and then give it a try.
Yes, it is a big claim. But there you go - this has been our experience and we are sticking to it!
If, at the end of all this, you would still like to investigate the environmental issues, the best place to start is here and here. There are a million other sites you can look at, but these are good starting points.
For what it's worth, we have investigated this pretty thoroughly and firmly believe: