Monday, March 29, 2010

The Cloth Diaper Geek Explains it all! Why do my diapers leak ALL the time?

Recently I was speaking to a cloth diapering mama who was stressed because ALL her pocket diapers were leaking, regardless of the brand. She just couldn't figure out why. She'd tried stripping them, washing, switching detergents, etc. and still couldn't figure out the root of the problem.

After hearing everything she had tried I felt there was only one question left to ask.
What type of inserts are you using and how old are they?

Turns out she's using micro inserts that were previously used when she bought them online. It's my belief that is where her problem lies. Microfiber wears down over time and becomes less and less absorbent. I am sure that you all have inserts, some are older than others, and you can tell the difference. The newer microfiber inserts are fluffy and soft while the older ones seem thin and almost as if the fluffy terry part has worn off, in most cases it has.

While saving money by buying gently used diapers is a great idea, buying used micro inserts does not always work.

Microfiber inserts are actually made of micro-terry. If you're inserts no longer look fluffy then chances are they need to be replaced. It's not a bad idea to try and test their absorbency. Try soaking up some liquid with them and see how much they really can still hold.

So if you've been feeling bad about cloth diapering because of leaky diapers then give yourself a boost! Try purchasing a new stash of inserts and see if this doesn't cure your cloth diaper blues!

Earth Angels Diaper Co carries a wide variety of inserts that can be purchased individually or in bulk. If you really want to treat yourself, we recommend the LooyDo and SuperDo!

6 comments:

Shanaka @ Mama Bee Does said...

I need to go through our inserts b/c Im having the same problem with some of our diapers. Thank you!

Kim said...

Great post! I think this will help a bunch of moms who are wondering the same thing. So far so good on my end, but the day will come. :(

Danielle said...

Fabulous post! First I've ever seen that talks about this subject. I have a couple questions:

Do you know how much liquid an insert is supposed to hold?

In the picture you posted, what's the difference between the left and right inserts.

Have you tried the zorb inserts? How do they compare?

Julie said...

I haven't ever tried Zorb, maybe I'll make that my next experiment. As for how much inserts should hold, I would estimate 10oz is a good place to start for a micro insert like BG with a BG micro doubler (the infant size). If an insert contains micro and hemp I would expect it to hold more.

The picture depicted the difference in trimness between a Super Do and two micro inserts but I changed it so that it now just shows how fluffy micro inserts should look.

Jacqie said...

Thanks for the post. My kid has become a super soaker it seems.

Following you from Cloth Diapering Bloggers. =)

http://talesofthewife.blogspot.com

 

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