Cloth versus Disposable nappies.
Apr. 29th, 2009 09:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aendrIt's real nappy week and I am in the middle of a dilemma
Cloth versus disposable nappies
We're currently trialling a set of cloth nappies, using them during the day and disposable ones at night and when we're out for a prolonged period. We're using sized nappies, and currently Alex is in size 1. He's going to outgrow them pretty soon and we need to decide whether to purchase size 2 or not.
Eco-friendliness:
Debatable - cloth nappies have a manufacturing and washing cost and ultimately a disposal cost, whereas disposables have a manufacturing and disposal cost. Using eco-friendly disposables reduces the manufacturing cost compared with standard disposables, though the landfill cost is still there as councils still landfill them despite their compostability and we aren't up for composting them at home. Our washing machine is fairly new, water efficient, energy efficient; which means I need to do extra rinses to get the detergent out of the nappies to prevent a build up effect which makes nappies stink of ammonia.
Space:
Cloth nappies take up a whole drawer of our three drawer chest; which is a very big proportion of the storage space in the rather tiny nursery. Disposable nappies take up much less of our storage. We could use the gained space to make Alex's clothes less of a squash and rummage situation. As he grows, his clothes are going to take up more space too, and he's growing fast.
Clothes:
While Alex looks very cute in his animal nappy wraps (no photos permitted by his father), most modern clothes are cut for the smaller disposable nappy bum. I either have to put him in clothes which would be obviously too big when in disposables and are too long for him in the legs, or buy the more expensive and limited options "cut for cloth" clothes; maintaining two piles of clothes - one for cloth and one for disposables is too much effort, too much storage space and too confusing. Fit will get more important as he gets more mobile.
Time:
A cloth nappy takes a small amount more time to put on and take off than a disposable nappy. I also have to spend time washing them, hanging them up and putting them away. Buying the eco-disposables is only possible in two shops in St Neots, and not at my usual supermarket, but I can walk to either of these shops and while on mat leave am doing so at least once a week. When back to work, I can still drive there on the way home from collecting Alex if required, though it's marginally less convenient than the large supermarket. While it is not a bit hassle while on mat leave, when I return to work I will be shorter on time and might prefer to spend it interacting with Alex or relaxing. The question is whether it's worth my added time to do the cloth nappies. Bear in mind that Ganesh isn't up for assisting with the laundering aspect so this time will be mine alone.
Financial Cost:
I've considered the relative costs of using cloth and eco-disposable nappies, where we use dispos at night and cloth during the day. I'm guessing at what age Alex will grow out of size 1, and assuming that a potential second child will be the same as Alex in terms of size and growth patterns. I've included the electrical cost of the washing machine running but not the cost of the water it uses. I'm not including the cost of more expensive clothes etc. I'm also assuming that with a second child we may start using cloth nappies sooner because of familiarity with them. It also assumes that we do not have to buy extra nappies or wraps for a second child.
Size 1 nappies for 1 child only is £90 more expensive than eco-disposables. Used on a potential 2 children they will be £20 more expensive. It's only when going to size 2 that there is actually a cost saving for us. We would save £235 with 1 child and £600 with 2 children using them. A second child is not guaranteed and may be a different shape, fitting the nappies we have less well.
Support:
Ganesh is not happy using cloth nappies - he finds it harder to deal with a pooey one, and doesn't want the hassle of doing anything other than dumping a wet one on the side (when he could just dump it in the bucket, a metre away). This means I have to take over for a pooey nappy and often find a wet nappy on the side waiting for me when I come tiredly up to bed. When back at work, although the nursery will use cloths if requested to do so, I'd have to collect a bag of nappies each day and maintain a stock of clean ones there. This might mean I need to buy more nappies than allowed for in the cost paragraph above in order not to do laundry more often than desired. Disposable nappies will also be easier for other visitors (grannies) to deal with.
Nappy rash:
Doesn't appear to be a problem either way.
Development:
Observation shows me that Alex finds it easier to roll over, which he is just learning how to do, naked or in disposables - he is trapped on his big bummed cloth nappy like a tortoise is on its back. I can imagine this will also affect the early stages of crawling and walking. He is small, so the bulk of the nappy has more effect than on a larger baby. On the other hand, cloth isknown thought to help with earlier potty training due to the wet feel and getting him out of nappies entirely is quite possibly the most efficient thing to do in all cases above.
Edited to add: But though "on average" apparently cloth nappy wearers train 6 months earlier, the effect is apparently more to do with girls being fastidious, and there's no guarantees for any particular individual child.
Self:
Having had difficulties with breast feeding, feeling a bit of a failure there, there's an emotional side of it involved too. There's a sense of middle class snobbery I guess, feeling I'm doing something more, extra, to compensate. I guess as quite a few of my peers also use cloth, there's a bit of peer pressure too. I don't want to feel a failure at this too.
Other considerations:
We use washable wipes and water in preference to oodles of baby wipes or cotton wool. Baby wipes get used for a major poo explosion. Washing and storing these isn't particularly onerous and can be done in a regular clothes wash especially if we only use them on a non-pooey bum. I'd still do this, which would still be better for the eco-friendliness and financial cost aspects.
The support and time aspects of this are quite significant no factors for me. Ganesh is most likely to be swayed by cost and the cost saving is not really worth it for his time. The environment bit is arguable and I do do a lot of recycling etc., and if only they'd have a nappy-waste-stream in the bins for parents, which could then be used as known rubbish base for fuel then landfill and fuel problems would both be rather reduced.
Cloth versus disposable nappies
We're currently trialling a set of cloth nappies, using them during the day and disposable ones at night and when we're out for a prolonged period. We're using sized nappies, and currently Alex is in size 1. He's going to outgrow them pretty soon and we need to decide whether to purchase size 2 or not.
Eco-friendliness:
Debatable - cloth nappies have a manufacturing and washing cost and ultimately a disposal cost, whereas disposables have a manufacturing and disposal cost. Using eco-friendly disposables reduces the manufacturing cost compared with standard disposables, though the landfill cost is still there as councils still landfill them despite their compostability and we aren't up for composting them at home. Our washing machine is fairly new, water efficient, energy efficient; which means I need to do extra rinses to get the detergent out of the nappies to prevent a build up effect which makes nappies stink of ammonia.
Space:
Cloth nappies take up a whole drawer of our three drawer chest; which is a very big proportion of the storage space in the rather tiny nursery. Disposable nappies take up much less of our storage. We could use the gained space to make Alex's clothes less of a squash and rummage situation. As he grows, his clothes are going to take up more space too, and he's growing fast.
Clothes:
While Alex looks very cute in his animal nappy wraps (no photos permitted by his father), most modern clothes are cut for the smaller disposable nappy bum. I either have to put him in clothes which would be obviously too big when in disposables and are too long for him in the legs, or buy the more expensive and limited options "cut for cloth" clothes; maintaining two piles of clothes - one for cloth and one for disposables is too much effort, too much storage space and too confusing. Fit will get more important as he gets more mobile.
Time:
A cloth nappy takes a small amount more time to put on and take off than a disposable nappy. I also have to spend time washing them, hanging them up and putting them away. Buying the eco-disposables is only possible in two shops in St Neots, and not at my usual supermarket, but I can walk to either of these shops and while on mat leave am doing so at least once a week. When back to work, I can still drive there on the way home from collecting Alex if required, though it's marginally less convenient than the large supermarket. While it is not a bit hassle while on mat leave, when I return to work I will be shorter on time and might prefer to spend it interacting with Alex or relaxing. The question is whether it's worth my added time to do the cloth nappies. Bear in mind that Ganesh isn't up for assisting with the laundering aspect so this time will be mine alone.
Financial Cost:
I've considered the relative costs of using cloth and eco-disposable nappies, where we use dispos at night and cloth during the day. I'm guessing at what age Alex will grow out of size 1, and assuming that a potential second child will be the same as Alex in terms of size and growth patterns. I've included the electrical cost of the washing machine running but not the cost of the water it uses. I'm not including the cost of more expensive clothes etc. I'm also assuming that with a second child we may start using cloth nappies sooner because of familiarity with them. It also assumes that we do not have to buy extra nappies or wraps for a second child.
Size 1 nappies for 1 child only is £90 more expensive than eco-disposables. Used on a potential 2 children they will be £20 more expensive. It's only when going to size 2 that there is actually a cost saving for us. We would save £235 with 1 child and £600 with 2 children using them. A second child is not guaranteed and may be a different shape, fitting the nappies we have less well.
Support:
Ganesh is not happy using cloth nappies - he finds it harder to deal with a pooey one, and doesn't want the hassle of doing anything other than dumping a wet one on the side (when he could just dump it in the bucket, a metre away). This means I have to take over for a pooey nappy and often find a wet nappy on the side waiting for me when I come tiredly up to bed. When back at work, although the nursery will use cloths if requested to do so, I'd have to collect a bag of nappies each day and maintain a stock of clean ones there. This might mean I need to buy more nappies than allowed for in the cost paragraph above in order not to do laundry more often than desired. Disposable nappies will also be easier for other visitors (grannies) to deal with.
Nappy rash:
Doesn't appear to be a problem either way.
Development:
Observation shows me that Alex finds it easier to roll over, which he is just learning how to do, naked or in disposables - he is trapped on his big bummed cloth nappy like a tortoise is on its back. I can imagine this will also affect the early stages of crawling and walking. He is small, so the bulk of the nappy has more effect than on a larger baby. On the other hand, cloth is
Edited to add: But though "on average" apparently cloth nappy wearers train 6 months earlier, the effect is apparently more to do with girls being fastidious, and there's no guarantees for any particular individual child.
Self:
Having had difficulties with breast feeding, feeling a bit of a failure there, there's an emotional side of it involved too. There's a sense of middle class snobbery I guess, feeling I'm doing something more, extra, to compensate. I guess as quite a few of my peers also use cloth, there's a bit of peer pressure too. I don't want to feel a failure at this too.
Other considerations:
We use washable wipes and water in preference to oodles of baby wipes or cotton wool. Baby wipes get used for a major poo explosion. Washing and storing these isn't particularly onerous and can be done in a regular clothes wash especially if we only use them on a non-pooey bum. I'd still do this, which would still be better for the eco-friendliness and financial cost aspects.
The support and time aspects of this are quite significant no factors for me. Ganesh is most likely to be swayed by cost and the cost saving is not really worth it for his time. The environment bit is arguable and I do do a lot of recycling etc., and if only they'd have a nappy-waste-stream in the bins for parents, which could then be used as known rubbish base for fuel then landfill and fuel problems would both be rather reduced.
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Date: 2009-04-29 11:37 am (UTC)Even when we were on washable nappies "full time" we still used disposables overnight and when out of the house for any length of time. They were definitely more convenient and lasted longer between changes. And we went back to disposables when he grew out of the Kushies, so overall we haven't been a great advert for the (supposedly) ecological method. (None of this "wash at 30 degrees" either — they were washed at 60 on the full programme.)