Leaking and Wicking

If you're having trouble with your diapers leaking, this article is for you!

Leaking - baby pees on diaper, clothes, blankets, carseat, mom, etc. is wet. This is a major event of liquid everywhere.

Wicking - leg holes of onesies are slightly damp. Bottom of t-shirt slightly damp. Damp line along back of diaper on shirt. Crotch of pants slightly wet. This could necessitate a clothing change, but could also be dealt with.

Leaking is caused by one of two things:

1. Not enough absorbency (i.e. the baby just peed 15 oz., and the diaper only holds 12 oz.)

2. Detergent Residue.

Let's address these two issues.

1. Absorbency. Most babies' bladders will not hold 15 oz. Some babies will hold their urine for a while and let it all out at once, while others will squirt a bit whenever urine is 'deposited' into their bladder. Sometimes it's hard to tell if a cloth diaper is wet, so it seems as though they are dry when they've just wet a little. If you can place your finger between a prefold/fitted diaper and the cover to check, you should be able to feel the moisture. You can also reach around to the back of a pocket diaper and feel the insert. That's a surefire way to find out. If you take a diaper off the baby and it is completely soaked - not a dry spot anywhere - then you probably have an absorbency problem.

2. Residue. Do the nasal-aspriator test. Take a clean, dry diaper, lay flat on a countertop. Get your baby's nasal aspirator (blue bulb syringe thingy) and fill with water. Pretend that your aspirator is the baby's bladder. Squeeze some water onto the diaper as if your baby were peeing on it. Does the water soak in, or does it bead up and roll away. If it beads up, you have residue. If it soaks in, you're ok.


How to deal with....

1. Absorbency - add a doubler (a small square or oval piece of cloth designed to add 3-5 oz. of absorbency to diapers) or try a more absorbent diaper. Your local cloth diaper store or expert can help you with this!

2. Residue - time to "strip" your diapers. There are many ways that people have done this. The easiest and safest way is to wash your diapers without your detergent, but with a pea to dime sized drop of dawn (sun, joy, etc.) dish soap instead. Rinse all the bubbles out, and dry as usual. You may need to repeat this process. For more specialized instructions, please contact your local diapering expert.