Why are my cloth diapers leaking? Learn how to prevent diaper leaks.

Inside: Answer to the question  ‘Why are my cloth diapers leaking?’. Learn how to prevent diaper leaks by finding the reasons for your baby’s cloth diaper leaks.

No doubt about it – when you chose to cloth diaper your baby, you made a smart decision. But what if you face cloth diaper leakage issues every single time? 

Your baby’s cloth diapers may start leaking at night or when the baby has heavy physical movements like running or jumping. Reasons may be plenty. 

But whatever be it, you shouldn’t have to dread over it. Because it is very easy to fix cloth diaper leaking issues and make your baby’s cloth diaper night and day friendly.

Here are the most prominent reasons why your cloth diaper is leaking and detailed tips on how to fix it.

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4 Ways To Prevent Cloth Diaper Leaks

Fitting issues with Cloth Diapers

The first question you must ask yourself to troubleshoot cloth diaper leaking issues is – Which side does the cloth diaper leak from.. is it the front side of cloth diaper or from the sides or at the back of the cloth diaper. 

If the diaper leaks from the sides or from the front, then it is probably the issue with the fit. 

5 tips on — how to get a good fit with cloth diapers.

To prevent diaper leaks a snug fit of a cloth diaper is a must; her’e how to get a good cloth diaper fit.

• The extra fabric after snapping the waist snaps should be properly folded and tucked in.
• The elastics should lie exactly on the crotch area – not on the thighs.
• No gaps around the thighs. The gap should be just right to insert one finger – neither tight nor loose.
• Tuck in if any cloth diaper fabric is peeping out of the diaper cover.
• If the leaks are from the front, try adjusting the rise snaps on the diaper to suit your baby.

Detergent build-up problems

Usage of improper detergent or washing in hard water can lead to cloth diaper leaks.

In fact this is one of the most common reason when it comes to reason behind cloth diaper leaks!

Hard water causes leak issues with cloth diapers because the salt in hard water or detergent clogs up the absorbing pores in the diaper fabrics.

As a result, when the baby pees; the liquid is not properly absorbed and the diaper always leaks.

#Tip — Sometimes using oil or petroleum-based diaper rash creams also cause diaper leaks; because these oily residue sticks on the cloth pores of the cloth diapers which makes the cloth repel liquid.

5 tips to prevent diaper leaks caused by — cloth diapers hard water issues.

• Use cloth diaper friendly detergents.
• It is recommended to avoid detergents with fragrance and fabric softeners.
• In case of hard waters, use a softening agent or detergents containing water softeners.
• Avoid rash creams or use cloth friendly ones.
• Avoid soaking cloth diapers overnight. This may not only produce bad smell but also causes absorbency problems.

Whatever be the reason, if your cloth diaper seems to be already affected by such repelling issues, fret not – it’s quite easy to fix it.

A cloth diaper stripping process can help in getting back the lost absorbency of the inserts.

Insufficient absorbency at night

Cloth diaper leaking at night may be one of the most common concerns about cloth diapering.

But most of the time, the solution is pretty simple – Adding an extra absorbing layer with a hemp cloth diaper insert this one. display: block;

Yes, your baby may be a heavy wetter who fills the cloth diaper soon at night or your cloth diaper keeps peeing through diaper at night.

In these cases, you must consider adding extra absorbing layers, preferably hemp insert which has pretty good holding capacity. 

Talking about night time cloth diapering, one important question that is to be addressed is — ‘How often to change cloth diapers at night?’. 

It is recommended to change the diapers at least 4 hours once. But there are also certain cloth diapers with great absorbency that can last upto 9 hours during night time. It is always better to have your own changing schedule depending on your baby’s wetting patterns.

Newborn Cloth Diapers Leakage Issue

One other complaint about cloth diapers is that newborn diaper leaks at night.

As a matter of fact, be it day or night, a newborn pees and poops more often than older babies. This causes a sudden pool of pee on the cloth which may take some time to be absorbed.

During this absorbing time, there are chances that the cloth diaper leaks when baby sleeps on side or on the stomach.

This is observed mostly in case of cloth diapers with a stay dry layer on it. A stay dry fleece layer is the fabric that generally passes the liquid through its surface to the next layer with the help of the pressure exerted by the baby’s bum on it. 

These newborn cloth diaper leaking issues go away when the baby gains weight.

Also, preferring natural fabric inserts like cotton or hemp for newborn cloth diapering helps in avoiding leaks.

#Tip: Use a cloth diaper liner for newborn to reduce work with the sticky newborn poop.

If you encounter leakage or other issues with cloth diapering, then the reason may be probably the most simple thing that you would have overlooked.

So, always try to do some troubleshooting before you decide to give up this amazing choice you made of using cloth diapers over disposables.

Summary of — Why are my cloth diapers leaking?

Preventing diaper leaks is not very tricky; solution to your cloth diapers leaking is probably in finding a good fit, covering the diaper well with a good coverall, and using extra hemp insert.

One of these 3 solutions should fix the diaper leaking issue your are facing with your baby’s cloth diapers.

Still facing cloth diaper leaking issues? Let’s discuss it in the comments.

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