Swim Diapers-reusable?

helenk

I wish I was in Disney World
Joined
Jan 4, 2000
Messages
8,559
Okay,
Thank goodness we are not going to WDW until June. I have so much to learn about going with an infant.
I am sure we will be trying out the swimming pool at the AKV, and I was looking at the prices of the disposable swim diapers...yikes. I was looking at the re-usable one and that seems like a good way to go. But are the dependable? My grand-daughter will be 14 months old and not potty trained, I want to make sure we have the proper protection for playing in the pool.
 
In my experience, the re-usable ones work fine. I have also found that swim diapers will not hold pee, just #2. (I found this out the hard way when holding my DD w/ a swim diaper on) So, always be aware of this! (I always put a towel on the seat in her stroller when we go down to the pool, just incase she decides to go on the way down!
 
In my experience, the re-usable ones work fine. I have also found that swim diapers will not hold pee, just #2. (I found this out the hard way when holding my DD w/ a swim diaper on) So, always be aware of this! (I always put a towel on the seat in her stroller when we go down to the pool, just incase she decides to go on the way down!

:laughing: Thanks for the advice
 
When DS was a baby, his swim class instructor required the babies to wear the re-usable swim diapers. They are supposed to work much better than disposables.
Target sells a good brand, wee wave. For boys they also have them in the swim trunk style.

 
Regular Disposable Swim Diapers can be used more than once... (for those budget minded folks... As long as they are not "Dirty" you can rinse dry and reuse.. or even throw them in the washing machine and dryer they hold up for one real wash! SO you can get two wears out of them.. more if you are determined.
 
If your baby does make #2 it is much easier to get a disposable off without a mess. You can rip the sides and open it like a diaper. The re-usable ones you have to pull down like underwear. The reusable ones also tend to be very tight on the legs. So if your child has typical baby chub thighs it might be uncomfortable. Another thing to consider is that you will have no place to wash the reusable one unless you are planning to do laundry every night.
 
I hate to say it but none of them hold very much pee, but they do hold in the poop very good. I have 4 children as you see below with my youngest going to be 10mo when we go in june. We will be using the reusable, ie washable too ones. I love them. I do think they hold a little bit more. I found some at the dollar store that are shapped like shorts. We have used both in the past at different times. Like when we go camping we use the disposiable, not going want to wash them then, just throw them away. :lmao:


I just saw where someone said they hold up to one real wash. I have about 6 pair that are going on there 3rd child using them and they have held up to way over 50 washes. oh wait make that the 4th child, my sister used them with my nephew.

ok im must be half asleep, and im a work so need to be awake. I just saw where she said disposiable. lol
 
We have a couple of pairs of swim shorts that have the little lining in them - it did say "intergral swim nappy" (I'm in Scotland so not diapers here) on them when I bought them - I have always assumed this meant I could wear them without a disposable swim nappy underneath but I've never been brave enough and have always worn the swim nappy anyway! lol!! What are you experiences of this?

That said most of the swimwear I have bought our little one for our trip are all in one sunproof suits or the shorts and t-shirt suits which I don't think have the lining in them so the nappy will be going on underneath!

mo x
 
Swim diapers are not meant to hold liquid - that's why they don't swell up like a regular diaper. The disposibles don't hold solid very well either - the water gets in and waters down the poo which make's it very liquidy - which then can run out the leg openings - found this out the hard way as well. The re-usable swim diapers are very tight around the thighs - so nothing can escape.

As for the little mesh lining in little boy's swim trunks - won't hold a thing.
 
We have a couple of pairs of swim shorts that have the little lining in them - it did say "intergral swim nappy" (I'm in Scotland so not diapers here) on them when I bought them - I have always assumed this meant I could wear them without a disposable swim nappy underneath but I've never been brave enough and have always worn the swim nappy anyway! lol!! What are you experiences of this?

That said most of the swimwear I have bought our little one for our trip are all in one sunproof suits or the shorts and t-shirt suits which I don't think have the lining in them so the nappy will be going on underneath!

mo x

They are fine that is what they are meant for, you don't need a swim nappy underneth as well. Wouldn't waste your money on them. We have only ever had 1 experience of a poo in a reusable swim nappy and it kept it in fine until we could get him out of the pool and change him.

Kirsten
 
So interesting! I didn't know that re-usable swim diapers were even made.
 
Well, my dd12 was a baby before disposable swim diapers, and it was SO GROSS when she pooped in the reusable ones! :scared1: I was thrilled when disposable ones were invented with #2.
 
Who knew there was so much to think about. :goodvibes Back when my kids were young my mother just suggested the rubber pants that went over the cloth diapers and that worked fine.
I guess I'll take myself over to Target and check out their selection. Thank you all for your help.
 
If your baby does make #2 it is much easier to get a disposable off without a mess. You can rip the sides and open it like a diaper. The re-usable ones you have to pull down like underwear. The reusable ones also tend to be very tight on the legs. So if your child has typical baby chub thighs it might be uncomfortable. Another thing to consider is that you will have no place to wash the reusable one unless you are planning to do laundry every night.

We will be staying at the Animal Kingdom Villas and will be in a 1 bedroom, so if we decide to go with the reusable ones we will be okay. So much to think about.
 
We were able to put up a pool last year and my oldest daughter was 20 months at the time, not potty trained. She loved it and we used the disposable kind of swim diapers. They did very well holding in the solid, but does make it very wet, but also, like someone said before, it's very nice to be able to tear the sides and take them off rather than trying to pull a wet diaper off. And of course, my daughter always seemed to do #2 whenever she was in the pool!
 
There are some brands of re-usable swim diapers that do have velcro attachments at the hips (similar to a diaper) so that you don't have to pull them down - DS had a Swimmi ( http://www.bummis.com/en/Products/covers/Swimmi.html), Kushies has some in that style as well, to name a few. Yes, there is the inconvenience of having to clean it should the unthinkable happen (and to paraphrase the saying, "#2 happens" lol), but likely not the first (or last) time you will ever have to clean up a poopy accident. If you are having trouble finding one, any retailer who sells cloth diapers should have them.
 
I'm just over-cautious, I guess, but I do both simultaneously -- a reusable cloth swim diaper OVER a disposable. That holds in an accidents because of the tight legs, but makes it easier for me to quickly clean up, too.

My kids are 10 years apart. When my eldest was little, permanent swim diapers had a sort of slick texture on the inside (it was ripstop nylon, but VERY thick and dense, like a cloth raincoat fabric). I still have a couple of those left. The new ones I have purchased lately for my youngest (a girl) have a terry-cloth lining. While I suppose that's more comfy, I wouldn't want to have to scrub poop out of terry-cloth using a locker-room sink.

Normally I'm pretty darned frugal, but I'm all about convenience when I deal with my kids and swimming. I've enough on my plate making sure that the daredevils are safe to want to worry too much about saving money with methods that take up more time. If I were pinching pennies on it, I think I would consider using paper diaper liners with the reuseable cloth swim diapers, so as to make them easier to clean up when away from home. 200 of those liners cost about $12. (In consistency they are a lot like dryer sheets.)
 
Our pool at home requires a disposable swim diaper with a reusable plastic diaper over the top. It seems to work well and they are inexpensive at Babies R Us.
 
We always use reusable ones and I think they work great, but then again I use cloth diapers with my kids so I'm probably not the one to talk to. For us, I don't buy a special swim diaper. I just use the kids pocket diapers and I don't stuff them with anything....works pretty much the exact same way. Swim diapers aren't really meant to hold liquid because then they just absorb the pool water, but are supposed to keep poop from contaminating the pool. Worked for 4 kids so far, and I'm sure it's going to work with #5.

The only real question about the reusable ones is whether or not you want to take the time to clean them, or whether you'd prefer the convenience of just being able to throw them away.

Good luck!
 












Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE









DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top