www.incontinentsupport.org

Papa, bleach?? I thought that bleach was a no-no for cloth diapers.

--John

I will use a little bleach each time I wash mine. It doesn't take much but a little goes a long way.
It helps keep them white and smelling good.

Schoppy

Schoppy, using bleach for a good smell makes sense. I gather that you do not find that it measurably shortens the life of the diaper?

--John

John, as Schoppy said, a little bleach goes a long way. I do not use it each time I wash my diapers but maybe every third time. When I add bleach I will also re wash my diapers a second time, as I often do anyway, with no soap or bleach, a thorough rinsing. As I said before, you will learn your own tricks and pick up some from others.
You said you were married, I hope your wife is supportive and a shoulder to lean on. Papa

Papa, thanks for the additional tips.

Yes, I am very blessed that my wife has been very supportive. Also, as a retired RN she brings a different perspective. She considers some of the things I worry about to be routine.

I told her that after we move into a new house (and thus the new washer and drier) I wanted to do the wash if I changed over to cloth diapers. I am trying not to add further to the impact my medical issues already have had. After all, she is the lady who was changing my diapers when I had rotator cuff surgery. That's pretty hands-on support.

--John

John, I totally understand. Two years ago this summer I (because of a helping neighbor who screwed up) fell between my boat and the dock. I wound up underwater with a broken arm, broken collar bone and torn rotator cuff, plus contusions and plenty of blood. No one knew I had fallen in. I swam back up to the dock and had to pull myself out before my son and wife realized what had happened. I was taking my grand children out fishing. After I caught my breath (blessed with a very high pain threshold) I took them all out fishing. Luckily my daughter in law got sea sick and we had to head back after an hour and a half.
After we stopped to fish my wife realized my diaper was so full I kept dripping and had me sit on a towel, I was on the flying bridge and she also noticed my tee shirt had pulled out and the top of my diaper was showing and re tucked me in. Being me I took four days to go to the doctor who was pretty pissed at me because by then the bones were healing and he could do nothing but give me a sling. My right arm was pretty useless and she (actually not even my wife at that point but 3 month later she was) had to change my diapers for three weeks, something I hated because I hate not being in control. She took liberties and ordered some onsies for me to wear and not have to worry about my tee pulling out again, a very good product I had avoided because... well you probably know why. She keeps trying, and succeeding, at getting me to loosen up about my diapers and has a very open if not sometimes perverse mind about it all. She finds nothing off limits if she thinks she can get me to smile and relax, something I rarely do because of my PTSD. Yes, a good wife is a good friend! Papa

Papa, that is quite a story!

--John

I have a set of Terry cloth diapers that lasted about 2 years. They are starting to break down where the pins go through.

I never found a pair of plastic or PUL pants that lasted over 6 months.

MSUSpartan, two years is a very acceptable lifetime for "plastic" pants economically! Re the pants, for me the vinyl plastic seem to wear out in less than 6 months - or at least get to the stage where they become so brittle and crinkly that I stop wearing them. The PUL pants seem to last much longer. I usually, but not always, hand-wash all of the pants.

Unfortunately, I wear a lot of zinc oxide rash cream as a barrier for the bowel incontinence and some inevitably will transfer to the pants. However, rather than cracking and leaking as the vinyl does, with the PUL pants they seem to clog up and lose their breathability while still remaining waterproof. In this mode I still can get some additional use out of them. Eventually the breathable/waterproof film will begin to separate from the nylon cloth. That is when I finally trash the PUL pants.

--John

6 Months or less is what I get from my plastic pants. But one thing that has to be mentioned here is how big of a supply one has of both plastic pants and cloth diapers. If you only have a few of each then you are wearing them more often. Also you have to rotate your plastic pants and diapers to keep from wearing the same few over and over. Even the diaper pins can have an effect. I found baby diaper pins strain the cloth more than adult diaper pins. It is like anything else, trial and error/success. Papa