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Most of the time when I change my diaper I find that I've used only about 60% of the available padding. In real terms the front section is completely soaked and the lower center is maybe 3/4 used. After that the padded area of the diaper is for all purposes completely dry. I realize that there may be a significant factor here with respect to how wet a person will feel comfortable with letting their diaper get before changing, but my question is how much of the diaper do you generally find you use before changing? It seems like a waste to change a diaper that has so much capacity left but in my experience if I try to get much more out of a diaper I'm facing a high probability of a significant leak. So, what percentage of the available;padding do you feel you usually use?

I guess I am about the same if not closer to 50% when out and about as I really do not want to take a chance of over saturation and leaking. I find the betterdry diapers while absorbant tend not to wick well so the front of the diaper is saturated when ever I change.

Padded, what you describe is fairly typical. I usually do not saturate more than 60% of a diaper unless I have been lying down and, even then, will max out at about 70%. During the day, 40-50% is saturated. Of course, most of a diaper's absorbency is in that first 50%. Due to a lack of adequate wicking, a disposable will tend to leak long before the rear portion becomes saturated.

I normally extend a diaper's absorbency with booster pads. The smaller booster pads are the more efficient as large booster pads may suffer from the same problem as the diaper in that the rearmost part may not be fully used.

--John

JD, I agree totally about the smaller booster pads. I find that the larger ones also tend to interfere with the leak guards and cause leaks you normally wouldn't have.

In the olden days when I used to wear regtangular folded diapers [who remembers them today], I used to find the front part gets soaked while the back remains dry. I used to cut of the dry part and use them in front as a doubler. This turned ut to be effective and let me get much more out of my diaper.

I find that how much capacity is used depends on brand and whether I am "flooding" or not. I can routinely used a NorthShore Supreme to nearly its full capacity, as they seem to wick much better than others. The wicking can take a little time, so these don't work as well for me when I flood. When I know I will be sitting for long periods (when I am most prone to leaking) I will often wear something with a higher SAP content like BetterDry. These tend to absorb much faster for me and can usually handle a sudden flood, but clump in the front and don't wick as well as the NS. So, with these and other similar diapers, I usually use about 60-70% capacity. Like others have said, how long I push it depends on what I am doing, how long I will be out of the house, how easy it will be to change while out, etc.

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"When you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness. So I got that goin' for me, which is nice."

I am dribbling all day. I don't flood and the most I wet during the day does not come close to a full bladder volume. Because of this I can consistenyl use 60-70% of the diaper. I have noticed that when I change the wetness usually soaks up the rear of the diaper with about several inches of dry padding.