Quote:

Originally Posted by deliarose I bought a package awhile back at Costco thinking I would use them in diapers, but I don't know...I am having second thoughts. All the diapers I have now-purchased ones are made with mostly natural fibers. Should I return them?

I LOVE microfiber towels as inserts in AIO's, fitteds or pockets. They are SUPER absorbent. Don't return them, use them!

 

I also use them for inserts in my pockets. My newest pockets I have made are velour (inner and outer) but I stuff them with the microfiber since it is not touching my little guy, and it is breathable. I love how fast they dry and how cheap they are. No way I would stuff with anything else...

One Costco towel stuffed in my velour pockets works for my ds overnight 13 hours!

 

Dissenting view here.

I detest microfiber towels in diapers. I don't like the way they feel on my skin. I don't like to fold them, I don't like the way the colors show through my pockets, I don't like how spongy they feel when they are wet. I don't like the way they pick up lint and stick to everything in the dryer. Velcro comes to mind.

I LOVE natural fibers. I love how organic cotton feels. I haven't had a problem with trimness or absorbancy with my cotton fitteds or hemp inserts. Natural fibers make me feel good. I want diapering to be as happy for me as I can, so no cheap microfiber towels in my diaper stash.

I do want to be fair to the poor towels though. I use the microfiber towels that I originally purchased for diapering as cleaning cloths. I also have several much nicer microfiber towels that I use for camping. I *might* consider the nice microfiber for diaper inserts, but I love it too much as towels.

It's a personal choice thing, IMO.

 

I don't feel as strongly about it as Kari Mom

but I agree with her. I prefer natural fibers when possible with my dipes. I do have and have used microfiber towels in pockets, and they are amazing. I've made many inserts for other CDers out of them, because they are not bothered by them. If I have an especially long outing to take with DS, where changing is going to be tough, I will use them, because they are THAT absorbant. My PUL/fleece pockets aren't exactly natural fibers either, I guess. I've been toying with using the microfiber in inserts for my oldest, who is 12 and still using dipes. We're talking about an entirely different set of needs in a CD system for an older child!

They make a great replacement for swiffer cloths if you've ever been addicted to those. They also do a great job on glass and mirrors. I certainly wouldn't be without them in my home, just for their versatility.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kari_mom Dissenting view here. I don't like the way the colors show through my pockets

To keep the colors of the insert from showing thru on the diaper, wrap it in flannel scraps.

 

I like them a lot, but I use them serged between a layer of velour & a layer of flannel as snap in, tri-fold inserts in my DS's ai2's. I hate handling them myself (I don't like the way suedecloth feels, either) & would never put them against DS's skin, but between two layers of other fabric, they're fantastic! My DS weighs 17 lbs at 3 mos, so he is a very heavy wetter-- no natural fiber could keep up with him! Oh, and they dry faster than multiple layers of cotton & hemp.

Yes they're synthetic-- but so is PUL, fleece & polyacetal snaps! IMO, there's nothing sacred about natural fibers. I am re-using the towels, not throwing them away after one use & that's still better than disposables.

 

I love MF towels. I trifold them and serge, and either stitch a layer of fleece to the top or put them in pocket diapers. I never put them against ds's skin. But they are quite absorbant. But to be honest, they are as absorbant as hemp/cotton french terry but the hemp is much thinner. But the MF towels seem to be more durable. But eventually they don't absorb as well as new. So lots of things to consider and it's a matter of preference. It's really hard to beat the price of a pack of costco car towels for diaper makings.

 

I tested micro vs hemp terry last week-- the micro soaked up just a bit more. 16" x 16" squares soaked in 2 cups h2O... picked them out of the water still dripping... 3/4 cup left in the hemp container. 1/2 cup left in the microfiber.

 

That is a great idea putting them between velour (or any cotton for that matter). But then they would be harder to clean... That is the only thing I hate about microfiber. It absorbs so much soap and is so hard to really get clean...

 

I hate them! I hate microfiber in general - towel form or no

Microfiber doesn't really "absorb" - it just traps moisture between it's weird feeling fibers which means it can retain odor and can be hard to strip. They also cling to detergent build up - contributing to odor retention and also stop "absorbing". Ick, ick, ick. I hate the way the fabric feels and it's a totally synthetic fiber that has NOT been tested for use near delicate genitilia. I'm okay using PUL or fleece on the outside of diapers as in an AIO or cover but I don't like using plastic fabrics next to baby's skin. That's why I got away from paper diapers in the first place.

Ha. Is there a soap box icon?

 

Yup.

 

I love MF towels as inserts!

 

I really hate touching them, but I they work for me. I trifold them and stuff my pockets with them. They dry quickly and work. Most important for me right now is that they are affordable. I really can't get anything at the same price (I payed 8.99 for 20 @ costco).

 

I've sandwiched them between layers of hemp in a pocket dipe, but really don't like them for diapers. I do, however, find them very useful for rolling my dd's wool soakers/pants in after washing! They take a lot less time to dry out then towels and I've reused them a bunch of times without needing to wash them.

 

I use and like the costco ones in my almost 4 year old's pockets. They work great and are so trim that you can't tell he is wearing a diaper under his clothes. He is autistic and I don't think he will be potty trained any time soon - I don't want people to look at him and see a big diaper butt at this age.

 

I like my microfiber towels for inserts, probably more so than the MOE that came with my FB's.
I'm going to stuff a pocket with some hemp to see if I like that better or not.
Jackie

 

I have used microfiber towels in most of my son's fitted diapers and he's been wearing them for a year and they've maintained their absorbancy and we haven't had very many problems with stinkies...not as many as with his hemp diapers. I *hate* the way they feel and I *hate* the mess they make when I cut them up...but they're pretty cheap and I can buy them locally and they're very trim. I like that I can stuff 2 in a pocket and it's not huge and bulky under his clothes.

 

I find that two mf inserts (3layers each for 6 layers total) lasts us 2-3 hours in a Wonderoo. If I use two hemp inserts (3 layers each for 6 layers total), it is TOO trim! No matter how I arrange the inserts, he pees past them and we get a pee run-off.
In his fitted diapers he wears 6 to 7 layers of hemp and b/c they are snugger against him, he can go 2-3 hours in these. So for his pockets, I use either 2 MF inserts (towels tri-folded and serged) or one MF insert and one hemp insert. Two hemp is just too trim to catch the pee. I know it sounds weird, but that's my experience. Maybe it would be okay on a sized pocket dipe, as they are more custom fit and are snugger?

 

Leosmama, I had that experience for a while. The advantage that microfiber towels have over hemp, IMO, is that they absorb so much faster. Sometimes with hemp and a power peer, the pee rolls off the hemp before it can be absorbed especially when it has to go through a wicking layer first. I found a microfiber towel wrapped around a hemp insert to work well, just as you have found the single hemp insert + single MFT insert to work well.

I don't think you have that problem with your hemp fitteds because, as you say, they are snugger and the urine stream is forced into the fibers. Are your hemp fitteds lined? I'm guessing no, but I'm interested in knowing the answer.

 

I personally feel as long as the fabric is not touching your child's skin the work great!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kari_mom Leosmama, I had that experience for a while. The advantage that microfiber towels have over hemp, IMO, is that they absorb so much faster. Sometimes with hemp and a power peer, the pee rolls off the hemp before it can be absorbed especially when it has to go through a wicking layer first. I found a microfiber towel wrapped around a hemp insert to work well, just as you have found the single hemp insert + single MFT insert to work well.

Omgosh, really? I've never had that problem. Wouldn't the hemp need to be stripped or something if the pee is rolling off of it? 'Course, I don't put fleece on top of my hemp dipes so maybe that's the difference?

 

Quote:

I don't put fleece on top of my hemp dipes so maybe that's the difference?

I think that is part of it. It doesn't seem to be a build-up issue, just how fast hemp absorbs versus microfiber. How well the microfleece wicks depends on how the fiber underneath is absorbing and pulling the urine through, right, because of capillary action. If the fleece is saturated with a flood, the excess will roll off before the hemp can absorb. It doesn't help that most pockets do not have an absorbant layer throughout the diaper like a fitted.

Anyway, that is what I think is happening. I know that adding a microfleece towel on top of hemp can help leaky pockets, it's been pretty well discussed in Diapering. It worked for me and some friends too. And I've tested microfiber towels and hemp side by side to pick up water, the towels are definitely faster.

 

So adding to the discussion. How long have your MF towels lasted? Should I only use them to stuff pockets and not as a layer in the fitted diaper? What do you think?

 

i've used them in AIOS and pockets and my little girl out grew them before they started looseing absorbence or began to stink

 

If you presoak your diapers in cold water and a bit of white distilled vinegar they wont get smelly. FWIW, even the ones with the microfiber towels in it. I've used the MFT's in pockets, fitteds and now in what is suppose to be an AIO (havent tried it out yet) and they work fine in the fitted and pocket.