I actively sell Real Nappies, sometimes I am in supermarkets and sometimes at expos. Some people come up to me and say they would never use anything else – they know the benefits of using cloth over disposables, but some people say things like “Oh no I wouldn’t be bothered with all the hassle,” or “I don’t want to have to wash pooey diapers.”
A mother and daughter passed by in a supermarket recently and the mother took one look at our nappies, saw the price and said to her pregnant daughter “Don’t look, just keep walking.” I asked why she had said this and she said “Look at the price of those compared to disposables.” I of course explained the fact that this would be a one time purchase compared to repeatedly buying disposables, but sadly my attempt at an explanation fell on deaf ears.
So some people already assume that for one reason or another cloth diapers are more hassle than disposables. Let me address each reason why people might think they are and explain why I think they aren’t and you can decide for yourself.
The main reason is washing, yes you do have to wash cloth nappies, that’s how you use them again. At Real Nappies we design our best selling pack – The Birth to Potty Pack so that you only have to was your nappies once every third day – we give you enough nappies to last that long. It only takes a few minutes to put on a wash, so not too much hassle!
Perhaps people don’t like the thought of handling a soiled nappy, well if you use one of our nappy liners the solids can be flushed straight down the toilet, so you handle the edges of the liner, not the poo!
Some people, like the lady I mentioned earlier might even think cloth nappies are more expensive than disposables, perhaps initially they are but they need to do the sums!
Well, hopefully I’ve put to rest the main couple of reasons why people wouldn’t use cloth nappies, now if I may, let me explain a few more benefits of cloth nappying.
When you change your child’s nappy the solids need to go somewhere. Why not flush them down the toilet to get rid of them? A dirty disposable would be put in your dustbin. Now I know from experience (before I became educated) that after a few days of putting dirty nappies in your rubbish the smell is absolutely nauseating, not to mention what’s it’s like after a whole week.
As we all know the cost savings are huge – you will literally save thousands of dollars if you use cloth compared to disposables, and with the Real Nappies 2 Child Guarantee you won’t have to buy any nappies at all your second time round so the savings are even greater then.
The health reasons – there are no gels or chemicals in our nappies so there is no chance of burns, far less chance of nappy rash and no heat build up as all the materials we use are breathable.
Of course the impact on the environment is much less – nothing goes to landfill, so we’re not waiting 500 years for cloth diapers to decompose.
Well back to the original question – Are Cloth Nappies Any More Hassle Than Disposables? If you call spending an extra couple of minutes every few days more hassle then I guess the answer to that question is yes. But just look at the positives. In my mind that extra few minutes is well worth it!
