Washing Cloth Nappies

• Nappies only need to be washed at 60°C to get them clean.

• The majority of New Zealanders have an automatic washing machine. If you can wash a tea towel you can most certainly wash a nappy and won't find it a chore. The need for boiling, scrubbing and wringing out nappies is a distant memory.

• Soaking is optional although it does ensure they don't have any smell residues or stains. As explained, chemical nappy soaks are not necessary. Nappies need not be soaked in harsh chemical wash powders. A solution of either 1 TBSP of white vinegar or 2 TBSP of bicarbonate of soda is all that is necessary. As an extra sanitising agent one drop of tea tree oil may be used. These methods are very cheap and very easily available and are safer on baby's sensitive skin.

• Cloth nappies are extremely convenient and easy to use. Lets face it, none of us are beating our laundry against a rock down at the river. You can have a lot of quality time with your baby and get a lot of other things done while the machine does the work, and clean nappies are never more than a load away. No late-night trips to the shop to lug cumbersome bags of plastic back home.

• Should we be protecting our babies from chemical exposure? We take care to feed them whole foods free from artificial colourings and preservatives. We take care not to put harsh soaps and creams on their delicate skin. The chemicals that make up the 'super absorbent layer' (the gel/crystals) Sodium polyacrylate, in disposable nappies is not subject to any government controls or independent testing. 'Super absorbers' were removed from tampons in 1985 because of serious concerns they were a leading link with toxic shock syndrome. There are concerns of the effects of these and many other chemicals contained or used in the production of disposable nappies. No studies have been conducted on the long term effects of sodium polyacrylate on the health of small children, yet it stands to reason that the 2 years of exposure to this substance - often for longer periods of time in the same diaper - may cause some serious troubles for the little ones. In ultra absorbency disposable nappies, sodium polyacrylate is so absorbent that it has been associated with bleeding and skin lacerations. That is, it can absorb more than just urine, drying baby's skin so severely that it cracks and bleeds.