Which liners?

We advise people at all stages of baby nappy wearing. But more often than not, we’re talking to parents who will soon have a newborn or have a new baby, and the main concern is usually about how they can easily and effectively deal with the poo.

Some parents don’t bother with liners at all. Sometimes at the beginning, you’re soaking your nappies and washing frequently so it can be easier to not bother with liners. Later, when the poo becomes more solid, it can be easy to shake solids into the toilet and to rinse the nappy if necessary.

However, liners are intended to help parents and carers put the poo down the toilet where it belongs. Liners also form a barrier between the baby and the nappy, helping to keep wetness away from the baby’s skin.

Most liners are disposable, flushable and bio-degradable. Our Bummis Bio-soft liners are made from plant cellulose and break down in the toilet system in about seven to eight days. Our thicker Disana liners are made from paper and break down in the toilet system in about two weeks.

We recommend the Disana liners from birth. They are like a thin woven paper towel so the poo sits on top and little* goes through to the nappy itself.

Disana paper fleece liners

The Disana liner sheets are 36 x 16cm. Most people we know cut these liners to better fit their nappies. That said, if they are cut too small, they can move around and the poo doesn’t get get caught by the liner. Please also be aware of potential toilet blockage problems if you flush more than one sheet or if you have an unreliable or old toilet system. We advise customers to let these liners soak in the toilet before flushing. These liners can be washed and reused if they have just had wee on them (they usually last at least two washes). Some of our customers use these liners as emergency baby wipes, just wet and wipe. And they’re also handy mops if you need to clear up a mess and can’t find a cloth or muslin quickly – sometimes just what is needed in the shop!

Once the runny poo has settled down, then most parents can switch to using either thinner disposable liners or washable fleece liners. For most babies this will be when they are eating solid foods but can be earlier depending on feeding preference.

Bummis Bio-soft liners – two sizes

We stock Bummis Bio-soft liners as the thinner disposable option. These are the softest disposable liners we’ve stocked. We used to sell other brands which were more like thicker rice paper and could be washed and reused, but they were just so crunchy. These ones come in two sizes – small and regular. The small size is fine with prefolds and most other nappies however we find the regular ones stay in place better if your nappy has a synthetic or fleece top-layer against the baby’s skin (eg, bumGenius, Flip, etc). Most people would use the regular size for babies of six months or older.

Bummis Bio-soft liners

Handy tip: don’t rip open the packaging of these liners – simply make a whole in the middle of the top and pull the liners out from the middle. Makes it much easier to get them one-handed and no more spools of liners falling on the floor should you knock them off your changing table!

Fleece liners are great when your baby’s poo becomes more solid. You can make your own fleece (furry one side polyester) liners – just get some fleece material from your local fabric shop, cut to size and use (fleece doesn’t fray so no sewing required).

Solids slide easily off the fleece and protect your baby’s nappy from being damaged by creams and ointments. Layer on top of any cloth nappy and add a flushable liner if desired.

If you don’t want to make your own, then these Bummis ones are made from Repreve – ‘more than recycled’ polyester. Repreve is a member of 1% For The Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organisations worldwide. See www.repreve.com for more information. They are rectangular; five liners per pack.

Bummis fleece liners

* We can’t guarantee that most poo will get caught by these liners but they give it the best try we know!