Ah, diapers. A staple of nurseries everywhere. But as a parent, how do you decide what kind of diaper is right for your kiddo? Gone are the days of only a handful of disposable diaper options or cloth diapers that are secured to your precious baby with terrifyingly-stabby safety pins. Now you’re faced with so many choices! If you decide to go with fully disposable diapers, should you buy off-brand or name-brand? Organic? Moisture-wicking? Chlorine free? Should you enter the realm of cloth diapering and, if so, should you purchase All In Ones, All In Twos, pocket diapers, or hybrids? Inserts? Cotton liners? Disposable liners?
The answer to these questions depends on your personal preferences and what works for you and your family. But having successfully navigated the mysterious world of diapering twice now, I’ve figured out a few things.
1) Your baby will ultimately have the final say (i.e., you’ll choose the type that doesn’t make him or her break out in a bum rash)
2) Occasional leaks are an inevitability
3) Disposable diaper liners are not flushable
“Hold the phone, Molly; did you just say disposable diaper liners aren’t flushable?? But a lot of them state that they’re flushable right on the packaging! How can this be?” Well, I’ll tell you. Much like “flushable” wipes, they’re misnamed. Technically you CAN flush both wipes and liners, just like my son has recently shown me that you CAN flush ninja turtle action figures. But should you flush them? Definitely not.
Disposable diaper liners are thin mesh-like cloths (usually made out of cotton or viscose rayon) that can be placed in diapers to conveniently catch solid waste. The idea is that rather than removing the waste from and scrubbing the entire cloth diaper or insert, you can just remove and discard the liner and toss the rest into the washing machine. But where should they be discarded? Most are labeled “flushable,” although many specify that they are not “septic safe.” Most I’ve found state this (or something similar) on the packaging:
Place liner inside diaper. When diaper is soiled, simply remove and flush down toilet. May cause blockage in old or damaged drains. Not recommended for sensitive septic tanks.”
Hm… suspicious! So does that mean they’re safe to flush if your home has newer plumbing? How do you determine whether or not your septic system is “sensitive?” Talk about confusing packaging.
While there are plenty of first-hand accounts of the detriment of flushable wipes on our sewer systems, I couldn’t find enough out there in terms of disposable diaper liners to ease my uncertainty. So, in order to decipher whether they’re truly safe to send down the drain, I put on my lab coat and did a bit of experimenting on my own.
Supplies:
1) Three well-known brands of “flushable” diaper liners
2) 3 bowls of water
3) 1 washing machine
4) 1 mesh garment bag
12 hours after being placed in water the diaper liners are going strong!
A full 24 hours in water and the liners still haven’t changed.
First, I placed two sheets of each brand of diaper liner in a bowl of water, swished them around a bit, and let them sit overnight. As you can see, all three survived completely unscathed. I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and leave them in for another twelve hours. Nope, still holding on strong!
Next, I figured I’d simulate the sloshing of our sewer lines by putting them through a round in my washing machine. I placed them in a mesh garment bag to prevent them from wrapping around the agitator and then waited patiently. The result….they survived! I couldn’t find ANY signs of deterioration.
24 hours in water plus a trip through my washing machine. These certainly aren’t going to breakdown any time soon!
Conclusion: Disposable diaper liners are great. They make cleaning cloth diapers quicker and easier and can help prevent rash creams and ointments from ruining the fabric’s absorbency. But remember, flushing things down the drain that don’t break down easily contributes to clogged pipes, which can in turn cause environmentally- harmful sewer system overflows. Or, much like my own ninja turtle action figure incident, they can cause messy overflows in your own home. So be a Sewer Steward and dispose of those helpful diaper liners in a trash can, NOT a toilet.
Blog contributed by Molly Bertsch, Community Educator at HRSD.