www.incontinentsupport.org

Hey,

So, as it stands, I'm a bit confused as to whether flannel is more absorbent than birdseye, gauze or twill. The man I spoke to on the phone swore up and down that flannel was actually 4 times more absorbent than birdseye or gauze and that is why it takes longer to dry. He compared the latter two to the chairs that stack easy but are not that comfortable. Yet ive seen other people comment on here that gauze or birdseye seemed to be as absorbent if not more absorbent than flanel. I don't know, I just felt like trying something different to see if it would be useful for the days my bladder goes haywire.

I figured something out, that is, if I am using cloth on a day where I have more than one wetting, If I change when wet, I am just making more work for myself later. Change when wet is most ideal with midrange disposables, not cloth diapers, because the more you change the more you have to wash later.

In closing, I had another incident where I pooped myself. I made it to the bathroom to poop, but not before some of the poop escaped into the diaper. There were some streaks as well as a fully formed turd in the diaper, but quite at bit of the fecal matter also made it to the toilet. So I guess its an even draw.

Anyway.. I gotta go
Peace out!

Rob

_________________
"We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa

"THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" - Captain Picard from Chain of Command, Part II

Rob, maximum absorbency is not everything. Consider which type of cloth absorbs enough before you choose or need to change. You may not need "overkill."

If you are not wearing cloth long enough for multiple wettings, you are making unnecessary work for yourself when it comes to laundering.

One also should consider the rate of absorption of the different types of cloth. Birdseye or gauze will absorb fluids much faster than flannel.

Washing poop out of cloth diapers is never fun. Been there. Done that.

--John

I keep a spray bottle of Shout on the shelf above my washer. Along with Clorox, fecal stains can be managed. For absorbency, I wash and change as often as necessary to prevent rash. I combine different weave cloth. I use gauze for the inner diaper and birdseye or flannel for the outer diaper. Using multiple lighter diapers rather than a single heavier diaper is easier to launder, and reduces drying time.

John, re: flannel not absorbing as quickly as birds eye or gauze, that is a fair point.
The thing is, when a cloth diaper absorbs being able to absorb x amount, more than likely, they are counting on someone voiding x over a period of several hours, not all at once. Every diaper material has its saturation point, and can only absorb so quickly. My Eco able setup was working quite well to absorb the larger episodes, but it was a lot to put on! I was wearing a fitted plus an insert plus a toddler prefold tucked in between the insert and the fitted. It put extra pressure on my area down there.. so I started looking for alternatives.

Unfortunately, as much as I liked the fit of the ultimate diaper from AFDC, its just not practical to incorporate that, because of the time it takes to receive the diaper. I ordered it in November, and it arrived in February. However, it fit like a glove and absorbed a ton. Flannel definitely is more of a luxury than an every day use item because of how long it takes to wash and dry. But for my money, it definitely feels softer on the skin than Birdseye or gauze.

I have not been using cloth at work lately because of the store director's insistence I remove any wet cloth diaper from the store immediately, rather than storing them until the end of the night. While I certianly could do that, the last thing I want to do is add extra walking to and from my car when I am on my feet 7 and sometimes 8 hours a day with only an hour total of break time (2 15 minute breaks and a half hour lunch).
Perhaps when I get married in July and my budget gets tighter, I will revisit that. But for now, I use Better Dry at work.

John, how often do you use cloth vs disposable? Do you like me, mix the two? Have you come across traditional diapering material that feels "less wet" on the skin than other material? Personally, I like diapers that have a stay dry lining despite the extra expense. Ecoable and Depedeco both have that feature


Thanks for the input Patrick. For now, I only plan to use flannel on the heavier days where there are multiple episodes rather than just a few. Right now I only have 3 flannel diapers in my inventory.
Peace out!

PS: I REALLY like the fact that AFDC has the option to add Velcro to their flannel diapers. It makes using traditional cloth MUCH more attractive and easier. Sometimes it was a pain in the butt trying to get Snappis on my flats and contours. Still trying to sell those in case anyone is interested.


Rob

_________________
"We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa

"THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" - Captain Picard from Chain of Command, Part II