Fuzzi help needed for an excited CD newbie

[Penny4Them]

I'm new to CD and so excited but some Help! I'm trying to prove to my hubby just how easy CD will be, and so far it's not going so well. DS is leaking like crazy.

I just got some 2nd hand fuzzibunz and found out they were not washed with Charlies, but Free and Clear detergent. Will I need to strip them to get them to work?

Right now I'm changing my baby after ever pee b/c of bad leaks, so anyone have any interim suggestions as to how I can lessen this? Can I take a gerber CD and put it with the FB liner to make it more absorbant? I'm desperate so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, what is the Fuzzibunz liner fabric made of? The few we've tried so far that are NOT hemp, leak terribly, so I'm thinking I need to buy or make some of my own. Is it cheaper to buy or make hemp liners? If I need to make them, where can I find hemp cloth?

Thanks so much for help.

[girlygirls3]

It sounds to me like they may need to be stripped... all we use here is FB and the only time I have leaks is if they're on more than a couple of hours daytime, but he def. can pee in them more than once w/ out a leak. I use Rockin Green detergent and love it. Never had any issues w/ the diapers and that's the only soap I've use w/ them. I do use hemp liners... get them at my local green mama store... I use one at night w/ my son.

[Ola_]

Here's a question - when you pour water on the inside of the diaper does it soak through to the insert underneath or bead or run off the surface? If they soak through, you may just need more absorbency, but otherwise they may need to be stripped.

When you change your DS is the insert very wet? How often are you changing?

[Penny4Them]

I'm changing as soon as I notice he's wet. Thanks for tip on testing to see if it's absorb issue or repel issue.

I've been trying to strip them. I couldn't believe how much soap came out of them ... I washed them 3 times (reminder, I purchased them used.)

I'm about to get another stash, USED, this week. What do you do when you get used FB? Do you automatically strip them to be safe? My DS now has diaper rash and smelled just awful today. I'm starting to think I made a mistake buying them off diaperswappers. I'm still trying to strip them, but I think I'm going to have to resort to getting some Dawn.

[bodhitree]

Originally Posted by Ola_

Here's a question - when you pour water on the inside of the diaper does it soak through to the insert underneath or bead or run off the surface? If they soak through, you may just need more absorbency, but otherwise they may need to be stripped.

This is true for cotton or hemp, but it's actually normal for water to bead and run off of microfleece or suedecloth. (The inside of FB diapers is microfleece.) The pressure of baby's skin against the microfleece liner makes it absorb even when it doesn't absorb when not on baby. My FB have been recently and very thoroughly stripped, and they work just fine, but if I hold them under a small stream of water the water still beads up. Not saying that microfleece and suedecloth never repel, just saying that this is not an accurate test for whether they're repelling when they're actually in use.

That said, it does sound like stripping is the way to go for the OP! I've had good success with turning the water heater up as high as it will go, then rubbing Dawn into the surface of the diapers and inserts and washing, washing, washing on super-hot.

Just another thought, but are you sure that the diapers are fitting right? Are they the perfect size or one size? Can you try them on a different snap and/or elastic setting to see if that works better? Are the leg elastics relaxed or shot because of heavy use? I have to make my DD's diapers surprisingly tight or else they leak. I have two FB mediums where the leg elastics are relaxed so that they're about an inch longer than on the other diapers, and those have been leaking, so I'll be replacing the elastics soon. Poor fit is a very common reason for leaks. If you strip and strip and they still leak, it's probably a fit issue, in which case I'd try a different kind of diaper and see if it works better.

Most of my stash is from Diaperswappers. I try to ask a lot of questions before I buy anything off of there to try to minimize problems. For example, I always ask what detergent the dipes have been washed in, and if I don't like the answer, I don't buy. So when I receive used diapers that I've bought from there, I generally just throw them in with the regular diaper laundry unless they have obvious problems that need to be dealt with.

Hope that helps!