top of page
Writer's pictureJanike Robertson

How do cloth diapers work?

Updated: Jun 21

Understanding how cloth diapers work is vitally important to the success of your cloth diaper journey. Once you have wrapped your head around it, a whole world of possibilities opens up to you and you feel like you have super mom powers! For real.



There are no mistakes in cloth diapering...

I remember when I was a new prospective cloth mom in 2017 and how scared I was to start using my stash of 20 fancy diapers that I had purchased new, so afraid that I would do it wrong. I had a friend who was a mom to a baby boy and she was my cloth diaper "guru", the only person I knew at the time using modern cloth diapers. I was so scared to start using the nappies, somethings about them just didn't make sense and I was hesitant. One day she said to me "Just start! Just use them and go with it." It was the best advice and at 4 months I started our cloth journey. It was rocky at first, there was a lot to learn but it was glorious.


I felt empowered learning about the whole craft and practice of cloth diapering, and it doesn't stop with cloth diapering, once you start being more conscious about the nature of the products that we use and consume and how they impact us and our environments then a lot of things change. Now here I am hoping to be of assistance to you over a series of blog posts about the ins and outs of cloth diapering. Both my children are out of nappies now, my son is 7 and my daughter will be 5 later this year, but I am still passionate about cloth diapering and look back at our journey with lots of joy!


So how DO they work??

At the most basic level a cloth diaper needs to both absorb urine and liquid as well as contain leaks and poops. We want our children to wear the diaper and not make a mess on their clothes, in the bed, on the couch, in the car or heaven forbid -on us! (I'm sure we've all been there, I know I have).


  • Covers


Waterproof vs Water Resistant Covers

Your diaper is thus made up of an outer part that either resists or repels moisture, like a water resistant polar fleece cover or wool cover OR an outer part which is waterproof, meaning that it does not let any moisture pass through under any circumstances. There are pros and cons to both water resistant covers and waterproof covers but by far the most common and most popular choice for modern moms are the waterproof covers.


Water Resistant

The pros of water resistant covers is that they are generally more breathable and more soft & gentle on baby but they are prone to compression leaks. Compression leaks are what happens when your absorbent inner part of the diaper is fully saturated (to be thoroughly soaked) with urine and liquid and due to pressure, from, say, carrying a baby in your arms, or plugging a baby into a car chair or baby lying with their weight in one position all night on a fully saturated diaper, the moisture passes through the water resistant cover and out of the diaper. This will result in things getting wet that shouldn't be wet. As long as your absorbent inner part of your diaper is sufficient to hold the amount of urine that it receives then your water resistant cover wont leak and this is because materials such as polar fleece and wool don't retain moisture they actually wick (to push liquids in one direction or another) moisture away from themselves and back into the nappy. Unless like I said, the nappy inside can't hold any more moisture, then the moisture wicks out of the water resistant cover towards other surfaces.


Waterproof

The pros of waterproof covers (like those made from a PuL lining or like waterproof softhshell fleece which contains a hidden waterproof membrane) is that the waterproof membrane will not succumb to compression leaks through the waterproof membrane when your diaper is fully saturated. Most of the popular and accessible cloth diaper brands are made with waterproof outers. JannaNanna's Snap-in-One diapers and Waterproof Softshell Covers are both made with waterproof materials to give you the security of dryness.

Infographic used with permission from SACNU.com


  • Absorbent Inners: Inserts vs Wrap Around Diapers


Inside your diaper covers you need the workhorse which are absorbent inners. Absorbent inners have the hard job of keeping baby dry, they need to be able to handle what baby puts into them. You get an array of absorbent materials that are conventionally used inside cloth diapers to absorb liquids and each type of material has a different pro and con. The different materials are as follows:


Microfibre

Microfibre is an ultra fine synthetic fabric, usually polyester, polyamide or polypropylene. Microfibre inserts are your cheapest inserts and also absorb the fastest. They are able to handle a lot of liquid at a fast rate but they are also the material to release liquids at the fastest rate (like a sponge), therefore prone to compression leaks as discussed above. Another con to microfibre inserts is that they cause rash in many babies due to their extremely high absorbency, drawing even the smallest amount of liquid from baby's skin, causing dryness and redness. This can be avoided with a cloth diaper liner (disposable bamboo or reusable fleece liners) avoiding direct contact with baby's skin. The pros of microfibre is that due to its super high absorbency, they aid in absorbing fast, when a baby is a forceful wetter, microfibre is the best material to absorb quickly holding onto liquid well when paired with another natural fibre such as cotton, hemp or bamboo.


Cotton

100% Cotton is a lovely natural fibre, both available as sustainably sourced and locally produced. Cotton has a medium absorbency rate and holds onto liquids well, not very prone to compression leaks. Cotton tends to get a bit hard when sun dried. Cotton is an affordable alternative to other more absorbent cloth diapering materials.


Hemp

Hemp is not produced locally but it is the most sustainably produced material. Hemp fabric is usually a combination of hemp and cotton to keep the hemp softer. It uses the least amount of water and other resources in production compared to other materials. Hemp absorbs at a very slow rate due to the fabric fibres being very dense but at the same time holds onto liquid very well, this is the fabric least prone to compression leaks. Due to it's nature hemp is the most expensive and difficult to source locally of all the absorbent materials used in cloth diapering.


Bamboo

Bamboo is a mid way in terms of absorbency between hemp and cotton, it absorbs well and holds onto absorbency well. Commonly bamboo fabric is a combination of bamboo viscose and polyester, so not a true 100% natural fibre. Natural fibres absorb and hold onto liquid better than synthetic fibres. Bamboo is also not manufactured locally in South Africa. This fabric is more prone to compression leaks than cotton yet faster at absorbing than hemp. Bamboo as a material is luxuriously soft and supple and more expensive than cotton.

Infographic used with permission from SACNU.com

Inserts

Inserts are great absorbent inners for day time diapers, they drastically reduce the bulkiness of a cloth diaper as they only go from the bum, between the legs, to the front of a baby. Inserts are typically a wide, long strip of fabric made up of a couple of layers of a specific absorbent fabric, in the case of JannaNanna, we use cotton. Commercial retailers use hemp, microfibre and bamboo. Usually inserts come standard inside your waterproof pocket, sleeve and snap-in-one nappies.



Wrap Around Diapers (Flats & Fitteds)

Flats and fitteds are both considered wrap around diapers because they are absorbent fabric that come between baby's legs but also wrap right around baby's hips. The fact that they also wrap around the hips gives them much more surface area for absorbing, so they are more absorbent than inserts, which only go between the legs. Flats and fitteds both have their pros and cons. Flats are the most traditional, versatile and affordable diapering solution available but many families are put off by the folding. Fitteds tend to have better absorbency due to more layers but this also means that they can be more bulky on the bum and take a long time to dry but they are easy to use as they mimic a disposable. Flats and fitteds, due to their high absorbency, are more commonly used as night time solutions as they need to keep baby dry for up to 12 hours, although they can be a day time preference for some families.


Conclusion

In conclusion, a cloth diaper is a careful balance between water proof or water resistant covers and absorbent inners. Understanding how it works makes a world of difference. Any natural fibre materials work well as cloth diapers and allows moms to get creative in their cloth diapering.




72 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Kommentarer


bottom of page