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My newest edition Luke James at 4 weeks in his modern cloth nappy

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4.52 (Highly recommend) from 4 votes (59 Visits)

My experience with Modern Cloth Nappies - making poo fun!

by taranicole

(October 13th) (rank 500+)

Okay... so maybe not fun..but more interesting at least!

I have a new hobby which I’m absolutely in love with – Modern cloth nappies.

Who would’ve thought I’d be so excited about something that’s only purpose is to catch poo? It’s strange what

happens to you once you become a mum!

It all started when one of my friends said she was planning on using cloth nappies at home to save money. I like saving money I thought to myself so started “googling” and was overwhelmed at what I saw - funky websites with cool designs and nappies that “looked” like disposables and were just as easy to use!

Then I started reading the environmental reasons for choosing cloth and was shocked at what I discovered.

Did you know that EVERY day in Australiaabout 3.5 MILLION nappies go into landfill? And that they take around 500 years to decompose? Which means EVERY disposable nappy ever made is sitting in landfill! Also, in production of disposables it takes one cup of crude oil to produce just one nappy that can’t ne re-used. The environmental impact is huge!

Modern cloth don’t require soaking or bleaching like old-school cloth and can just be rinsed and thrown in with your normal wash.

They also save you heaps of money. I had no idea that over 3 years of using disposable nappies and wipes I would have spent about $3500 and seeing I have 3 kids x that by 3 and it’s potentially over $10,000!

Having said that, modern cloth can seem expensive to start with ranging from $10-$35 per nappy but you have to see the initial outlay with the big picture in mind! You can look at setting up for around $200 for a basic system or around $900 for a system that includes mainly all-in-one nappies which are the easiest (and cutest!) to use!

I don’t have a spare $500 or so sitting in the bank to spend on nappies so I’ve bought a few here and there and built my stash up slowly. I’ve even bought some secondhand on eBay!

With two in nappies, I’m so glad I’ve been converted and only wish I’d known about modern cloth sooner!

I encourage you to do some googling and look into it as an option for your own little one as there are also many more reasons to choose modern cloth and you might find it works for you and your family!

Any contributed content above is the subjective opinion of that member or external author, and not of Minti.com Pty Ltd. If you are searching for health related advice we strongly suggest you seek professional medical support. View our Terms of Service for more details.

ADVICE RATING

4.52 (Highly recommend) from 4 votes

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	October 13th \| mystikal

Re: My experience with Modern Cloth Nappies - making poo fun!

Google is a great resource for finding information, however when you read information and then take it from websites you need to cite them in your article.

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	October 13th \| smsjs

Re: My experience with Modern Cloth Nappies - making poo fun!

I hear you with this, but I need to bring to attention the poor little ones who can't use the cloth nappies. My former partners son was one of those kids. He had horrible reactions to the cloth nappies, developing huge allergy related rashes all over his groin and bum. It turned out that the cloth nappies didn't draw away the moisture well enough and he had bad reactions to his own urine and poop.

We never left him in soiled nappies for more than the time it took to work out that he was soiling them. Our doctor instructed us to use disposable nappies, because they pulled the moisture away better than the cloth ones. So for a percentage of kids, cloth is not an option.

I hear that there are a few inserts that you can now use to help with moisture control, but they still aren't enough for the more sensitive kids.

Oh with the whole 500 years to decompose thing....I am not wholly convinced that it is totally true. I did an experiment a number of years back, where I placed a nappy out in my garden, on top of the soil exposed to the elements, and also buried one about a foot under the soil.

Within 12 months, the one on top had almost totally broken down into a very brittle powdery mess. Once disturbed it turned into a fine powder and almost totally disappeared. The buried one took about 18 months to get to the same stage. I am a bit skeptical about this 500 year decomposition claim....The rate of decomp will change with the different soil/ground types as well as weather types.

The only part of the nappies that didn't break down were the sticky plastic tags and the elastic in the leg area.

On top of that, I think you will find that most disposables these days are biodegradable for the most part.

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	October 13th \| taranicole

Re: My experience with Modern Cloth Nappies - making poo fun!

I hear you with the sensitive skin thing - cloth nappying is not for everyone but I don't think there's any harm in making sure mums know the options. I had no idea when I had my first child that ANYONE used cloth nappies - I thought it was from the dark ages so was genuinely surprised when I realised they were actually cool....but as with everything...a personal choice.

About the 500 year to biodegrade...I read so many different articles about exactly "how long" it took varying from 200 years to a thousand so went with one right in the middle. I couldn't find links to recent studies so they may not have been done? Anyways, I think it's fair to say it takes "a long time" in contrast to something like an apple and I think its more about acknowledging our "throw away" society and that there are alternatives out there.

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	October 29th \| mcm

Re: My experience with Modern Cloth Nappies - making poo fun!

Just an idea but you could use fleece to draw away moisture. There are so many options with mcn. We prefer to use natural materials, others prefer fleece inners and polyester outers - all in ones.

Of course, mcn is not for everyone but for us we are happy to have the choice.

Great article!

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