After going through this little experiment, I have come to the realization that repairing the PUL on my cloth diapers isn’t worth it. Honestly, it doesn’t work as well as I hoped and I ended up buying a few new diapers anyway. I’ll share my experiments with you so you don’t make the same mistakes. Forewarning: I’m not a cloth diapering expert. If you want to talk to an expert, don’t look for mom blogs like mine, go to a local cloth diapering store and talk to the owner and sales people. They have so much experience and it’s worth buying a few diapers from them before you resort to the cheaper options like Amazon.
Here’s a little background about my cloth stash
First off, let me make it clear that I always wash my cloth diapers in the correct detergent which means my washing isn’t to blame for the wear and tear. I truly think we have worn our diapers down from using them so much. I have 12 Fuzzi Bunz
or Thirsties. The Fuzzi Bunz have been with us since day one of cloth diapering because they are adjustable for size. This is our second batch of Thirsties because I had to get the next size up once Robert exceeded the size limit on his smaller ones. Needless to say, we have used these diapers so much that we have definitely gotten our money’s worth. When the PUL started to crack I was so sad and figured it was something I had done wrong. I never dry them and always use the right detergent so my only other thought is that we have gone through the life of a cloth diaper.
My Thirsties
The Fuzzi Bunz
Here is another picture of one of my Alva
Since I’m so cheap I figured there had to be a way to repair PUL that was cracked. From my research, I found the following options:
- clear nail polish
- Iron on a small piece of PUL to make your own “patch”
- Fray check
- Buy a GORE-TEX Fabric Repair Kit
As I started playing around with ideas to repair my PUL I had hope that this would finally be my Shark Tank idea. I had grand ideas of making a gel pen, almost like the bleach pens, that could repair the PUL. It was genius, I tell you, until I realized it was also a huge flop. Here is how it all turned out:
Clear nail polish
I had read on numerous cloth diapering threads that clear nail polish would work well.
This was the one that excited me the most because I thought it would be so easy! It dried well, looked great, and also leaked.
It was a total failure.
PUL “patches”
I was also very excited about this one. Once again, I had grand visions of me making little patches to sell online and then pitching my idea to the Sharks.
Once again, it was a total failure.
I couldn’t get the heat high enough to melt both layers of PUL without melting through both layers. Maybe this would work if I had a better iron?
Fray Check
This was a tiny success. While it didn’t completely repair my PUL, it did strengthen it and keep them from leaking quickly.
I now use the diapers with the Fray check for our afternoon diapers. Robert pees more in the morning and not too much in the afternoon. These work well around the house, but I’d never risk using them for an outing.
I have not tried these yet because I ended up buying more diapers. These are about $7 a kit, which isn’t bad.
After it is all said and done, I think the best bet is to replace your old diapers instead of wasting time repairing the PUL. I hate to admit this. I usually think that anything can be salvaged or repurposed. Not the case here! It was fun to experiment and see what would work even though I’ll never get that time back. Damn it, I could have been making bread!
I love that you tried to fix these!
We have some covers for our Little Miss that were, I guess, overstretched and so the PUL started to tear (but not separate)(where the elastic meets the fabric at the back). I had bought them for like $5 each from a place in China that supports a special needs orphanage. I mentioned the issue to them and they sent me new ones the next size up free of charge, so I never tried to repair the old ones.
Several people have commented that I should try calling the company. I think I will do that too! It’s worth a try, right?
Emily – can you share the site that you purchase from? I love the idea of supporting an orphanage while purchasing my cloth diapers!
What an interesting post! Thanks for sharing the results of your testing.
Here’s an idea for repurposing worn-out PUL diaper shells and covers – use as swim diapers, since they don’t need to be waterproof.
Exactly what Anne said as well, once my PUL has delaminated, I save them in the pile for swim diapers. I hadn’t thought about trying to repair them though, but I’d be curious if the GoreTex repair kit does the trick!
I heard about using sprayable fabric waterproofing silicone.. Like the ones used on boots and jackets even on t-shirts. I’m really interested in trying it out.
I’ve heard of that too. Please let me know if it works!
i have buy an used Albert (bumgenius) and the back have maaaannnnyyy cracks … but it’s look like hard to find a way to fit it
It did not work for me. I even applied a 2nd coat.
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear.
I am using Atsko Silcone Water Guard today to see if this helps seal the crappy brand Alva Baby diaper covers. After 7 months of using Alva Baby covers new they are deteriorating amd leaking even though I use line drying or indoor drying. We do not pull the covers when adjusting diapers on top of insert cover or use the dryer EVER. My covers are developing micro tears in them. Super annoying.
I will post back in some days when my dummy cover is cured within 48 hours dry time. You can heavily saturate this spray silicone in it or make your own using Loctite Silicone and a paint brush to brush silicone caulking for outdoor all weather use too.
Not sure how that will be but if this does not work then I have no idea.
Maybe go with silicone caulking idea and return the spray if it does not work for a really leaky diaper cover.
Interesting! Please do report back!