Busting Cloth Nappy Myths

Since I decided to switch to cloth nappies I have heard a variety of wild and outrageous statements about how what I am doing can cause health issues or doesn’t make a difference in the long run cost wise.

Well I thought seeing as we have already covered disposable vs cloth nappies, it only made sense to then do some myth busting surrounding cloth nappies as well. When I first started writing this, I thought well I have already covered all this in the previous post covering disposables and cloth nappies. So what’s the point? I guess the reason I wanted to write this anyway is so that those who have read the previously mentioned post could clearly see that what people say about cloth nappies isn’t necessarily correct.

My mother came to visit us today and she spent the entire time she was here telling me that cloth nappies caused nappy rash, were uncomfortable for my son and even tried to say that he didn’t like them. Which just made me want to write this post more. Not that I think she will actually read it. But it did get me thinking, how many other mothers are being held back but these fallacies that are (most likely) created by those in the disposable nappy industry.

So without further ado, let me present to you 9 of the most common myths around cloth nappies.

1) Cloth Nappies waste water:

Honestly, there isn’t much difference between washing cloth nappies and not. I have been consistently using cloth nappies for the last 6 months and have notice little to no difference in our water usage. It really depends on what you’re planning to do for your system of washing. All of my son’s cloths are washed with sensitive skin detergent so I tend to wash his clothes separately from other household items. When I started using cloth nappies it just made sense to add them to the washing loads I was already doing separately for Kyran.

I know a lot of people who was their cloth nappies separate to everything else. Something about they are worried that it will be unhygienic for the other items to be put in with dirty nappies. Well actually, your putting things in the wash to get clean, it doesn’t matter in my opinion. I don’t think it’s a problem to wash nappies with other items. That way you can know for sure – you’re not wasting water, because its water you would be using anyway. Cloth nappies can be cold washed too so there is no energy wastage heating water up either.

2) Cloth Nappies Cause Nappy Rash

So this is difficult to explain. The answer is no, cloth nappies do not cause nappy rash. There is no evidence or even research into this or in support of this.

What does cause nappy rash, is not changing your baby often enough. Obviously if you leave your child in a urine drenched nappy for long periods of time without changing it (disposable or cloth) you are going to end up with a bacterial infection or skin infection. That is what nappy rash essentially is.

3) Cloth Nappies are Leaky and Unreliable

This is utter nonsense.

Cloth nappies do not leak; in fact cloth nappies contain everything from urine to feces better than disposable nappies because you can adjust leg and waist sizes adequately to suit your own bubba’s needs.

If you do have leakage issues, adding another booster (cloth liner) to your nappy easily solves it. Adequate lining and fit will prevent leakages and will keep everything contained much more efficiently then disposable nappies.

4) Cloth Nappies are bulky and restrict baby’s movement and delay walking and crawling

Seriously?

Personally, I found Kyran’s walking and crawling completely unhindered compared to disposables.

Kyran gets nappy free time everyday just like he would if I were to use disposable nappies. The fact is there is no evidence suggesting that cloth nappies hinder development, and with the plethora of brands and styles available, you can make a choice based on your baby’s need and preferences.

5) Cloth Nappies are smelly

All right, so this doesn’t make any sense.

Some people have mentioned this one to me. My response “So after 1 year with my baby using cloth nappies, his nappies will smell like a year worth of baby poo”. It is ridiculous to think that this is true. Your cloth nappies obviously, will come out smelling like your washing detergent. Just like your clothes – dirty clothes go in, clean clothes come out.

6) Cloth Nappies are Unhygienic (they never really get clean)

Well this is basically the same argument as the “nappies smell”, I guess they imagine nappies stay dirty. Maybe these people imagine that us hippy mummy’s scrape poo off the nappy with a stick and leaf and whack it straight back on baby’s bottom.

It’s safe to say that this is far from the truth. The nappies meet the washing machine after every use, and most washing machines these days come with a special baby wash, which uses hot water and extra thorough cleaning. Once you wash the nappies, pop them on the line to dry (though I use my tumble dryer as there are only so many hours in the day and hanging washing out is a low priority) and they come our soft clean, unstained, and the patterns look better than ever.

7) Cloth nappies cause just as much environmental damage as disposables in production and washing:

Ok so this is one of the biggest myths I have heard from so many different people. As soon as you mention cloth nappies it is likely that one of the first things you hear “because you have to wash them so often” so it doesn’t make much of a difference.

Even though there is a little (and I mean a little) extra washing along with your baby outfits, it is not enough to compare with the environmental damage of producing just 1 disposable nappy.

Well this just might come as a surprise to your sources, but washing and reusing something is always going to be better environmentally, then something you use, throw away, and buy again. SURPRISE!

8) Washing cloth nappies are a hassle

Well when you are faced with the prospect of being a parent. Taking up cloth nappies as well can seem like 10 steps too far. Changing a million nappies in the first year seems daunting when you are faced with the idea of washing those nappies as well.

But realistically, it’s only an extra load of washing every few days. I know, I know, what if you don’t do washing that often. Well if you don’t now, wait until your baby is born. Unless you plan on buying new clothes each and every time your baby vomits all over itself, having cloth nappies is not going to make much of a difference to your day-to-day washing life.

9) You can’t use cloth nappies out and about

Well no one told me that, I must have missed to memo.

Of course you can use cloth nappies when you’re out and about. In fact I find it much easier then having disposables. Why? I don’t have to carry around plastic bags for disposable nappies and I don’t have to spend ages hunting for a bin that doesn’t offend people to use for nappies.

Instead I have 2 nappy bags that hold in moisture, I put the dirty nappies in these bags while I am out and about.

Basically I pop my cloth nappies in them once they are dirty and when it comes time to do washing I chuck the bag in the wash along with the nappies.

There you have it folks, myths successfully busted. Here is picture of myself and Kyran relaxing even though "cloth nappies are hard work"(insert sarcasm).

As Always Forever Yours

Anni