Help me out
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Product Reviews
Forum Name: Cloth Nappy Discussion
Forum Description: Are you new to cloth nappies? Looking for washing tips? Want to rave about a great new nappy you've tried? By popular request a board especially for all our cloth Mums!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6993
Printed Date: 26 July 2025 at 5:29am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Help me out
Posted By: Bel
Subject: Help me out
Date Posted: 24 April 2007 at 9:38pm
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OK, I am intrigued... I need to know WHY cloth nappies are going to be better than disposables! I had never even thought about it until coming to OhBaby.
You guys spend lots of time discussing which type/brand is better - but can you tell me why I should think about using cloth? Go on humour me! ------------- Mum to two beautiful kids 
Luke (09.11.2007) Amy (01.04.2009) |
Replies:
Posted By: Paws
Date Posted: 24 April 2007 at 9:48pm
1. Cloth are cheaper...you can expect to save between $500-$1000 in your first year alone (we'll leave nappy addictions out of this discussion shall we?? )over 2 children you can save a whopping $6000 and this is taking into account washing.
Even if you sell your nappies after one child you can make back 80% of your orginal cost. Can't do that with used 'spoises! 2. Better for baby....less instance of nappy rash...I believe the stats i read on an American study were along the lines of "in 1950 100% or babies were in cloth and 5% had nappy rash, in 1990 95% were in disposables and 90% had nappy rash"...i'd need to double check the quote once TNN is back up and running though...but the point is that it is a huge leap. 3. Disposables are also full of gels that absorb the liquid, if these gels get on baby's skin it can in many cases, cause a reaction that looks like nappy rash. Do you really want to do that to your child??? 4. The vast majority of us (including me) can testify to less or no leaks in cloth. We've only ever had 1. 2 days ago. That was the first. 5. Your house doesn't stink of nappies sitting around until rubbish day and believe me when I say sangenics still stink to high heaven when you open them. 6. You're not dumping all that stuff into the rubbish to sit in landfills for the next 500 years or whatever it takes to break down. 7. with Modern Cloth you don't have to scrape or soak them....just chuck them in the washing machine so that's no longer a valid argument against cloth. 8. No matter what, disposbles will never be as cute as flowers or fairies or my little pony or dinosaurs or dalmation fluff covering your childs butt! I think that about covers it from me. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 24 April 2007 at 10:11pm
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What she said! But what really sold me is the cute factor. I mean, have you seen the pics of the gremlins with their Flinstones butts? You'll never see that on a sposie! ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 24 April 2007 at 10:40pm
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yep...
better for your wallet, better for baby (softer, less rashes, no chemicals), better for the environment. |
Posted By: Kels
Date Posted: 24 April 2007 at 11:22pm
What everyone else said!!! Great on the wallet, great for the environment and they are just soooo darn cute!!!!!!!!! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
Busy mum to Miss 15yrs, Miss 10yrs and Master 4yrs |
Posted By: kezplanet
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 3:18am
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I concur with the above - nice sum up paws!! ------------- Kerryn, Mum to Ashlyn(29/3/04), Anastasia(1/11/05) & Abigail (24/02/09) |
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 7:31am
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I went with them because of the cost factor, and when I did so found out about them not sitting around smelling for a week! And they are really cute ------------- |
Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 8:07am
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I am going with them because of the environmental factor, when I found out they were HEAPS CHEAPER I thought "hey, what a bonus....that never happens" and also I found out how good they are for baby.
And they are SO DAMN CUTE!!!!! We even sold the grandmothers on them and I thought we'd have a battle over why we arent doing oragami. |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 8:09am
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A factor for me was also because rubbish is going to get more and more expensive to get rid of.
Also MCN's are sooo easy, no need to worry about sticking bubs with a pin lol |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 10:53am
To add to it, when I have my 3rd (it's now a WHEN not an IF  ) I'll be able to be a SAHM and I will be going cloth the MCN way. I'm quite looking forward to it. Would of done it with Josh but he is ging into daycare very soon and the only take disposibles. For me it will be the saving of money as even with the resale (as Paws said) you will still get some money back after using them on TradeMe.------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: Bel
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 11:43am
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OK, so are they easy to use? I mean disposables seem so easy! What do you mean you don't have to scrape or soak them, just wash - this doesn't seem very hygenic?? ------------- Mum to two beautiful kids
Luke (09.11.2007) Amy (01.04.2009) |
Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 11:57am
| They are definately easy to put on....just like sposies but I havent washed one yet so I'll let the more experienced mums talk about that |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 12:01pm
| I don't think you are meant to soak them very often at all, just throw them into a dry bucket etc. As for scraping I don't think I'll be doing that unless it's solid then I'll just give the nappy a shake over the loo and flush it otherwise everything will go in the washing machine and I'll just wash the nappies by themselves. |
Posted By: Paws
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 12:56pm
They are very easy to use.....easier even. Hubby hated how the wings on sposises never stayed flat and always got caught under maddie when he was trying to change a nappy.  He constantly raves about how easier modern cloth is.
As for the soaking thing, we recommend that you don't soak becuase for a start you can soak the stains right in and second it can cause a build up on the nappy that prevents the stay dry layer working and the inner absorbing properly. (that's my mum hat and fuzzi agent hat on there). For washing all we do is dry pail which means we rinse the pooey nappies and chuck them into a dry bucket and chuck them in the washing machine each day or so. We do a hot wash and hang in the sun. Sun is the best sanitiser you can get. And it is totally hygenic. The fact that we also hot wash is added insurance but I know of plenty of people who only cold wash and hot wash occassionally. You also only need half the washing powder you would normally use. We have a front loader and use eco-store so it means we use 1 tablesoon of powder. That's nothing! So in summery...they go on like disposables and wash like our clothes. Couldn't be easier. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Bel
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 1:07pm
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OK, I am still listening - what kind of cloth is best - I hear talk of liners, fitted, allinones...? ------------- Mum to two beautiful kids
Luke (09.11.2007) Amy (01.04.2009) |
Posted By: nikkitheknitter
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 1:36pm
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Ahhh this is where it gets complicated as that completely depends on what you find easy and is influenced by the size/age of your baby, how heavy wetter they are etc.
Check out the table at http://www.snazzipants.co.nz/chart.html - Snazzipants to see the pros and cons of each system. |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 1:40pm
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We use pockets, coz you can customise the absorbency and don't have to hide them under a cover.
I find them just as easy as sposies, and that's saying something coz I have two in naps, one in night trainers and I work and am terminally lazy by nature so if I can do it, it MUST be easy ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Mama2two
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 3:17pm
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You have all changed my mind about using cloth. I was sure we were doing the sposies only! I have even bought washable wipes (feeling very proud of that). So I am definitley going to use the cloth, and am pretty sure I have settled on Fuzzibunz as prefered choice, but want to know if I should wait until Sam is a little bit bigger so I don't spend too much on something she is going to grow out of pretty quickly. We have a couple of hundred sposies that have been given to us, so will obviously use them first, but I don't know what I should do in regards to when to start on the fuzzi's. Any thoughts? ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 3:40pm
the thing with disposables is that you are supposed to flush any solid waste, just like you do with cloth ... but a lot of people dont. i flush and rinse mine in the wash house before putting in a pail (with no water tho) then on wash day i put them all in the machine. even i cant get my head around just chucking poo and all in the machine. 
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Bel wrote:Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 3:43pm
i would either get a hire kit to start or just buy a few. the thing with MCN's is that not all babies suit the same type or brand. so my advice would be to use up your sposies first - or at least for the first couple of weeks - then either get a hire kit or buy some trial naps of diff types. |
Posted By: Paws
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 4:03pm
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To both of you also recommend a hire kit. Different people prefer different nappies. We are firmly pocket people in this house because we find they are quick drying, trim and you can adjust the absorbancy.
I wasn't so keen on fitteds and all in ones simply becuase they take longer to dry and you can't change the absorbancy easily. Having said that...some people swear by them. Comes down to what works for you and your baby and a hire kit is the best way to try them all out and find what suits. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Mama2two
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 5:25pm
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Where can you get a hire kit from?
I have bought a trial kit from snazzipants with one fitted and two bummis, but really think the pockets are going to be the ones I go with. I have just heard such good feedback about them especially with being able to change absorbancy etc. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Paws
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 5:28pm
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I'll have a chat to a friend of mine Sterryn and see if she has one free at the moment. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Bumble
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 7:08pm
If you are in West Auckland, the council does a good deal.. http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/abtcit/ec/ecoinit/clothnappy.asp Christchurch offer a subsidy.. http://www.ccc.govt.nz/Waste/NappySubsidies/ Try asking your council to see if you get a discount or can hire something from them... ------------- formerly known as "Bee" Ethan ~ March 2003 Big 6 year old school boy! Micah ~ Aug 2008 ~ Smiley pants who loves telephones! |
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 8:35pm
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Sterryn I'd use up all (or nearly all) the sposies you have and start using MCN at around 3-6mos (for example my biggish baby is fitting into size medium Fuzzis now). That way you'll use most of what sposies you have, and not have to worry about keeping the washing up to date right from day 1.
As for washing them, well it's not too much different from if baby poops through everything (which happens with MCN and sposies) and you chuck that through the wash. I don't have a hot tap for my washing machine so I wash in cold with a double rinse. If the nappies are wet they go in with the clothes but yucky ones go in a separate load. ------------- |
Posted By: Bel
Date Posted: 25 April 2007 at 8:37pm
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You guys have been helpful, I will start looking at what is actually out there and get a better idea...
Thanks ------------- Mum to two beautiful kids
Luke (09.11.2007) Amy (01.04.2009) |