Tips and Advice from a Cloth Nappy Dad

“I really want to use cloth, but my husband/wife/soulmate/mother-in-law/dog is reluctant. How can I convince them it’s worth doing?” Does this sound familiar? If you’ve looked into cloth at all, you’ve probably come up against some hesitation from a family member or partner. Not everyone is immediately sold on the idea of cloth nappies.

If you’re in this situation, the good news is that in the vast majority of cases, those reluctant relatives come around to the idea eventually. In fact, they can often become the biggest champions for reusables! In the meantime though, you’re probably wondering what you can do to help make things easier. Today I’m bringing you an interview with my lovely husband, Phil, to give you a few ideas to get the best start for the whole family.

To give you a bit of background, Phil was sceptical about whether cloth would be worthwhile to begin with, but quickly came around to it. While he’s not as excited by pretty nappies as me, he’s at the stage where he’d happily recommend them to his friends. I asked him a few questions about his feelings towards reusable nappies since we started, and here’s what he said.

How did you feel when I first suggested using cloth nappies?

I was apprehensive, and I thought that although there’s merit to them, they may be more costly than disposables. I also thought that they’d probably take more time to wash, put on… that they’d be a bit more faffy than disposables! Our view on living sustainably has always been that we don’t make a change unless it’s a good all round fit. So it shouldn’t be ridiculously expensive and it shouldn’t take too much time. I thought this was maybe beyond the threshold of what I was willing to put up with.

What was your first impression of the nappies?

They were easier to use than I thought they’d be. They were easier to put on than I’d expected, particularly the velcro ones. It took a bit more time to get used to the popper ones, and it felt like there was a bit more trial and error. Dealing with the poo, and all the washing, that was all frustrating at first, but I think that’s partly because we hadn’t worked out how to manage it well. That was probably the hardest thing about it. Working out a system for us took a couple of weeks. When we discovered liners that was a real game changer, first disposable ones and then fleece ones. They made a massive difference.

Did you have a favourite nappy at the start?

There were some nappies that were easier for beginners, that seemed more foolproof. Certainly the ones with velcro [they were Tots Bots Easyfit], but also the ones which were slightly bigger and you didn’t have to get into the creases or anything [like Motherease nappies]. The best were the ones you could fit similarly to a disposable nappy. 

I was most afraid of the ones with poppers on because I didn’t understand what the point of them all was, and I didn’t really know how to fit them as well because they were different to disposables. It took a while, but now I feel like I know for each of them how to fit them and what to look out for. Partly because of a very helpful video someone put on YouTube! [You can find that here!] It does make a difference to spend five minutes working out the different fits, because it’s never as hard as you think it will be. It’s just that you don’t know how to do it.

How have your feelings about cloth nappies changed over time?

My feelings have changed over time, mostly because we’ve worked out ways of making it easier. There are ways to fix the most frustrating things. For us, moving to fleece liners massively cut down the time it takes to rinse dirty nappies of poo. And learning how to do stuff, like having the willy facing down, how tight to do the nappies, whether to put a booster in or not, stuff like that, that really helps. You even learn time-saving techniques, so it definitely gets easier.

there are ways of doing it where you don’t have to invest heavily at the start

What do you like most about using cloth nappies now?

It makes a difference that you’re not throwing away mountains and mountains of disposable nappies that won’t decompose, so I like that they’re sustainable. That’s the big thing. And I like that if you look after them, and they’re good quality to begin with, they probably work out a similar price as disposable nappies, maybe slightly cheaper. [Me - That’s if your wife doesn’t keep buying more!] Yes, that’s the main thing! The large dependency is on whether you can avoid buying too many.

It is probably still more costly in terms of time, but on balance it’s worth it. It’s not too time-intensive, it doesn’t cost lots more money, and it makes a big difference. When you think about how many nappies you go through and how much stuff you’re throwing away over the whole lifetime of a child, and maybe multiple kids too, it makes a real difference.

What do you like least about using cloth nappies now?

The thing I find most difficult still is that you’ve got to be on top of your washing game. With a disposable nappy you’d always have one in the drawer. With reusables, if it’s been a busy week and you’ve run out of clean nappies, it’s frustrating to have to go and find one. You have to put the effort in to make sure you’re always putting the washing away! Especially if you don’t want to have a huge number of nappies. I don’t think we struggle with getting the washing done, but it sometimes takes us a while to put it away. 

What advice would you give to partners and family members who are reluctant to start?

There are ways of starting where you don’t have to invest heavily in nappies at the start. We did a trial scheme to try them out before you buy them and work out what was best for us. So there’s no risk initially and you might as well do it to see if it’s too fussy. Definitely get involved even if you’re reluctant. Give it a go and see what you find easy and what’s hard.

It probably will feel a bit hard to begin with, like with anything. But try and remember that it can only get easier. There are things you can do to make it easier and you’ll get quicker at fitting them, and more confident. So if you try them out for a couple of weeks, there’s no way it will be harder than that!

Keep talking to each other about what’s working and what isn’t and try to find solutions. If your partner is driving it, let them know what you’re struggling with and ask them for help. If they’re really keen, they’ll probably want to help work it out.

What advice would you give to someone who is struggling to convince a family member or partner to make the switch?

Take the lead on making it as easy as possible. I’ve never felt overwhelmed because I’ve always been able to ask for help. I think if you’re the partner driving it, you need to be willing to help find solutions otherwise it probably won’t work. And be patient if you can. It will take a few weeks but things do eventually get easier.

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