Our journey into the world of cloth nappies.

Since Zara was a baby I had always toyed with the idea of using cloth nappies. Zara was only a few weeks old when I’d first seen some cloth nappies in a local baby store. I loved how they looked, so bright, colourful and with the cutest patterns on them.

It was not until Zayah arrived that I actually decided to take the plunge and actually buy some.

I actually had no idea what I was doing!

What do I need to buy?

How do you clean them?

What detergent do I need?

Where do you put them when they are dirty?

What inserts do we need to put inside them?

Are they absorbent enough for over night?

Where do I put the dirty nappies when I’m out and about?

How much extra washing am I going to have to do?

Can I tumble dry them?

What size do I need to buy?

These were just some of the questions I had on top of deciding which nappies to try out!

I’m in so many different groups on Facebook and so I thought I would have a look and see if there were any cloth/reusable nappy groups and ask for advice. They were extremely helpful in answering the questions that I had and I also managed to buy some second hand in extremely good condition to see if we could get along with using cloth. If it didn’t work for us then at least they were only second hand.

The groups I am a part of on Facebook are;

Cloth Nappies UK

Cloth Nappies for sale/wanted UK

Babipur hangout

I know it might sound disgusting to some, buying used nappies but you’d be surprised they are very clean once they have been washed properly and I wasn’t prepared to part with a lot of money to try something that may not work for us.

You can actually hire or buy a starter kit from most cloth nappy libraries, you would need to search for one nearest to where you live. I’ve also seen that depending on where you are in the UK, some councils will offer you money towards cloth nappies as this helps to reduce waste. They don’t offer this in my area but it’s worth having a look.

I was extremely excited to start using cloth nappies but many of our family and friends thought I was mad, that I was creating extra work for myself and that it was gross putting dirty nappies in the washing machine.

I found it a lot easier than I anticipated it to be. The first couple of days we did have a few leaks, which was annoying but you learn from experience. There are different techniques for different nappies and it turned out that I had not adjusted them correctly to fit the girls.

I’ve been growing our stash of nappies so that I can now cloth Zayah full time and still have some spare for Zara although we do still use pull ups on her as we are trying to potty train her. (With no luck so far)

I thought I’d answer some of my questions from above. I’m not an expert, everything I’ve written is from our own personal experience.

What do I need to buy?

Cloth nappies, inserts/boosters, a laundry bin/big wet bag/open laundry basket (to store your pile of dirty nappies) small wet bag (for out and about), fleece liners, disposable liners, nappy sanitiser and detergent.

How do you clean them?

If there’s only a wee in the nappy I take out the liner and put it in the bin or down the loo (disposable and biodegradable) if it’s a fleece liner this needs to go in with the nappies in the wash. For poo it gets flushed down the loo (haha that rhymed) complete with liner if it’s disposable. For fleece the poo still goes down the loo but you need to wash this with the nappies. Runny breastfeeding poo nappies can go straight in the wash.

Next pull out any inserts from the nappies, stick the Velcro tabs to themselves on the nappies and pop them in the washing machine.

I then set the machine to a cold rinse and when this is finished I add a scoop of nappy sanitiser and detergent. I set the machine to 30 degrees and put it on a super wash with an extra rinse, finishing with the tumble drier.

What detergent do I need?

I asked this on one of the Facebook groups and got so many different answers. Some use an eco laundry egg, liquid detergent, proper nappy detergent and non bio/bio powder. The nappies come with instructions and most say to use non bio. I have tried both bio and non bio and I did not notice a difference in cleanliness they both come out nice and clean. You shouldn’t use conditioner though as this can ruin them.

Where do you put them when they are dirty?

I bought myself a nappy laundry bin and store them in there until they need to be washed. If I’ve been busy and have a big load of nappies that need a wash, they don’t fit in the bin so I use a washing basket.

What inserts do we need to put inside them?

There are a variety of different inserts and they all have different levels of absorbency. I can only talk from my personal experience of what we use at home but we have had bamboo, micro fibre and charcoal. You can also use fleece liners or disposable to go on top to catch poop!

Are they absorbent enough for over night?

It depends on your child and what nappies you find work for you. I like to put in an extra insert/booster for overnight and have not had any leaks.

Where do I put the dirty nappies when I’m out and about?

You can purchase small wet bags online. I bought mine from Bambino Mio and its got a clip on it that attaches to the pushchair.

How much extra washing am I going to have to do?

The more nappies you have, the less washing you will have to do. When I first started, I didn’t have enough to not wash them every day. As our cloth stash has grown I tend to only need to wash them 2-3 times a week.

Can I tumble dry them?

Most people will say not to and a few people will say it’s okay to tumble dry them occasionally but I do not have the time nor space in our flat to be waiting ages for them to dry. I have always tumble dried them, making sure all the tabs are safely tucked in (to stop them sticking to each other) and we have not had any problems at all.

What size do I need to buy?

This would depend on the size and weight of your little one. Neither of my girls were newborn when I started to use cloth so I went for the birth to potty size.

My favourite cloth nappies!

My favourite nappies are mio solo all in ones, on their own with a liner in the day and with an extra insert for over night and also close pop ins with the night time booster for over night. Apart from the first couple of days, we’ve never had a leak and in the whole time we’ve been using cloth there’s only been one poonami that couldn’t be contained.

I have nothing against using disposable nappies. My favourite brands of disposables are pampers and Tesco’s own. We planned to use them with Zachary and we have been using them since Zara and Zayah were newborn until we moved onto cloth. The main thing that gave me a push to start using cloth was to save money as I am a stay at home mum and if I can cut costs then I will. I like the fact that both of the girls can use these nappies as they are birth to potty (although Zara mostly uses pull ups as we are trying to potty train her) and if we are lucky enough to have any more children in the future then we will be using these nappies again. It’s also better on the environment as the less amount of disposables we use, the less amount we are sending to rot somewhere in a landfill. I love being able to pick and choose different patterns and adding to our stash. If you are already using cloth you will know exactly what I mean!

A couple of weeks ago our washing machine broke which is obviously a total nightmare as it is when there’s two adults, a toddler and a baby let alone thinking about having to wash the nappies too so I was glad to have disposables as a back up.

It’s not for everyone but it works for us.

If you’ve made it this far – Hello 👋 and thank you for reading 🙂 for more plastic free parenting tips head here.

Laura xo

@threelittlezees