The best nappy liners for successful cloth nappy use

The best nappy liners really depend on what you need them for. While they aren’t essential for successful cloth nappy use, they can be really helpful. Here’s our guide to the various types and what you can use them for.

Why you need nappy liners

There are two basic functions when it comes to nappy liners. They are designed to catch solids and create a barrier between the inner of the nappy and your babies bottom. Using a liner to catch solids means that you can make change time easy. The liner is easier to clean and remove solid waste. Solids should always be flushed down the toilet. This is the case with disposable nappies too (it even says that on the packet). Using a liner in a cloth nappy makes this much easier. You can simply stretch the liner over the toilet to remove the poo. You can then wash reusable liners. Compost or throw away biodegradable liners.

Using liners as an extra barrier

Using liners to clean up solid mess a bit easier makes sense, but why might you want to use a liner as an extra barrier? There are actually a number of good reasons to do this. First of all, there might be something that you don’t want to get onto the absorbent part of the nappy. Rash or barrier creams tend to be quite oily and thick in nature. That makes them perfect for protecting delicate little bottoms, but less good for cloth nappies. These oils can clog the fibres, reducing the absorbency of the nappies and stopping the nappy from working effectively. This is where liners come in. The protect the nappy underneath from the cream.

The other advantage of nappy liners is that they can create a stay-dry layer. The fabric is fast wicking, which means that it lets liquid pass quickly through it. It usually then tends to feel dry to the touch. Some nappies have this ability built-in, but for natural fibres such as cotton or bamboo, you need a separate liner so that they don’t feel wet to the touch. Even with pocket nappies that have a built-in stay dry layer, sometimes a separate stay dry liner can be more comfortable and help baby sleep better at night.

What are the best cloth nappy liners?

There are a number of options when it comes to nappy liners. Disposable liners are an option when you are out and about. These liners will not break down fully in the sewage system and so should not be flushed, despite the fact that they have been marketed this way in the past. They are biodegradable though, so you can compost them. You can also throw them away. They do make changing cloth nappies easy when not at home. Using them means that you don’t need to take home a nappy full of poo. These types of liners don’t have a stay-dry quality, so the nappy will feel damp to the touch.

Another option is a reusable liner. These are usually made of some type of polyester fabric which allows moisture to pass through it easily. We stock two different types of liners. Microfleece is the most common material for these and these work well and are easy to wash. Our newest liners are made from athletic wicking jersey, similar to the fabric used for sports tops. It allows liquid to pass through quickly and tends to give a much more effective stay dry feel. They work really well if you need to keep skin dry because of rashes or irritation.

Nappy liners aren’t essential when you use cloth nappies, but can be quite helpful. I usually don’t bother to use them on newborn babies. This is because you generally don’t need to catch solids and the liners spread everything around. It is down to personal choice. If you want to try our liners, check them out here.

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