Nappies, washable or not?

Hi,
My wife and I have always thought about using washable nappies but never been entirely convinced that they are a good replacement for disposables. We think that the amount of washing required to keep them clean is as bad for the environment - be it in a different way - as disposing of disposable nappies.

I wonder if other people have looked into this and can provide more information to decide one way or the other.

We have thought that maybe they become more practical as the baby gets older when not so many nappies are required.

Anyone know or have thoughts on this?
Cheers,
James

Hi James,

Good subject.
It is a hard one to decide on. Disposable nappies are just so convienient compared to real nappies. I have looked into this myself, and real nappies have moved on a great deal over the last few years.
The people in the know esimate 5 Billion disposable nappies a year go into land fill in the UK alone, so maybe real nappies should be seriously considered. With regards to washing I know in my area there are nappy washing services that collect and return once a week.
There is a company I have used in Newastle called Growupgreen that does 2 week trials. They reckon you any need 15 - 20 nappies in total.

I think it is a bit more effort but looks like you can save a lot of money over the year.
Cheers

GAM

Hi James,
We've had 2 children now and we found it really easy with the 1st (a girl) to use washable nappies. I used prefolds inside a waterproof covering. It involved a bit of organisation and until she was weaned it was pretty disgusting (I can't look at chicken korma any more!) but it was so much cheaper! Our second (a boy) kept weeing out of the nappies leaving them dry and everything else wet, so if anyone's got any tips, I'd like to hear them
Ruth

I agree with Ruth - my boys keep weeing out of them! My friend used to use them with her little girl and she had no problems