Explain to me Terry Flats

[PumpkinZulu]

Okay, so I am SOOO over disposable nappies! Every time I change one I just cringe thinking about landfills etc. So I'm making the switch to cloth

Don't ask me why, but for some reason I'm much more drawn to Terry flat nappies instead of MCN's But I have no idea what's what with them, so please share with me your expertise and experiences.

Many questions: What do I need? I already have quite a few terry squares, but I want some more. I need those snappi things, where can I get them? Also covers, what are they like? Are they plastic backed or anything like that to help with leaks, or do they just look pretty? Best places to get them from? What the heck is PUL (keep seeing that term and have no idea)? How often do I need to change, every two hours or so? Dry pailing and a little squirt type thing, is that all I need washing wise? What do you wash them in, do you soak in nappy san or what?

Sorry for all the q's and cluelessness. I'm actually hugely excited to cloth nappy Can't wait Roger started! TIA

ETA also, do I need a liner or something or is just the flat enough?

[HotI]

Can't wait Roger started!

lol

when bub was only on breastmilk, i just chucked the nappies in a dry bucket (no water) and then every day or two put them through the washing machine. no need for a little squirt etc. I still don't have a little squirt, just a 'poo knife' that i use to scrape the bits into the loo and then dry pail and wash. i usually do a hot rinse of nappies and then add clothes and do a wash using 1/2 the amount of powder.

with a little bub, you might want flannel nappies cos the terry flats can be huge. i used a combo of flannel flats and prefolds (maz-a-licious) and fitted nappies- all with a cover. PUL covers look kinda like the old plastics, but don't sweat so better for bubs butt.

check out the flat nappy discussion thread

[BlackCat]

I only used terries in the beginning with DS. so...

What do I need? Terry squares obviously, snappis or pins (snappis are easier imo but my mum found pins easier lol), liners, covers (generally one on, one airing, one for any poospolisions/wash, more if you have the inclination)

I need those snappi things, where can I get them? Big W, Target and the like sell them, however I bought mine from ebay as it worked out cheaper (try to get the snappi branded ones though as some of the cheap knock off are really nasty). I also got some through a FB group.

Also covers, what are they like? Are they plastic backed or anything like that to help with leaks, or do they just look pretty? No they dont just look pretty, without a cover, if you have a heavy wetter, EVERYTHING will need changing. They also contain poospolsions. Not all covers are made alike. The plastic pilchers you can get from Big W - they dont allow your little ones butt to breathe, You can get PUL lined ones which are waterproof (not compression leak proof though) and allow your little butt to breathe a bit, you can also get fleece covers which also allow breathing and draw some of the moisture back into the air. Then there are wool covers which require lanolising to be water proof and are best for overnight use.

Best places to get them from? Depends what you are after. Because im in the sticks online was the only way to go for me unless i wanted plastic pilchers :O

What the heck is PUL (keep seeing that term and have no idea)? PolyUrthenane (sp?) Laminate, Its like a very thin water proof lining usually hidden in layers of fabric... without proper treatment it will get old and stop being useful. Like everything I guess.

How often do I need to change, every two hours or so? Depends on how big a wetter you have. You can try to get more time by changing folds to cover the area they wet more or even adding boosting to them if you wanted to go that way.

Dry pailing and a little squirt type thing, is that all I need washing wise? I was brave and didnt even have a little squirt but yep thats all you really need, and a good washing machine and some sun to bleach out any nasties.

What do you wash them in, do you soak in nappy san or what? Treat them like you would a mcn and they will love you for the life of your nappying. Ie no harsh chemicals, half the amount of washing detergent and a good strip wash every so often and you should be right. Also no fabric softeners

ETA also, do I need a liner or something or is just the flat enough? I didnt like playing in poo so used a liner, also a liner makes clean ups a lot faster and easier and they will also help to keep your terries from staining Recommend liners especially if you use panadol at all. Again there are different types of liners and not all are created equal.

I think there used to be a flat nappy discussion thread on here too that you might find even more helpful Good luck

[luna moth]

They're the fricken bomb, PZ. I use them at least 50% of the time.

What do I need? I reckon I could get by with 16 these days, but I live in Qld I have a shedload of snappis, because they always disappear. I don't know how. I have 3 good covers and a few back ups.


I need those snappi things, where can I get them? Big W is my fave stockist. I love the knockoff ones too, they're caled "snaipp"s.

Also covers, what are they like? Are they plastic backed or anything like that to help with leaks, or do they just look pretty? I like a bit of both. My favourites are the TotsBots PUL wraps. TotsBots have a store in Melbourne, I think it's in Kew? So you can check them out in person. Or at the PBC expo.


What the heck is PUL (keep seeing that term and have no idea)? Already answered. It's a less toxic alternative to PVC.

How often do I need to change, every two hours or so? Yeah, about that. I bamboo-boost to get a bit longer if I need to.

Dry pailing and a little squirt type thing, is that all I need washing wise? Pretty much. We have a LS, but these days we use a poo stick. I always use microfleece liners; kinder to her little butt, and make cleanup easier.


What do you wash them in, do you soak in nappy san or what? I wash them with my MCNs, so half strength, plant based detergent, at 40C with an extra rinse cycle. I have soaked one before, after a particularly epic poosplosion. It's nice to be able to soak them without doing damage, but you don't have to. Best of both worlds

If you wanna hit me with a PM, I'll help you get set up.

[PumpkinZulu]

Roger that!

[PumpkinZulu]

Thanks so much ladies. I'm so excited, I keep telling Isla but for some reason she's not jumping for joy

Audax I'll pm you now!

[forshelby]

this is really good info, I'm thinking maybe MCNs aren't the huge scary job I thought they'd be. Can I add a couple of Q's?

Are the liners disposable? And in comparasin to using sposies, how much extra time will this take?

[onthefly]

terries are great value and easy to use. probably more changes than mcns, but you can add boosters. I use a lot in winter as they dry so much faster.
the only extra work is an extra load of washing every other day. that's it.
you can get disposable liners, but I find they hold water against baby - i prefer fleece ones that keep bottom dry

[LimeSlice]

ForShelby - the average add to your day for MCNs is 7 minutes.... includes washing, sorting, folding, drying. On average, it adds 7 minutes to your life. There are disposable liners, flushable liners and reusable liners (raw silk, microfleece). If you are going to bin them anyway, you may as well get the flushable ones, your bin won't smell But the cloth liners are better still - you just wash them like all the other nappies.

[KitFaerie]

I find using cloth waaaay easier than sposies, no more having to empty the bin 3 times a day! No more lugging a massive box of sposies to the car with a baby in tow! And you never run out of nappies. I find them easier to use, I think I'm a bit remedial when it comes to sposies. DS has a brilliant time helping me fold them. I use the flushable liners for his first nappy of the day (his poop nappy). We have special songs for each nappy and DH has his favourite nappies too. It's actually heaps of fun at nappy change time.

[Sterla]

I'm excited for you PZ! It's so much fun when you first start out with cloth!

[beansbeans!]

Thanks for starting this PZ!

Funnily enought we are going to go cloth this time round, but I keep thinking I would should get flats as well.. Now Im thinking I shall get some as well as some mcns, cant hurt can it?!

[PumpkinZulu]

Okay, I just bought flats, snappi's, a few pilchers (until I can get some covers with PUL) and a few basic Bonds covers (not sure if I can use them over cloth? We'll find out I guess.) So excited, when we get home I'm going to google some folds and try Isla in her first cloth nappy!

[peanutter]

PumpkinZulu's Qs:

What do I need?

we started with 24 white, 16 coloured and 10 MCNs. But we have never come close to running out! And the terry flats get used for everything - perking rags, a cover on the change mat, etc. Oh, and 9 snappies (3 packs of 3) and 9 pilchers (plastic pants ... many say they are the devil, I know...)

I need those snappi things, where can I get them?

Kmart

Also covers, what are they like? Are they plastic backed or anything like that to help with leaks, or do they just look pretty?

lots of different types - wool ones, microfiber, etc ... lots of handmade ones with water resistant things, etc. Or pilchers, which are just plastic (PVC?) pants, which are waterproof (and under $2 for a pack of 3).

Best places to get them from?

we got all of the terry flat stuff from Kmart, bar some nicer coloured ones from Baby Bunting.

How often do I need to change, every two hours or so?

we found mostly that every 4 hours was fine. DS came out of the womb on a 4 hour clock - he'd feed, sleep, and poo once every four hours ... but some days we'd find he was wet early, and so (obviously) we'd change him an extra time. So he mostly went through 6-8 nappies a day, until quite recently he's gone down to 5-6.

Dry pailing and a little squirt type thing, is that all I need washing wise?

we have two buckets for dry pailing, but we don't have a little squirt (though they are a good idea!).

What do you wash them in, do you soak in nappy san or what?

we have a "soak" function on our washing machine, and we use it. Then the powder, we use normal powder, plus napisan. If he's got the trots or thrush, we also add some detol in there.

do I need a liner or something or is just the flat enough?

we started with liners (we got flushable biodegradable ones online) but we found they did basically nothing ... initially when we were exclusively bf all poos for liquid and went straight through the liners, and now that he's on solids - so are his poos! So it's easier and cheaper to just pick it up with a tissue and flush.

Forshelby's Qs:


Are the liners disposable?

all of them can be binned (though that would get pretty smelly...) but you can get flushable ones, too.

if you're any good with a sewing machine though, it's easiest to buy some flannel or similar, run a hem around it, and use that (and then toss them in the wash with the nappies) if you want to use liners.

And in comparasin to using sposies, how much extra time will this take?

good question ... it's not really any extra time to do the change itself, but overall, less than 30 mins every other day. 2 minutes to put a load of washing on, 10 minutes to hang them up, 10 minutes to unpeg and fold and put away.

and actually, less time than that, if you subtract the time you otherwise would be needing to spend to take the nappy out to the bin each time, and the extra shopping time to go to buy the disposables!

[FabFiona]

Now I'm curious - what is a little squirt?


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[onthefly]

Peanutter, you really use napisan? Isn't that really bad for the nappies? Or do you only use flats?

LIttle squirt is a little handheld squirt hose that attaches to the water inlet on your toilet. use it to squirt off poo into the toilet. very handy. we only got one recently but wish I'd bought it ages ago.

Motherease Rikki & babybeehinds covers are really good over flats & MCNs

[peanutter]

re Isla's first cloth coated wee, I think she'll get used to it, but some liners should help draw it away (like has been said!).

Peanutter, you really use napisan? Isn't that really bad for the nappies? Or do you only use flats?

? not that I'm aware of. Have been using it for 15 months, with no issues, for both MCNs and flats and cloth wipes, and all!

[onthefly]

Go buy some microfibre and cut it into rectangles (no sewing required) - probably the easiest liners to use.
Harsh detergents and heating reduce the lifespan of elastic and PUL...(and can upset some bottoms) or so I thought anyway If your nappies are good, then coolios.