The age old great nappy debate of Cloth vs Disposable and which is the cheapest option for family’s rages on, but not in our household.
As a dad and a husband I always listen and generally obey my wife to her views regarding the kids, so in saying that we have found a happy medium between the both that sits nicely between cost, efficiency and workload in washing, which nine times out of ten is the wife’s dept.
And yes, I am a dad that is not afraid to roll up the sleeves and change nappies, there are a lot out there that don’t I have found.
What we do is use cloth reusable nappies during the day and around home and we use the disposables at night before bed (So use the disposable through the night) and also if we are going out of the house for a while or travelling with baby.
We find this a great happy medium for us but it may not work for everyone either and of note, nappy rash is kept and has been pretty nonexistent in both the cloth nappy and the disposable nappy too.
Here are a few benefits and cons of cloth and disposable nappies, although not in depth just a brain dump of advantages and disadvantages of both.
Benefits of Cloth Nappies ::
- Long term savings
- They can be adjusted as your child gets older and bigger
- Easy to use and store
- Feels more natural
- Less household waste
- Being able to colour code your baby with their outfit for the day
Cons of Cloth Nappies ::
- Nappy washing late at night and then hanging them out
- Initial cost of purchase of the cloth nappies
- The bulk of the nappy, takes up more room in bags and storage
- A bit bulkier on the bum which means it’s sometimes a squeeze to fit the clothes on properly
- Smelly bucket storage container in the wash house / laundry
- Lots of different brands and types, which one do you buy
Benefits of Disposable Nappies ::
- Convenience
- Smaller and don’t take up much room
- Very absorbent for number 1’s and number 2’s
- Disposed of easily which means the smell doesn’t hang around for a long time too
- Lots of different sizes
Cons of Disposable Nappies ::
- Cost in the long term
- Chemicals in some brands for neutralisng the smell and also in the absorption parts
- Lots of household waste
I hope this has given you a bit of an insight to what we do in our family in regards to the choice between Cloth and Disposable, finding out what works for you too is the best way but using disposables for night time and travel and the cloth nappies for any other time works best for us, oh, we also use cloth for Daycare / Kindy too, they just throw the used nappies into a nappy bag and we bring home, clean and wash for the next days.
The best thing is to enjoy and find that happy medium between the both as no one is wrong and no one is right.