My mum's generation had no choice but terry nappies, there was nothing else! Not only that, they had to wash them by hand. So how come today's mums, who mostly have washing machines, have to use disposables? Go back another generation, and we were making and washing our own STs.
Washable nappies are much improved now, and there are companies that offer to collect the dirty ones, delivering clean at the same time, and wash them for you, for a monthly fee. Over 2 and a half years, disposables cost about five times as much as washables, even allowing for the cost of water, energy and soap powder. The cost of disposables is repeated for each child, whereas washables can be used for at least one more child before they're worn out, and then you can use them for cleaning rags before tearing them to shreds and putting them in the compost bin.
Health visitors have recorded increased incidence of nappy rash among low income households, because of the financial incentive to change disposables less often.
Young women have it all laid on now, washing machines, tumble driers, dish washers, driving the children to school 5 minutes up the road. I know some people live many miles from schools, that’s another story, then they say it’s us oldies that ruining the planet for them. Who washes nappies now on here, anyone?
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
The issue with disposable nappies isn't just how they are disposed of but also what goes into them to start with. Most contain wood pulp which means forests are being cut down to create them.
Our health visitor and midwife have both told us that we're the only people they've ever seen using washable nappies which really surprised me. We use washable wipes too and they're a lot better than wet wipes and save us a load of money. The initial cost probably puts people off I imagine but the long term savings are huge.
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Washable nappies are much improved now, and there are companies that offer to collect the dirty ones, delivering clean at the same time, and wash them for you, for a monthly fee. Over 2 and a half years, disposables cost about five times as much as washables, even allowing for the cost of water, energy and soap powder. The cost of disposables is repeated for each child, whereas washables can be used for at least one more child before they're worn out, and then you can use them for cleaning rags before tearing them to shreds and putting them in the compost bin.
Health visitors have recorded increased incidence of nappy rash among low income households, because of the financial incentive to change disposables less often.
Who washes nappies now on here, anyone?