Washable Nappy Information
It's important to have all the facts when considering how you could use real (washable) nappies. Below are some frequently asked questions to help you.
How practical are real nappies?
- Modern real nappies are really practical and offer parents a real choice.
- Most real nappies consist of a soft, absorbent nappy, liners and waterproof, breathable covers (wraps).
- New designs fit snugly and nappy pins have been replaced with Velcro fastenings, poppers and plastic grips for quick and easy fastening.
- Real nappies are available in over 30 different types and patterns.
- Made of lightweight, fluffy materials, usually cotton or wool, real nappies wash and dry easily.
- It’s your choice; using real nappies is not an all or nothing option. You could perhaps use disposables when travelling or when it’s impractical to use the real nappies.
What are my real nappy options?
- There is a growing range of funky products available, making real nappies the coolest choice.
- There are 3 main types of real nappies:
- ‘flat nappies’, such as the traditional Terry square, need to be folded to make a pad, then secured with a plastic fastening and covered with a wrap. There are also pre-folds which are flat squares of cotton. These are used by most laundry services; prices start at a very reasonable £2 each.
- the shaped nappy is designed to fit your baby snugly and some sizes go from birth to potty. They require an outer wrap and prices start from around £7.50 each.
- ‘all-in-ones’ include a cotton liner and a waterproof cover with fastenings, starting from around £10 each.
- Contact a real nappy sales agent or visit a real nappy retailer to learn about what is on offer.
What do I need to get started?
- All you need is nappies, liners and wraps.
- The nappy itself is the absorbent part and you will need around 20-30 of these.
- The inner liner catches solids and helps keep moisture away from your baby’s skin; these can be made from paper so that they can be flushed down the toilet if soiled or thrown into a household bin if just wet; alternatively reusable, washable pads are available.
- The outer wrap or cover is the fun part with a funky range of cool styles and bright colours; these are made in a range of materials for example wool, fleece or waterproof PVC. The wrap sizes alter as your baby grows. Initially you will need at least 3 wraps that can be washed at home at 40 C.
What is the cost?
- An initial outlay to equip you with a number of nappies is necessary; but this is a one off payment and means you are not constantly paying for single use disposables on a weekly basis.
- From birth to potty each baby typically gets through between 4,000 and 6,000 nappies.
- Basic real nappies cost less than £2 each, with more sophisticated products costing around £3-10 each.
- Disposables cost on average 12.2p each (including in-store offers).
- Approximate cost of purchasing and home laundering real nappies for 2.5 years ranges from £185 to about £352 depending mainly on nappy type.
- The minimum cost of using disposables for 2.5 years is £463.11 but could cost as much as £732.
- You can achieve further savings by using the same real nappies for your second child.
- Home washing can cost as little as £1 per week.
What is the environmental impact?
- The key is to reduce the rubbish in your bin by simply making the real nappy choice.
- 5 million nappies are thrown away in Jersey every year – that’s 13,000 nappies per day!
- Using real nappies reduces the amount of waste sent for incineration and also the amount of energy and non-renewable resources used to produce disposables.
What about washing and drying real nappies?
- Real nappies don’t need to be sluiced, boiled, scrubbed, soaked or machine washed at 95 0C – they can simply be placed in a separate laundry container and washed at 60 0C along with other whites.
- Biodegradable nappy liners can be flushed down the loo with any solid waste. Washable liners can go in the wash with your nappies.
- Modern washing machines wash so well that real nappies do not have to be sterilised.
- ‘Collect and Wash’ laundry services are available.
- Most real nappies can be line or tumble dried or simply placed on an airer in a warm room to dry.
Won’t my baby get nappy rash?
- Your baby is no more or less likely to get nappy rash from real nappies than from disposables.
- Frequency of nappy changing is the important factor to avoid nappy rash.
Do they leak?
- It’s important to select the right size for your baby’s shape to avoid leakages and there is a wide choice of products available.
- You can also use booster pads to increase absorbency if needed.
Where do I get real nappies from?
Tell me more!
