FAQS – Help! My Diapers Are Leaking (Waist and Other)
Don’t give up yet! Leaks can definitely be discouraging, but for the amount of cash you are saving, it is worth it to push through and find that medium. If your diapers are leaking out of the legs, please check out this article for some tips. If they are leaking elsewhere, keep reading!
Waist leaks
When diapers start leaking out of abnormal areas, many moms give up, thinking the diapers are shot. The first thing to check is that the diaper is snug around the waist. The flaps can fold into each other for a super snug fit for lean babies – take advantage of that extra snap! If it leaves red marks, it is too tight. You should have enough room to place a finger between baby’s belly button and the diaper.
Next, ensure that the inside lining is stuffed into the inside of the diaper, and isn’t bunched on the outside. The inside lining, whether polyester or bamboo, does not have any absorbency, and acts more like a filter, so if the sleeper or onesie that baby is wearing is touching that inside lining, it’s just going to leak through. See the below photo for an example.
Leaking up the back? Make sure that the insert is completely stuffed into the pocket in the back and is not peeking out. For the same reasons as the inside lining, that insert needs to be completely hidden inside the diaper shell.
Diapers Leaking Everywhere?
If your diapers are still leaking at this point, there may be a larger issue. The first thing to check if your diapers are leaking everywhere – waist, legs, back, front, etc – is to double check the lamination of the PUL.
Your PUL should look like this
It is rare that there is a manufacturer defect in the PUL lamination, and should the diaper be from a bad patch of PUL, you would know within a few washes, but sometimes PUL does delaminate over time, depending on how your treat your diapers. Boiling the shells, using bleach, drying shells in your dryer on HOT temperature… these are all ways to delaminate your diapers.
This is what a delaminated diaper looks like
Unfortunately, once the shell has delaminated, they can not be re-laminated. You can however use the delaminated diaper as a swim diaper! Check out the photos for a few examples of what to look for with your PUL.
This is what a no-laminated diaper looks like – this does makes a great swim diaper, so don’t throw it out!
If you find they are leaking everywhere, but the PUL is intact, and they have a bit of an off-smell, you may need to strip your diapers. For additional information on different kinds of stripping and the different reasons to strip your diapers, check out this article.
Recent Comments