My diapers/trainers are new/almost new, but they are leaking, is this normal?

You can check out my Washing Instructions Page for information on washing our Hemp Inserts. If you are using an Natural Trainer or AIO Trainers, it will take about 8 - 10 wash/dry cycles to reach their maximum absorption.

My diapers/trainers were working fine, but now they are leaking, what happened?:

If, however you have used these products for a while (or purchased them used), they are made of solid color PUL or 100% polyester PUL, and they were working great, but are now leaking, you are dealing with build up problems or insufficient absorbency issues.

The first thing to do is to test to see where the problem lies!

Using a bulb syringe or turkey baster, squirt water into the diaper or trainer to simulate your child wetting the diaper/trainer (be sure to put your insert into the diaper/trainer if it is a pocket diaper/trainer).

If the water absorbs quickly through the fabric and into the insert, then you are having an insufficient insert problem .

If the water beads up on top of the inside fabric, you are dealing with a repelling issue in the diaper/trainer inner fabric.

If the water absorbs through the fabric, but also pools on the fabric (not soaking into the insert), then you are having a repelling issue with your insert.

Here' are the remedies for each of those situations:

It's not a repelling issue, now what?

More likely, your insert is insufficient for the job. Keep in mind that Children and Youths grow and some medications and healthier issues can effect your output. This can mean that an insert that has worked great, is now not up to the job!

This is very common with microfiber towels/inserts. This can also happen with prefolds - even good ones! Heavy wetters can easily out wet these either by wetting too fast (causing liquid to run off the insert and pool at the sides of the diaper/trainer causing the wetness to seep out the seams) or by over wetting them (causing it to not be absorbed or to be initially absorbed, but then to get compressed out when the child sits down or lays in one place while sleeping.

The solution to this problem is to get some better inserts, of course! If you are using microfiber towels, then prefolds might do the job for you, but they are bulky.

If you are using microfiber towels and don't want bulky inserts, then try one of our Hemp/Cotton folding inserts - the light insert swill be more absorbent than the microfiber towels and probably trimmer!

If you are using prefolds, then I recommend you try out hemp/cotton folding inserts as these are more absorbent and hold wetness better than prefolds.

Another possible solution is to add something to the insert you are using - maybe a smaller size, placed right where the wetness occurs!

It's the diaper/trainer that is repelling, now what?

Possible culprits are detergents (see list of common offenders on my Washing Instructions Page), diaper creams (use diaper liners and prewash them in hot separately from the diaper/trainers), hemp oils (don't wash hemp inserts with diapers until they have been boiled and washed/dried at least 10 times), and hard water (get a water softener).

To strip these out, add a large pot of boiling water to your wash cycle (be very careful not to burn yourself or your child - maybe use two smaller pots and make sure your walkway is clear). Wash once with a tsp of Dawn dishwashing detergent and the boiling water followed by an extra rinse. If you are dealing with detergent build up, start them on another wash cycle with no detergent and agitate for a few minutes, then look at the water to see if you have bubbles - if there are bubbles, repeat the boiling cycle (keep doing this until all bubbles are gone). If you are dealing with ointment, oil, or hard water build up, the bubble test won't work. If the repelling issue is not solved by doing the boiling/Dawn cycle once, try again as a second time should do the trick.

As a last ditch attempt (you have tried the boil/Dawn detergent cycle at least 3 times) you can place the diaper/trainer in water that has come to a boil, (I can only vouch for my diapers/trainers as to their durability to survive this procedure, so check with the manufacturer of any other diapers/trainers before trying this method on them)but turn off the heat once you have put the diaper/trainers in the water. Let them soak for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour off the boiling water and put the diapers/trainers in the washing machine and do the boil/Dawn cycle once more. This has always done the trick, but is very hard on the diapers/trainers and should only be done as a last resort. Once in a while, this results in snaps that are not happy snaps, if this happens you can send them to us for repressing, but you must cover the return shipping. Please contact us if you need to do this and we will let you know how to proceed.

It's the insert that is repelling, now what?

My diapers/trainers are developing an odor that remains after washing/gets really strong once my child wets- What Can I do now?:

Leaving diapers/trainers or inserts in a pail too long or improper washing methods can lead to odor issues. You need to strip the diapers/trainers/inserts by following the same instructions as list above for repelling. Boiling water has been proven to remove even the most nasty odor problems.

To prevent this from happening again, be sure you are using an approved detergent, use vinegar in the rinse OR baking soda in the wash (but DON'T use them both as that causes odor problems due to build up)(but I recommend vinegar over baking soda), wash at least every 4 days, and/or rinse soiled diapers and trainers more thoroughly.

If you have any further questions about
washing and care please contact Ruth