Do I need to 'strip wash'?

Dear Jenny
My nappies have been leaking and a lady on facebook told me to strip wash them. I've done this but they are still leaking. Please help?!

Whenever I see someone complaining about leaking nappies on facebook the most common advice is 'you need to strip wash'. Generally what happens after this conversation on facebook is, the person comes to me and says they have strip washed and their nappies still leak.

So here is the best advice you will get all day. Strip washing in most instances will not solve leaking nappies. 

I get emails daily about leaking nappies. Not always Baby Bare (from customers using other nappies who are looking for new nappies they don't even need), and the answer is usually really obvious to me or easy to diagnose.

The first question anyone should ask when you get a leaking nappy is: Is it heavy and full, or light and empty.

This question is about determining if the nappy is absorbing enough or fluid is just going straight out without soaking in.

Here are the top reasons nappies leak in my experience:

1. Liners.
I have found they either leak because they absorb so fast they create a channel out of the nappy, or to a spot in the nappy not fully boosted. Or, the liner is hanging out somewhere creating a way out.

2. Not enough absorbency
Nappies are not magic. Many cheaper brands sell a nappy with one insert. It works great until the child gets bigger and suddenly endless leaks. You need adequate absorbency for your child's output. This can make cheap nappies expensive fast when you need to go back and buy an extra insert for each one - your $10-$15 nappy just became a $15-$20 nappy and you could have bought better quality for the same price.

3. Poor fit.
You should have no gaps around legs or the waist.

4. Absorbency not where its needed
If you get leaks out the top/front of the nappy, you need to put more absorbency there. Try folding boosters in half towards the front of the nappy where they are needed.

5. Need to change more often
This can be misleading. Some parents think a nappy lasted them 3 hours - but the child may not have done a wee for 3 hours. Then another leaks in 30 minutes. This is probably an issue that the nappy can only hold one wee (or not even one) and you need more absorbency.

Strip washing is not the answer. I have nappies that are 4 years old I have never strip washed. They work fine. If you properly wash and care for your nappies you should not need to strip wash them. For most people this step is one they can avoid and one that I think makes cloth nappying more complicated than it is. It is also for many a distraction to what the real issue is in their nappies. Once they have strip washed they are left disappointed that they still leak and many ready to give up as they think this should have solved their problems.

So, if you have leaking nappies. I recommend asking the place you bought them from as to how you can fix the issue. Also consider the points I made above which may help you diagnose the issue yourself. Cloth is easier than it seems due to so much misguided (yet well intended) information/advice.