In the event that you have thought about using washable diapers, I highly recommend them! Despite concerns that it would be too difficult or laborious, my husband and I have worked out a fairly simple system to keep the “work” to a minimum.
We bought several washable diapers from Nidò (see www.nido.it for locations). It consists of a fitted shell and two cloth inserts. We have the changing table set up in the bathroom, and in the tub we keep two small containers. In the first we rinse out the used diaper (30 seconds). In the second we soak the diaper with Napisan to disinfect the diaper (1-3 hours is plenty).
If we need to wash the diaper again, fine I’ll throw it in with a load of wash, but for the most part the Napisan does the trick. Then we either hang the diaper out to dry, or for faster drying we have a small heater that dries the shell out in 10 minutes.
It’s all easy to do, and I’m careful to manage the amount of water and time involved. The biggest thrill for me is feeling great that we’re not adding to the landfill. In addition, the materials are all breathable, so our son has never had a rash, and my husband estimates that we save about 80€/month.
I did some research online, and there are variety of websites that sell ”panolini lavabili” in Italian and English.
My favorites are:
www.pannolinilavabili.info (Italian)
www.ecobaby.it (Italian)
www.gdiapers.com (English)
I’m not going to scare you statistics, but just imagine if you couldn’t throw your diapers away. They’d pile up in your house, create a stink, and you’d constantly have to be buying more. Probably you’d be motivated to get a least a couple of washable diapers. They are well worth the effort. Let me know if you have any questions.
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