When considering purchasing cloth nappies there are numerous factors to take into account. In a previous article we’ve looked at personal preferences and cost. Now we discuss the time it takes cloth nappies, nappy wraps and nappy inserts to dry.

When you are changing your baby every few hours and using lots of nappies on a daily basis the speed a nappy dries is an important factor. The longer it takes for a nappy to dry, the more nappies you will need to have to hand as the waiting time is longer.

Drying time also impacts on cost. Not in terms of the purchase price of the nappy or insert but rather on the amount of electricity you will need to power the tumble dryer on a winters day!

Most real nappies can be tumble dried, but of course it is cheaper and also ‘greener’ to hang dry. Line drying is best because it is free and leaves nappies smelling fresh. An added advantage is that the sun bleaches out any stains, which has to be a real benefit! However in the absence of sunshine, yes I know it isn’t very often that we don’t have sun in the UK, you can hang-dry somewhere warm in your house. The ideal spot preferably has good air movement, such as in front of a radiator or above your central heating boiler, etc.

Some nappies dry quicker than others, but the good news is that most will be dry within twenty four hours. Whether you intend to tumble dry or hang dry your nappies, two factors influence how long the nappy will take to dry. First is how much they can be ‘unfolded’ to reduce the layers and second is what fibres they are made from.

As you’d expect, the more you can open a nappy out to dry it, the quicker it will dry. Hence single layer terry square nappies dry quickest. Prefolds then shaped nappies are the next best in the speed stakes. Some shaped nappies have a built-in flap that opens out during washing to speed up drying (e.g. Tots Bots).

The length of the drying time is the main disadvantage of the all-in-one nappy. This is because of the waterproof outer layer that increases drying time and they take the longest to dry. As for materials, hemp and bamboo, being very absorbent, tend to take longer than cotton to dry. Synthetic microfibre terry nappies, which absorbs moisture between rather than into the fibre, dries the quickest.

As for pocket nappies and nappy wraps, some wraps and pocket nappies can be tumble dried on a low heat setting but are best hang-dried, as this maintains their condition for longer. Wraps made entirely of synthetic fibres dry quickest, and those with a cotton layer take longer, though will still hang dry in a few hours or overnight. Like wraps, pocket nappies are usually made entirely of synthetic, non-absorbent fibres and hang dry very quickly, in a few hours at most.

So don’t let drying times put you off buying cloth nappies, wraps or inserts as some take only a few hours to dry. And with all the benefits of using real cloth nappies, the pros far outweigh the cons!

Author Bio: Carl Fletcher writes for Bumfluff Babies, the number one online retailer of cloth nappies, nappy bundles and nappy accessories.

Category: Parenting
Keywords: cloth nappies, cloth nappy drying times, pocket nappies, nappy wraps, nappy inserts, real nappies