Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Diapering Tip: Relaxed Elastic

I had heard of elastic giving out, but was shocked when it actually happened to one the diapers in our beloved stash. I had assumed that elastic giving out happened to old diapers, and to covers had been dried a lot in the clothes dryer. Imagine my surprise, then, when I hung this diaper on the line after a wash and realized that on one side, the leg gusset now hung straight!!





I was totally confused. This diaper, while a little older in age than others in my stash, was one of the most gently used! It was purchased early in 2008 - it's birth mother (my cousin) told me it had been line-dried in San Antonio about half the time, and dryer-dried the other half of the time.  After a few months of use by my cousin, it was in storage until we adopted it in June of this year. Within two weeks of us beginning to use it (line-dried only by me), this happened!

After some quick research, I learned that one major cause of this happening is stuffing pocket diapers while they are still warm. Apparently stretching elastic while warm causes it to "poop out" early while the rest of the diaper still has lots of life left to live!

Lesson learned here! And I'm sure there are other causes too - I have seen photos of elastic burned from a dryer setting that was too hot. Feel free to comment below with your own diaper life-extending tips and experiences!

~Prima~

P.S. The first 4 people to post on Mami's and Papi's facebook page "Stretching my diapers' elastic while warm may cause the elastic to "poop out" early!" can claim $0.25 in store credit! Copy and Paste allowed :)
CLAIMED - CONGRATS BLOG STALKERS!!

20 comments:

Sylvia McCue said...

I FEAR something happening to my diapers, considering the cost, and when the Rumparooz started to delaminate I freaked! That's when I decided to research how to take care of my diapers in the best way possible.

First and foremost, ALWAYS follow manufacturers guidelines. More often then not the website has a "How to care for..." section.

Secondly, I try to air dry shells as much as possible. But there are those times when you need that diaper an hour ago and have no time to wait. If you MUST dry it in the dryer, take a towel and wipe out the inside (if it's a pocket!) to get that extra water off between the PUL and protective wicking layer, then lay the diaper flat on the towel and roll, like a cinnamon roll. SQUEEZE, not twist, to get as much moisture OUT of the diaper and then toss into dryer with the towel and diaper shell. Usually low for 10 minutes does it for me.

Riggslacey said...

I luckily have enough diapers to wash half while using the other half, so my pockets ALWAYS get airdryed. The only ones that don't are AIO's and one lonely HH Organic. These get dried on medium.

lavanna said...

kissaluvs also say to not hang their fitted diapers vertically on the line...since a wet diaper is heavier and it can pull on the elastic causing it to give out faster. instead, lay them across the line horizontally.

Unknown said...

good to know - i have a few that randomly relaxed after a conversation with friends how i have some 2+ year old diapers that are still good. must be the g-ds keeping me in my place.

Rhonda said...

Using any kind of oxygen booster is bad for the elastic, too.

Tishauna said...

I don't have pockets anymore but I have a Thirsties fitted this happened to after a relatively short time. No PUL or shell on that one, and I still can't figure out what happened to it.

EmAlbritton said...

Learn something new every day....would love to learn how to redo the leg and back elastic in FB....any hints?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tip! I am new to cd'ing, and I do line dry my pockets & covers, but occasionally I've thrown a pocket or two in the dryer when I've waited to long to do laundry and need a diaper fast (oops!), in which case I've probably also stuffed while hot due to my immediate need for a dipe! The only elastic I've had issues with so far is on my Flip cover, though, which I've hardly used (I don't care for the fit of OS covers on my skinny minny)... still trying to figure out what happened there.

Katie Adams said...

This is a great post! I am wanting to start cd'ing with my son, but I am having to wait until my hubby starts his new job before we can buy some. I am trying to do as much research as I can on these so I can choose the right ones for us. Can't wait to read more from you!

Katie Adams
diaryofmomma00@yahoo.com
http://diaryofmomma00.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I have always stuffed mine while hot...so glad I read this review I had no idea!
Beck Fulcher
allenetria at yahoo dot com

Catherine said...

That happened to both of my Flips. I sent them back to Cotton Babies and they replaced the elastic.

Go Long! Go Green! said...

Won't do it again! :)

bECCA said...

I'm still new at cding...i did a TINY bit with my first son while we EC'd (due with my second on nov 3) and we used thirsties fab fitteds. i had no clue on how to take care of them. washed them with regular detergent AND fabric softener :) *whoopsie!* and dried them on the hottest setting. the elastics are still in perfect condition! i've since learned A LOT about the care for cloth and this is another notch in my learning belt! thanks so much!

Mom of 3 Es said...

I have never heard of this before, but I'll be sure to be extra careful with my dipes. I'd HATE to have something like this happen!!! :(

Anonymous said...

Great infor. I didn't cloth diaper with my 2 year old i am all new to this. but hope to possably CD with my second we are going to TTC after i finish school in May...hopefully i still need some convincing on the hubbies part!!!

Amanda said...

I'm lucky we have yet to have this happen (though we're newer CDers, about 5 months total). That's interesting about stuffing them warm, I had never thought of that.
Thanks for the tip!

Anonymous said...

i think i would (will!) be shocked when a dipe of mine gets relaxed leg elastic...i hope i notice right away so i don't end up with DS leaking!!
thanks for the pics and info!
Rebecca S.

Nicola said...

I always line dry my shells and tumble dry the liners, but recently I was lucky enough to be given to free BG diapers....all I needed to do was replace the elastics and freshen the velcro! I have a little sewing experience, but by no means am I proficient, and in a few hours one evening was able to complete one brand new used diaper. one more to go! I'd start work on it now, but I can hear my baby playing in his crib instead of napping!

Breanna said...

Great to know before I start CDing my LO that is due in November! :)

Kellydyann said...

It's great that this info gets put out here for all of us who are new to CDing. I'd have a mess if it wasn't for experienced moms and their willingness to save the CDing world! Thanks Ladies!