Hi, about to embark into cloth nappies, please can you help!

[Sparkleyone]

Hi there,

I wonder if someone could be so kind to help me! I am going to be placing an order soon for some cloth nappies and all the necessary extra things I might need.

I am at a loss to exactly what I will need though and how many of each.

I have estimated about 15 nappies
A box of disposable liners, or are washable liners better?
A nappy bucket
Mesh bags (what are these for?)
A wet bag or two
Boosters (how many will I need?)


Am I correct in thinking I am just to store my dirty nappies in my nappy bucket until I come to wash them? Should my nappy bucket have water in it or be dry? Do I need to get the thick of the poo off first down the loo by scraping it off with tissue?


To wash them, is it right that I should do a rinse then a hot wash and then another rinse? and just use a small amount of detergent with no conditioner?


How do you go about using these when on holiday when you dont have access to a washing machine and tumble drier?


I really do apologise for all of the questions. I want to get started quickly with my baby after a change of heart with disposables!


Your help is very much appreciated! Thanks in advance, Xx

 

[Lisa1302]

I have estimated about 15 nappies
I would say work out how many nappies you use per day and times it by 3 for a minimum amount - that way you can use 2 days worth, wash them at night and have a days worth to use while you are drying them (for me that would mean a minimum of 18 as we use 6 a day normally)


A box of disposable liners, or are washable liners better?
I use both - well I use fleece and OH use flushables! They both do the trick and its what you prefer really

A nappy bucket
A 16l is fine if you stick with the 2 days of washing, but if you incraease your stash and so wash 3 of 4 days worth you either need 2 buckets or a bigger one

Mesh bags (what are these for?)
If they are big ones then you can put them in the bucket (like a bin bag) and then put the nappies there - so when you wash you don't touch the nappies just out the open bag in the machine
If its a small bag I use these in my small bins for washable wipes - I zip it up and put in the washer - that way I don have to pick the out of the washing pile!

A wet bag or two
I only have need for one

Boosters (how many will I need?)
Depends which nappies you get and how heavy a wetter baby is - some I never need to boost like my Blueberrys - others I do. I would say buy 2 or 3 and then see how long your nappies are lasting, its always good to have a couple in case you go on a long trip - and then you can see if you need more depending how the nappies last


Am I correct in thinking I am just to store my dirty nappies in my nappy bucket until I come to wash them? Should my nappy bucket have water in it or be dry? Do I need to get the thick of the poo off first down the loo by scraping it off with tissue?
Most nappies these days are best of being dry pailed - get as much poo off as you can (personally I get every bit of poo off under a tap!)


To wash them, is it right that I should do a rinse then a hot wash and then another rinse? and just use a small amount of detergent with no conditioner?
Its up to you - I do a rinse which is 30, then I usually wash at 30 - and don't do an extra rinse, but that is because I use soapnuts
If I think they need a really good clean I put them on 50 and add detergent, as you say - a very small amount and no softener (you can use Bold 2in1 which smells lush and is the only conditioner that's ok on nappies as its clay based)


How do you go about using these when on holiday when you dont have access to a washing machine and tumble drier?
I took 12 nappies, which for me was washing every night - and I washed by hand - it wasn't so bad really as I found I didn't have much to do in the evenings after she went to bed anyway!
I was in the Dordoge, so it was pretty hot and they dried in the sun the nest day

Hope that helps