www.incontinentsupport.org

Yeah, seems like whatever wind that causes me to not quite make it when my bladder feels full in the morning has shifted back. In the past my urologist has suggested cathing as a way to reduce wetting episodes but I never really saw much a difference in reduction of episodes. That's one of the reasons why I decided not to cath as often. I still occasionally cath, just to make sure im completly empty after I flood or if i feel like im taking a long time to urinate just to make sure im not retaining. But, in every single instance, the amount that comes out when the catheters is in is probably below the retention threshold. The good news is I planned ahead a few days ago when my bladder acted up in class 2 days in a row and ordered another case of premium diapers. This time I ordered Better Dry. More expensive yes, but bigger case quantity. I like how Better Dry are trimmer than Abena. ConfiDry used to be my go-to extended wear diaper until i realized Better Dry offered comporable absorbency but better economy.

For those of you who wonder whether i still use cloth, the answer is yes, but much less frequently than I used to. I have becomed somewhat disillusioned with HappyFlutes. they seem to be very sensitive to accidentally not following a wash regimen. With my ADHD, its very easy for me to forget to switch the settings i need on the washer and dryer to the settings that the cloth diapers favor. None of the other cloth diapers I used before HappyFlute suffered fatal PUL flaws, except maybe one of my Missingkinks/Monkadunk diapers. I'm also suspecting that the folks who say "Stay away from AIOs!" were right all along. In the strictest sense, the happy flutes I have are not like other AIOs because the absorbent layer seperates in the middle from the shell. But, that means that I would not be able to dry the shells on a different dryer setting than the inserts or the pad. It would all have to be the same setting. Perhaps it really would be best to have a pail for inserts and a pail for shells, and wash them seperately. Those of you who use cloth, What say you? Does washing your plastics/shells sepearte from your diapers/inserts help in avoiding the oops wrong setting and enhance overall life expectancy?

Peace out!

Hi!
My routine is simple. I wash covers, PUL, urithane, or other “plastic” in a garment bag with my colored clothes.
I never put these in the dryer - just hang them out to dry.
I wash prefolds on hot water, speed cycle with a detergent pod and a 1/2-3/4 cup of Borax, usually by themselves but occasionally with other items, depending on what they are and level of diaper wetness. I use colored bleach most of the time and light chlorine bleach when I detect “any” odors. I’m REAL particular about white and odorless! I wash nearly every day and only very rarely allow wet diapers to stand more than a day(!!!).

Ellyn wrote:Hi!
My routine is simple. I wash covers, PUL, urithane, or other “plastic” in a garment bag with my colored clothes.
I never put these in the dryer - just hang them out to dry.
I wash prefolds on hot water, speed cycle with a detergent pod and a 1/2-3/4 cup of Borax, usually by themselves but occasionally with other items, depending on what they are and level of diaper wetness. I use colored bleach most of the time and light chlorine bleach when I detect “any” odors. I’m REAL particular about white and odorless! I wash nearly every day and only very rarely allow wet diapers to stand more than a day(!!!).

Ellyn,

I am curious, do you ever opt for pocket diapers? Or are you strictly a traditional prefold and plastic pants gal? I bought a few prefolds but did not like how they didn't keep urine from my skin and made toilet use difficult to impossible. Prefolds with pins make more sense for those with little to no bladder control, who would only have to take the diaprer off to have bowel movements in the toilet. I have moderate bladder control.. it depends on what mood my bladder is in any given day. Today it's in the mood of being an infant or toddler.. but other days it behaves itself like a "normal" adult bladder would.

I like cloth, but exclusively use pocket style.

Anyway, interested to hear your perspective.

Peace out!

Hi
I have tried pocket inserts a few years ago.
There are clear advantages like less bulk between legs and less bulky = easier to conceal.
I don’t have much control anymore and tend to flood without predictability.
I use a mattress protector but nothing else. I like to keep things as normal as I can, both for my husbands sake as well as my own. I have not soiled the bed in a very long time, because I -do- have bulk between my legs at night and the sides are also protected (side sleeper).
I have worn cloth prefolds for literally my whole life. I’m comfortable in the fact that I know I won’t embarrass myself by leaking on my clothes and they are the very best protection in the Texas heat and humidity (my opinion). I can easily conceal cloth diapers with compression wear and a dress, which I wear much of the time. When I wear snugger fashion (shorts, slacks snugger or shorter dress), I will wear an Abena or a pull-up with a pad. A pull-up alone is sometimes not enough...
My occupation requires me to be outside maybe a few hours per day so comfort in heat/humidity is very important to me. Otherwise, I work from home much of the time.

I use cloth prefolds and plastic pants pretty much exclusively for bladder and bowel issues. I have abena disposables but hardly use them. I wear them with a medium-heavyweight prefold and I use a trifolded 36x36in 4 ply flat diaper as a soaker strip. I have never leaked with this and go about my day running errands without worry. They are bulky though. I do wear shorts a size larger. I even used my prefolds camping over a weekend with my sons Boy Scout troop. I had my car close by and put my used diapers in a wet bag in my trunk. I found it easier to use cloth while camping than disposables as there was a lot less garbage and I got more use out of the diapers.

To wash them, the manufacturer advises no bleach as it’s rough on the fabric. I wash the plastic pants by hand and hang dry. I tried AIO’s and had serious issues. I wash them on hot, with plenty of water, no fabric softener, and an extra rinse cycle. I usually don’t get odor. Pinterest has some good stuff out there on how to care for cloth diapers but be careful, it’s not all good advice. If you see something out there about using DAWN dish soap on cloth diapers, this has to be rinsed completely before putting it in your machine. It will destroy your washer.