Boiling plastic pants

[mark28277]

Is it ok to boil plastic pants? I had some Gerber toddler baby pants that I was going to get rid of but I decided to boil them in a pot of boiling water for about 1 minute and when I took them out and let them dry they were extremely soft and stretchy. I just tried this with a brand new pair of gerber toddler baby pants and will try to see how they hold up.

 

[Lyric]

no

 

[KindaOlde]

What is it exactly that you are trying to accomplish?

 

[mark28277]

What is it exactly that you are trying to accomplish?

I want to see if it makes the pants last any longer.

 

[dogboy]

Interesting that boiling made them softer. I'll be curious to know if they hold up as long because of boiling.

 

[mark28277]

Interesting that boiling made them softer. I'll be curious to know if they hold up as long because of boiling.

Not only did they make them softer but they made them stretchy as well.

 

[BoundCoder]

The durability of plastics rarely improve with heat. They may be softer and more flexible but probably also weaker.

 

[KindaOlde]

The durability of plastics rarely improve with heat. They may be softer and more flexible but probably also weaker.

Not really much of a surprise that they would stretch.

 

[leafgoalie]

I think I remember them boiling plastic pants back when I was young. I wonder if they were trying to sterilize them?

 

[mark28277]

The durability of plastics rarely improve with heat. They may be softer and more flexible but probably also weaker.

I boiled a brand new pair of Gerber Toddler plastic pants from the 1980’s yesterday. I usually wear them and have fun in them on Saturday mornings after my shower. I will let you know how they feel and how they hold up after some uses. I know after some uses the pants will start to get these little tears in them if you look closely. I am curious to see if they last longer or lesser after the boiling.

 

[foxkits]

It was real rubber not plastic pants .
Plus it's very hard on elastic it can do them in time.

 

[BabyLouise]

I remember mine being boiled washed when I was small

 

[mark28277]

It was real rubber not plastic pants .
Plus it's very hard on elastic it can do them in time.

Maybe that is what is happening? The elastic is loosing its elasticity and is making the pants look extra big? I actually did try on the pair that I boiled a few days ago and they went on loosely. I was even able to sit down in them and they felt loose as well. It’s like the tightness wasn’t there which is a good thing. I may try to boil a few pairs that I know that won’t fit me to see if they actually will fit me.

 

[schooner]

I am not an expert on plastics/vinyl, but I think boiling "regular" plastic pants is inadvisable as it seems to degrade the integrity of the pants. Years ago https://plastic-pants.com/ did offer "white boilable plastic pants" but not sure if they still do. They seem to offer a new plastic pant called, "white extreme or white prime" which is opaque white and apparently "very durable". The picture that I saw suggests these may be a reboot of the white boilable plastic pants from years ago.

 

[starpointrune]

I think I remember them boiling plastic pants back when I was young. I wonder if they were trying to sterilize them?

Could they have been rubber not plastic maybe?

 

[Zeke]

There used to be institutional grade medical plastic pant’s available that claimed to be boilable, but I haven’t seen them being available for several years. They may still be available through medical supply companies, or these institutions may have gone totally to disposables for labor, cost, and convenience reasons. I presume that boiling was necessary, for institutional use, as they couldn’t assure that the same user when get the same plastic pants necessitating boiling to prevent transferring bacteria from one patient to another. Or they may have been laundered with cloth diapers, used years ago, and had to survive the high heat required to sterilize diapers if washed in the same equipment.

 

[dogboy]

When I was very little, I can remember mothers talking about boiling plastic pants. Of course, they may have been made from rubber back then. I remember my mom having one of those old wringer washing machines in the kitchen and no dryer, so diapers and plastic pants along with all our clothes went out on the clothesline.

 

[schooner]

There used to be institutional grade medical plastic pant’s available that claimed to be boilable, but I haven’t seen them being available for several years. They may still be available through medical supply companies, or these institutions may have gone totally to disposables for labor, cost, and convenience reasons. I presume that boiling was necessary, for institutional use, as they couldn’t assure that the same user when get the same plastic pants necessitating boiling to prevent transferring bacteria from one patient to another. Or they may have been laundered with cloth diapers, used years ago, and had to survive the high heat required to sterilize diapers if washed in the same equipment.

You have a point there. I think that these were labeled as institutional-grade boilable plastic pants. I used to own a pair, and they were opaque and definitely tougher than the mainstream plastic pants. Not sure if these are or not. The price for 7 mil "White Extreme" plastic pants is the same as the 7 mil "Milky Thick" plastic pants. The only difference appears to be the opacity of the pants and maybe the noise, as the Milky Thick are labeled as noiseless and the White Extremes are not. I've ordered a pair to check them out. I prefer plastic pants that tend to be more opaque, but the 7 mil Milky White pants that I use are opaque enough for me, especially if I wear a plain white diaper like the ConfiDry 24/7, which I do.

 

[leafgoalie]

Could they have been rubber not plastic maybe?

Possibly ... I was pretty young at the time so it is quite possible they were rubber.

 

[schooner]

I always wore plastic pants, although my mother did call them "rubber pants", but that was a long time ago.