By Cara Faus
Why Wool Makes a Great Diaper Cover

I was so skeptical of using wool as a diaper cover that I completely missed out on the benefits of wool with my first baby! After I took up knitting, I made a wool diaper cover for my second baby, and was amazed at how well this miracle fiber works in a cloth diapering system. Even if you don’t cloth diaper, a wool diaper cover is an excellent solution to leaky newborns or heavy wetters. Wool works well with diapers for a variety of reasons, but it really shouldn’t be a surprise- nature often provides excellent solutions to our needs!

Wool Doesn’t Wick

I found the non-wicking properties of wool diaper covers to be the most beneficial part of using a wool diaper cover. What is wicking? Wicking is when wet cloth touches something else, and then makes it wet. This doesn’t happen with wool. Wool will absorb a bit of moisture, but it holds onto it; it doesn’t transfer to other materials (like the mattress sheet, pajamas, or mom!). This is especially helpful for newborn boys who might not have filled out enough to fit in their diapers well yet- it really contains the moisture to the diaper area, and negates those middle-of-the-night clothing/bedding changes.

Wool Breathes

Like all natural fibers, wool allows air to move freely in and out. This means fresh air is getting to your baby’s skin easily, warm air is allowed to escape, and odors aren’t as likely to develop. This is beneficial for preventing diaper rash, which tends to occur in warm moist areas. Of course, as with all diapers, changing when wet or soiled is important for this as well!

Wool Covers Come in Easy to Change Options

Wool covers come in more than just pull on soakers now. Pull on covers are wonderful too, but many parents find “wrap” style wool covers to be the easiest because they eliminate the use of pins or other fasteners on the diapers themselves. Just place a diaper in, wrap the cover around, velcro closed and go! Even babysitters usually don’t have a problem with using cloth diapers as long as you show them how they work. Many who think of cloth diapers automatically think of lots of folding and pins, but when I’ve shown babysitters and relatives my wrap-style covers with a prefold or fitted diaper inside, they often are surprised and say things like, “That’s it?! I can do that!” which is just what cloth diapering families love to hear!

Diaper Wool is Hypoallergenic, Antimicrobial, and Naturally Fire Safe

Wool allergies are well known, but you may be surprised to find out that many ‘wool’ allergies are actually allergies to the chemicals and dyes used to treat mainstream wool products. Diaper wool is soft, unbleached, and minimally treated. Of course if you suspect a wool allergy for anyone in your family, monitor the baby carefully the first time you use a wool cover!

Another wonderful property of wool is that it is antimicrobial, which just means that microbes and bacteria are not encouraged to take up residence! This helps with odor and even makes it so the cover can go multiple uses without washing by just airing out, provided it hasn’t been soiled by any ‘solid diaper contents’. Wool is also naturally fire safe; it is not as easily lit on fire, and it flakes off rather than melting when heated.

Wool Covers Can Even Be Used With Disposable Diapers!

Many mothers of newborns who are heavy wetters wonder why they can’t seem to keep their baby dry! For mothers who use disposable diapers and are having trouble with leaks, putting a wool diaper cover on over the disposable diaper is a nearly fail-proof leak solution! Yes it is an extra step, but if you’ve been having to change all of baby’s clothing with each wetting, it really is a time and laundry saver, not to mention baby will be much more comfortable too! This works because the soft elastic holds the wool against the baby, and the non-wicking properties of wool that we talked about up above help absorb leaks and keep them from spreading onto clothing and bedding.

I love wool and I recommend trying out wool diaper covers in your diapering system. The Imse Vimse Wool Cover is a great wool diaper cover to try! (Buy here)

About the author:

Cara lives in Montana with her husband and two young children. She enjoys parenting with a purpose to nurture the whole child. For home education she uses Waldorf and Charlotte Mason techniques, and to physically nourish her family she enjoys serving traditionally prepared whole foods. She writes about food and natural health at her blog Health, Home, and Happiness.

We love our WAHM’s and are so happy to see them growing and bringing their personal attention and experience to the industry! One of our merchants is Katydid Diapers. Katie has a great story, she started out making diapers herself and has grown into a great business.Enjoy the interview, and check out Katydid diapers at franklingoose.com.

What motivated you to start your own business? I was having so much fun sewing diapers!  I wanted to share my knowledge and love for cloth diapers with other moms and my neighbors and family kept telling me I should start selling my diapers so I did.
How did you get started with diapers? My husband lost his job and we had two little boys in diapers so I had to find a way to save money. That’s when I discovered the joys of cloth diapering and all the wonderful modern cloth diapering options out there today.

How long have you been running your own business? I started out selling handmade diapers on Etsy a year and a half ago and I just started up my new business, Katydid Diapers, in January of 2010.
What is your favorite part of cloth diapering? It makes me feel so good! I love taking a warm load of clean diapers out of the dryer and putting a fresh, soft diaper on my baby’s bum!
What advice would you give parents considering cloth diapering? Don’t be swayed by people who would try to deter you away from cloth because they think it’s all about folding, pinning and dunking. Most cloth diapering parents these days don’t do any of those things! You never know what it’s like until you try it.
How do you manage your family and your business? I never have to leave home. That’s the best part of my business. I can work at any hour that’s convenient for me and my family. Some days I spend a little too much time at the computer and my kids watch a little too many movies, but there are always great-mom days to balance that out.
Do you have any plans to expand Katydid in the future? Oh yes, I’m just getting started! I’m itching to bring in more colors and cute prints. I have wet bags in the works already and I want to make wipes as well. We’ll see where it goes from there!
What advice can you give other mothers thinking of starting a business? Start small and see how it goes. Don’t be afraid to take that first step and make sure you come up with something that’s uniquely yours.
Any great tips you can give us about cloth diapering? If you’re afraid to get started because you think you might not stick to it then don’t keep any disposables in your house. I guarantee you’ll use your cloth and learn to love them if you don’t have the old familiar sposie to fall back on.

-Sheri

The UK has an answer to this very HUMONGOUS problem.

“Having a child can be the most rewarding experience that a young couple can have, but there are many responsibilities and decisions that go along with raising a child.  One of the first decisions that new parents must make is what kind of diapers their child will wear.  Diapers have gone through many transformations since being introduced, from the cloth variety of the past to the newest biodegradable disposables.  Each kind of diaper has various drawbacks, with the cloth variety being expensive and inconvenient to maintain, while disposables can be costly to both the pocketbook and the environment.  Recently an announcement was made which will change the way the parents approach diapering their child.

Because of the convenience that the offer, as well as the fact that they are cheaper and easier to find than biodegradables, standard disposable diapers are the ones most chosen by parents.  This has led to diapers being one of the largest contributors to the world’s landfills, and a major bane in the side of environmental groups.  This may change soon after an announcement by Versus Energy and Knowaste, who have teamed to create the world’s first diaper recycling plant in the United Kingdom.  The plant aims to literally take waste and turn it into energy.

This plant will not only keep disposable diapers out of landfills, but will use their organic contents to create energy.  The diapers will first be shredded, then washed, sanitized, and then separated into reusable plastic and paper pulp, and organic material.  The recycled plastic and paper pulp can be made into a variety of things, while the organic material can be used to generate energy.”

-This was found at this site.

Isn’t this awesome!!!!!!!

How can we get this done in the States? Any one have any suggestions?

-Sheri