Washable nappies / daipers - Are they really more work?

while washable diapers DO entail more work -- you change diapers more often, you have to wash, dry and iron them-- i think they are still of value to the modern mom. i use disposable diapers for my daughter. they're more convenient, and i feel that i'd rather spend time with my daughter than have to wash and iron cloth diapers. but when she was about 4 months old, she got an awful case of diaper rash and her pediatrician advised that i use cloth diapers for at least 3 days to allow her rashes to heal. and heal they did! at that time i was so thankful for cloth diapers!

When my son was nappy age, I always used both. Like you said, washable ones are not too much trouble if you have the washing machine at home. It does become a bit messy (specially with the solid waste) but otherwise they are absolutely OK and comfortable too. India is a summer country and babies suffering from nappy-rash are very common. So we would rather use the home-made soft cloth nappies, wash them properly and reuse them. Also, we used to often keep his bottom open with lots of powder just to keep him comfy you know. And disposable nappies are quite expensive in India, its not that they have become real cheap like sanitary pads! So I save a lot of money by using the reusable ones. I did buy the disposable ones but they were used in the night (for me to get some sleep) and when we went out or had visitors for the baby.

Have you ever checked out the biodegradable diapers? http://www.blulow.com/gdiapers.html My kids are no longer in diapers, but if they were, I might have given these a go.

I use disposable diapers only at night and when we go out. The rest of the day it's usually cloth nappies....I just put them in the washing machine (baby's clothes are a seaparate wash) and wash them. No problems. But my 17 month old will be starting toddler group next week and they want him in disposable diapers. I don't like him being in disposable diapers most of the time....especially since we've started potty training. He's okay with the potty and would go in the morning before school....but he's not got control over his bladder yet. But having a diaper would make him take longer to potty train now.

WOW I really didn't think that people would still use those cave man style nappie's. Disposable nappie's are way better as like the name, disposable you just simply through them away if your out and your child does a toilet, where as the cloth one's you have to bring home stinking. They also do not hold water well either so once the child has done a wee it need's to come off immediately. Finally just think of what it does to your washing machine. I know you may soak them in a bowl before you wash them but you wont get all the waste out and then you get all the dirty stinky human waste going through your washing machine cycle.

Hi Moo..i was looking at the `green` nappies on the web,thinking of my daughter really,who uses disposables,but what a price they are to begin with!!...so so expensive.Maybe you use the terry nappies which maybe wouldnt be so dear,but I remember using them soo well.they started their life being beautifully white,and as time wore on they just got more and more stained,and given that there was very little in those days that you could soak them in there wasnt much hope for them!!!They used to have the usual soak in the nappy bucket and a bit of napisan thrown in for good measure...ive got to be honest that if it were me now going through it all again,i very well may be tempted to use disposables!!

I used washable diapers for my kids, mostly. It was just what I did and it saved a lot of money. My daughter wanted to use them, but both her husband and my husband thought they were unsanitary. She lives in an apartment and does not have her own washer dryer, so she used disposables. By the time she has another, maybe she can do what she wants.

Here in India we use cloth nappies and very rarely we use daipers that to if we plan to go out or during occasions and as we are used to washing clothes with hands it is not attall over work but in some odd seasons like winter and in rainy seasons it difficult to make them dry and moreover the way which we are used to finds to be very easy than that we are not praticed.

We only used disposable diapers. I have a hard time doing laundry, though, because of my bad back. When I have to transfer the wet clothes out of the washer more than once a day, it makes it hard for me to do much of anything the following day. My husband does most of our laundry because of this, and I just don't think he would have time to do diapers, too. Sometimes it's hard enough for him just to keep up on the regular laundry, especially when he is working 12 hours (or longer) shifts right through the weekends.

Well like you I have used both and I dont think either is really better for the babies but for convenience definately disposable!When you are out is sucks having to change a nappy and bring it home and even though I thought washable nappies would save money it has since been proven that it costs about the same so why waste your time if your not saving money or its not doing anything to the babies!

My sister's using washable diapers for her babies...and I have been helping out in taking care of her children and I don't find washing diapers as additional chore for me since I just put them into the washer and dry them as well. No sweat!

Ive used both, disposables are more convinient they take up less room in the changing bag when going out you can bin them when out rather than carrying them home etc, but that was my only problem at home it was fine i washed them every other day depending on how often she had been changed and stuck them in the dryer 2 hours later they were clean and dry ready to use again, not such a big deal. I guess you could run out with any nappy at least with reusables I could let her sit at home and pray she didnt wee while i washed and dried one rather than try and go to the shops and pray she didnt wet lol!

I did purchase the real diapers when my son was born 27 years ago.. I used them regularly and didn't have any extra trouble with the care of them.. I did have one extra load of laundry to do each week or sometimes twice a week but it was no more trouble.. I did enjoy it and thought that it was the "proper" thing to do as a good new mother.. But after awhile, I did switch to the disposables and then would not have went back to the real ones for any amount of money.. The real ones made excellent dust rags, after the proper bleaching of course..

My sister in law began using them when my niece was born (about 11 years ago) and she said it was not a bother. But I noticed with my nephew who is about 20 months now, she is using the disposable diapers. I didn't ask her about it, but I am sure it is because of the amount of cleaning. Plus, I work in a nursing home and we used to use wash cloths to clean the residents...and after many conversations about this we switched to using wet wipes to clean the residents now. Because there have been many reports that show bleach and detergents do not fully get all the germs out of clothes and things. I know that is it better to use them for the environment, but do they really benefit if they do not get all the germs out? Plus, I imagine the wash load would considerably be less.