Washable diapers. Something that was very clear to me that I wanted to start using that when I had a baby. It is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to try to positively contribute to reducing single use plastic with children. If I use a dopper bottle, cotton bags and fruit bags at the supermarket, surely I can at least start making an effort to use reusable diapers. In this blog I share my experiences with washable diapers, because washable diapering with twins is also really possible!
Why washable diapers ?
Before I go into my experiences, first some background on diapers. Did you know that one disposable diaper takes 500 years to decompose? And that for 1 child who becomes potty trained on average between 24 and 36 months you use over 4500 diapers. A used diaper weighs 175 grams on average (although our boys now sometimes poop 4 times a day per child so that’s a bit more than 175 grams) so do the math: almost 800 kilos of diapers for 1 child that takes 500 years to dissolve. Until the 1970s it was quite normal to use cotton diapers. That means a lot less plastic waste! I myself grew up using a cotton diaper with a safety pin around my bibs. So my parents, especially my mother, was already very sustainable!
Having children is not sustainable, let’s face it. That’s why I think it’s important to do my best to reduce the negative impact on our earth. In having children, washable diapers are one of the ways for me to accomplish this. Saying that, the disposable diaper is also really convenient and I really do still use them from time to time. Especially since in this society there is a lot of pressure on us as parents to keep all the balls high.
How can you get started with washable diapers?
Our twin boys were born prematurely. After three weeks in intensive care, we were glad to have come home in one piece. So for us as brand new parents and for my partner even in a foreign country without his family and friends, the first 2 months were enough disposable for a while. To get used to all the new things. It is quite a lot of work after all, having twins like that. Once we found a rhythm, I started looking for how to really start and what kind of diapers would really suit our boys.
Good preparation
During my twin pregnancy I had already oriented myself through various channels. It was a bit overwhelming I must admit. So many options and so many opinions on reusable diapers. It was quite a lot. So I read many blogs, watched youtube videos and followed a consultation with the Billenboetiek. They also gave these in English so my boyfriend could watch as well. They explained a lot, such as which diapers exist and how many diapers you need for twins. This was really nice and especially since we did English consultations there were few other people so we had a private consultation. They recommended that I hire a trial pack to see what would suit our little ones best.
In addition to the consultation, I also joined a fantastic Facebook group through the wasbaar luieren (in the Netherlands) : Wasbare luiers op reis where you can rent a box full of washable diapers to try out. You pay 25 euros of which 12.50 is shipping. This was perfect! It was much cheaper than renting a washable diapers trial pack from a webshop, the only downside was that you had to wait until it was your turn. So it is helpful to request this on time. Usually it was something like 4 to 6 weeks until it was your turn. You then get to try out the box of diapers for 2-3 weeks (from my recollection) before sending it back.
Through this option, I found out that I found so-called “prefolds” really perfect. And I didn’t expect that! These are like cotton rags with high absorbency. You then fold these into a rectangle and then place them in a cover. You can also fold them in other ways, but I found this way of the so-called ‘padfold’ fold the most pleasant and easiest. So did my partner.
I also used an inner diaper from Totsbots with an overpants. This also worked very well! Only, buying these inner diapers is quite pricey, even second-hand, which is why we ended up opting for the prefolds. These are a lot cheaper.
Buying washable diapers
Then the actual step was there. Buying the diapers. I had discovered thanks to the washable diapers on travel facebook group that I really liked the Blümchen brand for the prefolds and pants. And the pants or diaper pants from Happy Bear. So I bought three pants with Velcro from Blümchen and five pants from Happy Bear all with snaps. Through Vinted I bought another five Happy Bear pants with Velcro. Through Marktplaats I bought 30 prefold pads from Blümchen when we were still in the Netherlands. The blue version. However these had shrunk during washing by the previous owner so I really couldn’t use these other than with a padfold fold. I had also bought six used size 1 inner diapers from totsbots.
Prefolds diapers
I was just talking about prefolds (also called eyelet diapers), but if you’re just starting to delve into the world of washable, I can imagine you’re thinking, what the heck is that? Prefolds are made of several layers of fabric. In the middle, the prefold has several layers which makes the absorption high. Especially where your baby pees the most. An added advantage is that they dry quite quickly, faster than Totsbots inner diapers. You can fold prefolds in many different ways.
Inserts
In terms of inserts, I always use the ones from popollini, I swear by these. The popollini inserts can be reused (if you buy the bamboo version, these come in a box, not on a roll!). Up to 3 or 4 times! What I understood afterwards is that as long as the baby doesn’t eat solid food, you don’t even necessarily need an insert because it’s so liquid and it easily flushes away in the toilet. We did always use panty liners.
Washable diaper powder kruitvat
With the growth in popularity, there are also well-known stores launching their own washable diapers. So there are washable diapers kruitvat, washable diapers hema and even I think washable (swimming) diapers at Zeeman. Personally I have never used these and hear varying stories about them. If you are interested, I would search the Facebook Group Wasbare Luiers Nederland.
Washable diapers in everyday use: my experiences
Now comes the most important thing I think what I would have liked to know in detail before I started washable diapering. How exactly do you do it? Because we live small and we also knew we were going to move at least 2 more times, we didn’t want too much stuff. We use disposable diapers for the night so we have a diaper pail in the house. Our bathroom is close to where we change the kids, so we had a bucket (regular house/garden bucket), the diaper pail and a laundry bag specifically for washable diapers. This bag has a coating inside.
Overpants with Velcro or snaps
We have now been using washable diapers for 1 year and 4 months. I bought new pants with Velcro at the beginning of Blümchen. Unfortunately, even now they are not so “sticky,” even the used Happy Bear pants with Velcro no longer stick. Because of this, I prefer snaps. Of course this is personal for everyone, so try what you like. If you want to use the diapers for more than one child, I would recommend snaps. And then of course my experience with the pee and poop diapers. How do we do it and how much time does it take?
The peeing diaper
With a diaper that was only peed in, it is easy and quick. When the pants are still dry you just change the inner diaper in our case it was a prefold or a totsbots inner diaper. Insert insert, fasten and then put the pants back on. The dirty inner diaper + insert goes into the laundry bag. Those popollini liners can be reused up to 3 or 4 times! Of course only if it has been peed on. After about 2 or 3 times of use we put the pants in the laundry. When the pants were wet, we put them in the laundry bag and used a clean one. Easy peasy.
The poopy diaper
But then, the poopy diaper. When they weren’t eating solid food, it was quite fine. We would remove the insert with the poop from the diaper, wrap some toilet paper around it and hup into the diaper pail. We rinsed off the remaining poop in the shower tub. Then we put the wet inner diaper + any overpants in a bucket. We disinfected the shower tray every time after use.
When the children switched to solid foods, it became a slightly different story. The poop is really different then. So when they have a poopy diaper, it goes like this: we take the diaper with pads and all to the bathroom (that’s where our toilet is). We take out the insert and wrap it in toilet paper. (Good to give a little context. Our boys poop 3 or 4 times a day and it’s often a bit derriezy. So not a “solid turd” so to speak). Then we throw it in the diaper pail. Then we grab the prefold and overpants (our boys always poop next to the inserts too!) and rinse them in the toilet.
This sometimes involves using toilet paper to scrape off sticky poop. Then we wash it a little more in the shower (note here not really more poop comes off) and then put it in a bucket. It doesn’t smell because it’s out in the open. Every 3 days we have to wash the diapers. When it is only pee diaper, then of course the inner diaper goes back into the laundry bag with the insert.
How much time does it take?
We do spend about 3 minutes per poopy diaper to get it clean. So with twins who have 3 or 4 poopy diapers every day, it takes quite some time. But if you have 1 baby, then it really is a (vegan) egg! Especially if they just poop only once or twice a day and not 4 times a day (so 8x poopy diapers a day!) like ours. I say we everywhere because my partner and I both change with washable diapers. You sometimes hear stories that the partner doesn’t want to participate, but in our case we both support washable diapers. What plays into it is that we don’t force ourselves to do it. That when they are sick for example, out of the house or just to give ourselves a break: we can use disposables too.
Because we use both types of diapers: disposable and washable, I can very well see the different advantages and disadvantages. A very big advantage of washable is that you practically never have a squirting diaper. That is, a diaper where a baby poops so much that it comes out of the diaper. Over the back, over the legs. This is really much less common. I myself, for example, when they have diarrhea, use a disposable diaper with an overpants over it. This way the diarrhea stays contained and you don’t have to change the sheets of the crib after every nap or the clothes during the day.
One disadvantage of washable is that it does take some extra time. Whichever way you look at it. It just is. But because at the same time it feels really good AND you have so many nice diapers nowadays, it is acceptable to me.
Washable diapers and childcare
When your child goes to daycare, you quickly face the question: does my daycare do washable diapers? My experience in Barcelona and Mataró is that they are very sympathetic to washable diapers. The daycare centers also know how much waste disposable diapers produce, so we haven’t had a single instance of them refusing to use our diapers.
I do want to stress that you really need to explain how it works well. We regularly had our boys come home with diapers that were very loose and therefore leaking. Fortunately, after another explanation it went much better. If your daycare is a bit hesitant, it’s worth looking into pocket diapers. These look a lot like “regular diapers” but you can put in extra boosters.
Want to know more about what kind of washable diapers there are? Approximately how many diapers do you need, what other useful accessories to have, how to wash washable diapers, what brands I like and much more? I am in the process of writing this blog!
Read more about twins and (vegan) children
