Cloth Nappy - What do you use..?

Hi Everyone,
I'm an avid Huggies girl and have used them since birth with my first 2 children.. (2 and 1 years).. We are expecting our 3rd baby in April and DD (2.5yrs) not showing any sign of TT..

We've calculated that we've spent around $3000 already and I still have at least another 3 years of nappies to pay for..

Soooooo, we're making the switch to cloth..
I'm totally bamboozzaled about the different brands but would still love to hear from any of you who LOVE their cloth nappies..

We're on tank water, don't own a dryer and I don't want to have to soak everything so they have to fit in with our lifestyle..
Would love to know what you own (recommend) and what the pro's and con's are that you have found...

I wouldn't even know where to begin with numbers - how many for each child etc.. I probably would use cloth from 4mths onwards with new baby as poo way too runny before then..!!

Help me please...!!

PS.. My GF uses Baby First nappies and loves them.. No cons so far and her daughter has tiny legs..! Mine are all chunky monkeys..

Edited by ChildsPlay

I started by buying some cheap pockets on trademe - just to see if i would use them. I think i paid about $20 for 5 nappies? They were incredibly bulky on her, but absorbant and really good, and so easy to use (and dry QUICK). In between washes, i just threw them in a dry nappy bucket, and washed once every 2 days, then threw them on the clothes horse in the conservatory.

Just so you know, you shouldnt have to soak them, and the BEST way to dry them is in the sun, as the sun takes away all the stains anyways! I used the dryer for one lot, and never again!

Then, once id worked out i would like to use cloth, i started buying more - and tried a few different types. I bought one itti bitti (recommended and we LOVE) one cover and prefold, 1 totsbots(also love), and by then had worked out what worked best for us. I then bought more, but i still live off a very small stash compared to many people i speak to, which means i do NEED to wash every 1-2 days, so that theres always some drying, and some ready for the day.



I dont know where you live, but in some places (Auckland, Tauranga that i know of) there are cloth nappy workshops, which allow you to go along, and feel and touch a range of nappies while learning about the differences and what works for you.

We're on tank water, don't own a dryer and I don't want to have to soak everything so they have to fit in with our lifestyle.. you don't soak modern nappies - just put them in a lidded bucket or wetbag until you've got enough for a load and then throw them in the machine. If you use liners in the nappies (either flushable ones or fleece washable ones) the poo is easy enough to deal with - it just tips into the loo, and I found that the infant poo is sometimes so runny you can just put it in the machine as is and it all comes out good. As someone else said, the sun is the best way to dry them - I did two kids in cloth full time last winter with no dryer. You just have to be a bit more disciplined about doing washing regularly.
Would love to know what you own (recommend) and what the pro's and con's are that you have found... We use a mix of Tots Bots (best for containment), itti bittis (my "show-off" nappies), pop-ins (most absorbent night nappy) and grovias (pretty, easy to use and good on all fronts)

I wouldn't even know where to begin with numbers - how many for each child etc.. I probably would use cloth from 4mths onwards with new baby as poo way too runny before then..!!If you want them in nappies full time you really need a minimum of 15 nappies per child. Sounds like a lot but if you start building up slowly it won't be as big a layout up front, plus heaps of places have lay-buy systems. Have you checked out the newborn hire kit here on OhBaby? Would be a good way to try out a variety of cloth nappies to see what suits your family. There's a few places around the country that do various hire kits, and some Councils have subsidy options for cloth nappies too.


sorry for the novel

I'm still using prefolds on my DD at 10months, She has chunky things but a skinny waist so I get a good fit with velcro covers.

I love fuzzi bunz!! Always have always will.

In my stash right now, ecobubs wool and day pockets, fuzzi bunz, honey child, baby blush, pop in, itti bitti, bitti boo, poplini prefolds, bummis organic prefolds, bummis covers, thirsties cover.

I think you probably best to get a few for you kids now and then decide what you want to bulk buy in.  Prefolds are best value, i took me 2 years to work that out. and because you'll have 3 in nappies it'll be your cheapest option. you might even have the oldest 2 in the same size. Mine are!!! 

we have different ones for different times. Most of them are YoYo nappies, but we do have some TotsBots bamboozles that I bought off trademe - I didn't want to buy imported nappies, but figure that 2nd hand is ok ;-)

When baby M was really little, I really liked using fitted cloth nappies with a cover. The increased security with containing leaks was amazing. I tried loads of different types, from two hire kits, and by far my preference was the bamboo cloth nappy & cover from Jan at YoYo. The only other ones I liked were the bamboozles. Honey child, ittis, none of them worked on her because she had skinny legs. Some others worked but were annoying in various ways (closures, etc)

Now that M is bigger, we mostly use pockets during the day with a microfibre & sometimes a bamboo square folded as well. WE have some 'snap ins' that are good when out or doing lots of different things as the inner can get wet and you can just take that out and snap in a new one into the cover. At night, or when we run out of these two, we use bamboozles with a Yoyo cover, or (preferably) a Yoyo bamboo night nappy which is built like a pocket so you can boost it with enough to make sure they're dry through the night.

We aren't on tank water but are super frugal as all our water gets pumped up from town & we pay for the power. We also don't own a dryer. I put all dirty nappies, inserts, wipes (we don't use wetwipes) in a closed bucket in her room with some plain water in the bottom (it stops them from smelling) and do a wash every two days. We are lucky here that we have no problems getting washing dry. I can go three days when necessary and we have 8 pockets, 3 snap ins with extra inserts (so 6 really), 2 yoyo night nappies, and 8 bamboozles. Oh and 4 covers and a swim nappy. And I hardly ever use the bamboozles these days.

I use ecostore liquid, half amount, with white vinegar in the rinse, and a little bit of lavendar and teatree essential oils when I remember.

HTH. sorry for the essay!

Oh and - sorry! pretty much all our nappies are poppers, not velcro. I found velcro really annoying in getting stuck together and to other things when washing, folding, stacking, putting on, etc etc!

I also love ittis, and as Hopes says they hold their value well. My daughter also has super chubby thighs.

The solid poo just flicks off but boy does it smell worse :P Same nasty smell as the adult stuff.
(I just flush it down the loo)