Wool Diaper Covers

I was listening to a podcast over the weekend which got off track and mentioned wool diaper covers. I was interested and looked up adult wool diaper covers online. They are significantly more than a pair of plastic pants at $60 to $90 a pair depending on size and manufacturer. I think this is in part due to the fact that the ones I saw were all hand made. I was wondering if anyone has tried a wool diaper cover. I have read that they are more breathable especially in the summer heat. I know they take longer to dry after washing than plastic pants. Does the outside stays completely dry or will it gradually becomes damp if you are in a wet cloth diaper for an extended period of time? I was also wondering about their absorption. It sounds like they will absorb a small amount of liquid such as a leak from a disposable but cannot hold a puddle if the diaper is flooded or a cloth diaper is soaked to the point of dripping. I would like to get one but for the price I don't think it will be this summer.

I've been interested in this for a while, but keep finding higher-priority experiments to do. I suppose they must not totally suck, as they've been a thing (for babies) for quite a while. I would imagine that these do dampen a bit when you wet, not because of leaking or wicking, but because of water vapor coming off the warm urine--same reason the "breathable" disposables dampen. (Fill one with cold water some time and notice how the dampness doesn't happen.)

Anyway... If you try one, let us know how it goes!

What is the point of a wool diaper cover? They are supposed to be waterproof so any leaks from your diaper won't spill out and create a wet spot. Wool is not waterproof, and will fail as a diaper cover.

They're typically called 'soakers,' and they are a disaster for adults. There's just too much wet surface area underneath, and if you sit down on anything wearing a wet diaper and soaker, there will be a wet spot when you get up.

They are awfully cute and functional with 'real' babies, but I found them a huge disappointment. Mine were hand-knitted as well.

Slomo said:

What is the point of a wool diaper cover? They are supposed to be waterproof so any leaks from your diaper won't spill out and create a wet spot. Wool is not waterproof, and will fail as a diaper cover.

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Heh...well... Presumably they don't fail utterly, as they exist for babies, and have for quite a while. I think the basic idea is just that wool doesn't wick, and so it won't pull wetness from the diaper to the outside world. That said, it won't allow wetness to pool up on the inside like a plastic pant would, so I think it comes down to this: If you're genuinely incontinent like a baby is, and are not letting out your urine a bucketful at a time like most of us probably do, and if your cloth diaper can wick away and store your urine at least as quickly as it comes, then a wool diaper cover would work--until your diaper saturates. On the other hand, if you save up your urine and let it out all at once, trusting to the diaper cover to catch and hold it until the cloth diaper can do its work, then a wool diaper cover would fail you. And generally, you'd probably want to change more often when using a wool diaper cover, because if your diaper saturates and then you sit down, you'll have the same outcome as if you flooded.

sbmccue said:

They're typically called 'soakers,' and they are a disaster for adults. There's just too much wet surface area underneath, and if you sit down on anything wearing a wet diaper and soaker, there will be a wet spot when you get up.

They are awfully cute and functional with 'real' babies, but I found them a huge disappointment. Mine were hand-knitted as well.

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Ah, so they aren't even actual diaper covers then. Just another example where people need to be using their words correctly.

Well, they do cover the diaper. I imagine soakers were quite popular before rubber and plastic pants were available.

The problem is not the coverage; it's the adapted usage. I'm told soakers work quite well with babies, but (and you can take my word for this!) they just aren't functional for adults in diapers. Someone actually knitted me one as a Christmas gift years ago; I left several wet spots on a leather sofa before I finally gave up trying to make it work.