7 Ways To Avoid Leaks With Cloth Nappies

The main concern that I tend to hear when people are considering cloth nappies is “Will the nappies leak?”. The truth is, cloth nappies get a bit of a bad rep. If cloth nappies are leaking, there is generally something that can be done to prevent it. Read on the seven top ways to avoid leaks with your cloth nappies.

Pre Wash Your Nappies

When you first buy your brand-new nappies, they won’t be that absorbent yet. They’re a bit like fluffy new towels, in that they are lovely and soft but simply don’t hold much water. Nappies won’t reach their full absorbency until they have been washed around 10 times. I’m not suggesting that you have to wash the nappies of full 10 cycles before putting them on your baby, that popping them in the machine 2 to 3 times before the first where is recommended.

Avoid Fabric Softener

Fabric softener is not your friend. Think of those lovely fluff fluffy towels again, soft, nicely scented, but not brilliant and doing their job of holding liquid. Check out my post all about how to Store, Wash and Dry Cloth Nappies for more information.

Ensure Liners Are Tucked In

It is so so important to make sure that everything is properly tucked into your babies nappy. A bit of liner peeking out of the back all around the leg will act as sort of the bridge for all the wee to get from where it needs to be in the nappy out into the world and all over your babies clothing. It is well worth a quick check right around the edge of the nappy during every bum change to avoid major flooding situations, you’ll thank me in the long run.

Correct Fit

When most cloth nappies end up leaking, it’s generally because they are not fitting onto the baby correctly.

When putting the nappy on to your baby you need to position the front at much higher than you would think it needs to be. Next, tuck the nappy tight into your baby’s knicker line, then high up around the back of their hip before fastening it shut.

While nappies should be snug around your babies hip, so many nappies are put on around the baby’s thigh, which leads to gaping and then leakage.  The key is that the elasticated edge of the nappy sets exactly where the elastic in a pair of knickers would set, avoid at all costs are nappy around the leg situation.

Boost For Heavy Wetters

If your child is an especially heavy wetter, you can boost the absorbency of your nappies with an additional later of absorbency. Check out my post all about Insert Liners and Boosters to learn all about which ones you should use and why.

Don’t Clog With Creams

When using cloth nappies it is important to use a cloth nappy safe bum cream. Traditional creams such as Sudacream will clog your cloth nappies and prevent any fluid such as we are being absorbed into them.

CJ’s Bottom BUTTer

I like the CJ’s bottom butter as not only is it class safe bet it smells amazing and works so amazingly well. It’s a great all-round cream which can be used for other skin condition conditions such as eczema sunburn or windburn, as well as baby’s bottoms.

Use The Right Nappy For The Job

It is so important to have the correct expectations for the nappy that you have selected.

For example, pocket nappies are just great to the daytime when you are likely to be changing your babies bottom every 2 to 3 hours anyway. However, they simply wouldn’t hold a whole 12-hours of wee through the night.

The bulkier option of the two-part system it is far better suited for nighttime wearing.

For full details of the different types of nappies that are available to choose from along with which ones I recommend for daytime and nighttime, please visit my Types Of Cloth Nappies Explained post.

Those are seven ways in which you can avoid leaks with your cloth nappies

Have I missed any? If you have any top tips for how to avoid leaks with cloth nappies please leave them in the comments below. Equally, if you have any specific cloth nappy related questions, leave a comment and I will get you my answer.

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