Comments on: How can I reuse or recycle worn out cloth diapers/nappies?

By: Julia Hunt

Julia Hunt — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 23:00:53 +0000

How do I get my large bag of old nappies to you for use in the orphanage in Tanzania?

By: Dale

Dale — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 22:23:11 +0000

If your cloth nappies are warn out and cannot be used anymore then providing they are clean you could get them recycled. Lots of charity shops accept worn out/damaged fabric items as they can pass them on to a ‘rag man’ (textile recycler) who gives them money for the rags.
Therefore you can recycle them and help charity.
I lnow that Mind charity shops do this – just ask!

By: Monique Labarre

Monique Labarre — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:00:54 +0000

Use them to help clean up the oil spill in the Gulf by joining this Facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cloth-for-the-Coast/128839830484554

By: Danielle

Danielle — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:44:16 +0000

I used all-in-one, pocket and fitted cloth diapers (I’m American!). There is a very active resale market in the US on DiaperSwappers.com. I think most good-excellent condition cloth diapers can be resold for +50% of original purchase price. That’s how I bought half of my diapers and how I’ll pass them along.

By: Vicki

Vicki — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:14:30 +0000

We collect second-hand reusable nappies for an orpanage in Tanzania. If you would like to donate your unwanted nappies too, please just let us know – they’d be going to a good home!

By: CovertOperations78

CovertOperations78 — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:52:12 +0000

Fold each diaper once over (they should then be the size of an average doormat) and sew them along the sides and through the middle to make ‘quilted’ doormats.

I am trying to make ‘mop slippers’ using old terrycloth diapers and worn out shoe insoles. I had a pair of Japanese mop slippers once and they were great for picking up dirt, pet hair and dust. Just cut the diapers into pieces using a basic slipper pattern, slip the insole in between two pieces of diaper material (cut into slipper sole shapes) and sew the top to the bottom halves of the slipper. Do not make a rubber or hard sole for the slippers. The terrycloth material will pick up dirt from your floor. To clean the slippers, give the soles a little scrubbing with soapy water and a brush when you are in the shower, then pop them into the washing machine the next time you are doing the laundry. They hardly take up any space in the machine.

By: Finealta

Finealta — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:45:36 +0000

Funny you should mention that, My husbands company used to purchase old rags for their machine shop.
Make-shift swiffer pads are a great idea too.

By: shaun

shaun — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 11:53:15 +0000

i will buy your old nappies from you.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:45:05 +0000

They make excellent shop rags for cleaning the cars and polishing. After baby use, I always really bleached mine and washed them in scalding hot water and anything that needed to be scrubbed, soaked up, or polished, they work wonders on. I used to have my daughter use them for dust rags so I could gross her out lol (they were sparkling clean of course, but loads of fun watching her face and hearing BUT MOOOOM. ;) ) We laugh about it now.

By: alison bailey smith

alison bailey smith — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:56:16 +0000

Thanks for the tip about compost

By: jane

jane — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 21:56:15 +0000

cleaning. burp rags. cloth menstrual pads. hot pads. pass them on FREECYCLE.
diapers for stuffed animals. or baby dolls.
swiffer pads. squares for baby wipes or tp.coasters.

By: Agata

Agata — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:06:50 +0000

You can sew cute blanket from them,jut dye them in creamy colours!

By: Rebekah

Rebekah — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:59:15 +0000

Once they’re not fit to use anymore as diapers and have been pretty well used as cleaning rags, you can still be a little more use out of them by putting into the compost rather than throwing them away. Cotton biodgrades naturally and will help fertilize a new generaion of plants in the garden.
Now that I think of gardening, if the old cloth still has enough cloth intact to form a long strip, you can cut and use those strips for tying plant stalks to stakes as well.

By: Bobbie

Bobbie — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:37:38 +0000

Make a hot pad for the oven out of them. Just cut a square then sew some binding around the edges. That is what I did, way back when I had babies in the house. ‘Course there was no such thing as disposable diapers back then. Oops…I’m telling my age now.

By: alison bailey smith

alison bailey smith — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:16:54 +0000

My mum gave me all my cloth nappies/diapers from when I was a child and now I use them 4 decades on to mop up this floor when my kids 4 and 8 spill something or when our fridge door gets left open and defrosts all over the floor. Some of the terrytowelling ones have had their day so they go off to the rag and bone man via the charity shop I help out at. If they are so bad they do go in the rubbish cos it is not worth washing them and clogging my machine. They have definitly been used and used a hundred times.