You know what’s just the worst?
When a brand-new, freshly-taped diaper leaks right away.
(Okay, okay, “the worst” is hyperbole. We’re all aware at this blog that there are greater tragedies in the world than some pee on the seat of your pants.)
But it is obnoxious, even the skeptics will have to grant. It’s just such a betrayal.
For one thing, you’ve got a leak to deal with. There is pee where you didn’t want it. That’s always a pain.
Then there’s the nagging doubts — did you screw up the tapes? Was it how you were sitting? Should you have fastened things in a different order? Did you need more powder, less powder, more cream, no cream; the right offerings to the Diaper Gods? Most of the time none of those things are relevant, and you just had a bad diaper or a weird angle or some other uncontrollable piece of lousy luck, but try telling that to your brain.
And of course, on a purely economic level, it’s a waste. If you’re buying high-quality disposable diapers, that’s a buck or two down the drain. If you’re using cloth, it’s a wash that much sooner (or a new pair of plastic underpants, if the ones you’ve got have developed a permanent leak).
There’s just nothing good about it. Except, I suppose, for the folks on the fetish side of thing who enjoy an embarrassing leak or just the pure, physical sensation of pee soaking into their pants…more power to you if you can make it work for you!
But for most of us, the “insta-leak” is such a letdown. Comes with the territory — but that doesn’t mean I gotta like it.
I’ve had that happen. That can be a problem. While I like wearing diapers and using them, I don’t like it when they leak. The problem is that alot of adult diapers don’t have a place where the tapes are supposed to go, you have to take a guess and hope it doesn’t come undone.
I have had disposables leak, but generally due to my over estimating the capacity of a non-premium diaper and/or under-estimating my leakage rate… Then there’s planning for strenuous exercise or activities (wearing thinner protection for comfort) but not planning on the additional leakage that goes with it… Side sleeping in a hotel without adequate protection…
All-in-all, leakage is usually due to my not planning or prepared for the worse case scenario. My fault, not the fault of my chosen protection. If one has been incontinent for awhile, one usually would get a “feel” for the level of protection a product will offer. Then there’s the tests that have been conducted that compare each popular product on the market in every way imaginable. I’d also say that you generally get what you pay for. If it’s cheap, it’s likely less absorbent. If it’s more expensive, it’s more likely to be better. If it’s a name brand that gets high marks in numerous surveys (like this site and many others), it’s probably good. Now , that doesn’t mean that stuff doesn’t happen. Even the top brands have recalls due to failures.
One thing did catch my eye in the blog though… Being a life long user of cloth diapers and plastic pants, I want to add my observations.
First, if you plan your activity and protection needs with cloth – thickness required, freedom to change, etc, you should never have a leak. If there are unknowns involved, a premium disposable may be a better choice, like my favorite – Abena X-Plus as example.
Another thing that caught my eye was that just because a pair of plastic pants have a seam split (small), that doesn’t mean “leak”. The pants keep a damp cloth diaper from wicking through to your clothes or bedding via the plastic barrier. A small tear in the plastic shouldn’t result in a leak, unless the wet diaper and clothes get in contact. If however you flood a thin cloth diaper, God help you. Thin cloth diapers work very well for lighter leakage. On my heavy days, I go thicker weight cloth, double cloth, or a premium disposable, and sometimes a disposable and doubler insert.
Damaged plastic pants usually get worse pretty quickly with taking them on / off, washing, and activities. I have and do save pants with minor damage for bicycle riding or running as the constant motion of your legs, rubbing back and forth, are hard on pants. I almost never wear a disposable for bicycle riding as they bunch up and get very uncomfortable “very quickly”.
Hey Ellyn. I’ve had that happen. Every diaper has its limits. And anyone who says otherwise is either an idiot, or has never had to wear diapers.
Man, it happened yesterday to me. I was out with friends and my diaper leaked. Not a lot, but enough that there was a wet spot near my crotch. Thankfully, I was wearing dark jeans. But there was a bit of a rush to find a non-public bathroom to change in. I found a little tiny tear in the diaper. Like…just a little bigger than a pinprick. Not sure what its from…my fly, maybe. But it was aggravating for it to happen while I was standing around with 10 or 20 friends and the diaper was relatively dry (just damp, perhaps).
…conversly, I was out with a different group of friends today, had no opportunity to discretely change for most of the day, resulting in a RIDICULOUSLY soaked diaper which only barely, BARELY leaked (though I was freaking out a bit, worrying that it would). And not till I was sitting on the subway.
I have had that happen on very rare occasions but it’s because I didn’t check the leg gathers or I didn’t fasten the bottom tapes snug enough … funny thing is it happens at home and not on the road (fortunately) … 🙂
I’ve had that happen. I think I have it taped snug enough that it won’t come undone, and my diaper still leaks. It’s frustrating, to be putting it mildly, but it’s hardly against the world.
If I leak, it’s generally during the day while sitting at my desk. It’s hard to tell how wet I am if I’ve been sitting a while.
I don’t sit down very often unless I’m checking my email.
I had read this thread a couple days ago and thought “gee… I’m really glad that hasn’t happened to me in a long time”. Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk at the office and about an hour after my last change (probably 3-4 small wettings), I noticed my shirt and the waist of my pants were soaked. Turns out I was pointed the wrong direction and the diaper only caught about an inch worth on the front padding and the rest ended up on my clothes. Ah what I wouldn’t give for just a little more nerve function…
LOL! It has happened to me a few times. My dick was sticking out, not rigid, but was long, and I had to put a diaper on, but I wasn’t sure what to do about my penis, so I just put the thing on and let it fall where it will. Sometimes, it points downward, sometimes it points up. When it’s down, it’s in good shape, since that’s where most of the absorbent material is and my clothes is protected. But sometimes it ends up pointing upwards, and when I pee, whatever’s tucked into my diapers will get wet, and sometimes will smell like pee.
I have caught my diaper in my pants zipper a couple of times putting a hole in exactly the wrong spot. Thank god for dark jeans.
I’ve had that happen. It’s frustrating and embarrassing.
I have ask this sometime ago w/o an answer. You can buy brief diaper w/ plastic backing. Both in quiet/ noisy. How come none of the company’s haven’t made a pull up with the same backing. Have U ever look into this or any one have asked U to ???????