Frequently Asked Questions

Color

What kind of dyes do you use? Fiber reactive dyes.

What diaper colors do you have? Our colors change, but we do have some favorites that come up frequently. We have several hand-painted fabrics in our Elemental and Diaper Garden collections. These are often combined with solid colors not limited to the variety below.


Med Bark	Golden Brown	Terra cotta	Med Jungle	Jungle Red	Yellow Orange	Soft Orange	Cream- sicle

Sea Green	Neon Green	Emer. Green	Dk Sage	Avoc.	Chart.	Lemon	Gold

Sky Blue	Peri- winkle	Lapis	Purple	Berry	Lt Berry	Orchid	Pink

What about diaper cover colors? Same deal. The colors change. We have a lot more colors in the trim than in the body, so this allows for some great contrasting color combinations. The colors may use the same dyes as the diaper colors, but wool (protein fiber) takes the dye differently than organic cotton (vegetable fiber).

Body

Marigold	Sea Green	Rose Red	Orange	Avocado	Raspberry	WarmGrey

Hot Pink	Chocolate	Tangerine Cream	Periwinkle	Chartreuse	Grape	Neon Green

Trim

orchid	hot pink	salmon	orange	gold	lemon

sky	mint	dark sage	leaf	avo cado	chart.

peri- winkle	grape	golden brwn	choco.	red brick	natural

Why don’t you use natural dyes? Many natural dyes require mordents that are not environmentally friendly. On the scale we are dyeing, fiber reactive dyes give us the overall lowest impact. But we experiment with natural dyes often, mostly just staining rather than dyeing with mordants, to see what happens. Try it. Boil a diaper in beet juice or in a tea of turmeric. The colors are beautiful, and they fade naturally.

Will you dye a specific color for me? Probably not, but we’re open to suggestions. We like to try new colors.

Will the dyes bleed? They shouldn't. All of our dyed fabrics are fixed, rinsed, and rinsed again to ensure that there are no free dyes hiding out in the fibers.

But what if the colors on my wool cover do bleed? The dyes on your wool covers should not bleed. We deliberately do not use dark and saturated colors. Rarely, though, some colors bleed. We've been putting together the pieces of this puzzle over time, and every time that I know of this happening, the baby has been a boy. Did you know that, historically, urea was used as a carrier in the dyeing process--specifically urea from pre-adolescent boys? I don't know the science of why this is, but if you do and you want to explain this to me, please write (because my dye guy doesn't seem to know the why of this, either). In the meantime, we can fix the dyes again easily. These are the suggestions of our resident dye scientist. "A wool cover bleeding is not normal, and we should be able to prevent it happening again. The dye should be fixed to the fibers on a molecular level. If there is free dye floating around in there, we want it out. These dyes are fixed to protein in an acid environment. [Please note: colors on vegetable fibers like diapers are fixed differently.] You need to give the cover a bath in vinegar. You can make a strong solution with water, or use straight, white vinegar. If you warm it a little on the stove, it will stink, but that will be most effective. Five minutes should fix the dye, but it wouldn't hurt if you left it all day. If dye is coming out, rinse until there is no more dye. This is similar to the method we use to fix the dyes, but we using boiling water, which you don't want to do with a finished cover. After the vinegar bath, rinse under flowing, warm water. You can wash in woolwash (like Eucalan) at that point, if you like, to keep the fibers in good condition." The best solution? Natural wool diaper covers.

What if the colors on my diapers bleed? The dyes on your diapers should not bleed. When we find a color that bleeds, we don't use it. If we find a color that bled for customers, we retire that as well. After many years, we have a good idea which colors to avoid, so bleeding diapers are a very rare occurrence. Dyes on vegetable fibers are fixed by a alkaline bath. We don't recommend that you introduce soda ash to your diapers, which is what we use on fabric, so soap and water will be the best solution. Baking soda is also alkaline, but you shouldn't need to go that far. Vigorously handwash the diaper in soapy water that is as hot as you can bear. Rinse until the water is clear of soap and of color. The good news is that even with our retired temperamental colors, the fabric will stop releasing dyes, much like new jeans tend to give up dye but stop after several washings. The best solution? Natural organic cotton diapers.

Care

Are Fuzbaby diapers ready to wear when they arrive? No. You should wash the diapers at least once before using them on your baby. It may take several washes before the diapers reach maximum absorbency.

Should I wash the wool cover every time it is used? No. The cover doesn't need to be washed that often. After using wool covers, hang them to dry. If they have not been soiled, they can be used several times or even several days before they need to be washed.

If the wool cover is leaving pajamas wet at night, should I use more lanolin? Wool covers breathe. This is good. This means that moisture can escape, too. The area around a wet baby can be humid. If humidity gives way to just wet, though, you might try several solutions. Start by changing the baby’s diaper more often, even if that means midnight diaper changes. If the wool covers you are using already are not enough of a barrier, you could try: 1) a thicker cover, 2) removing the lanolin that is acting as a moisture resistant barrier and that may be letting moisture slide right off the wool, or 3) you could go the opposite way and smear lanolin on the wet zone of the cover. I have done this, but it leaves a sticky patch and I prefer not to. It sends the moisture out through other areas of the cover. A heavier cover like the Fuzbomb is your best bet.

My wool cover is stiff. How do I fix it? If your soft wool knit gussets on your diaper cover start to feel crunchy and stiff, it may be that urine has crystallized in the wool fibers. This may or may not be reversible. We believe the following is your best chance to reverse the damage. First, you need to remove all traces of lanolin left by Eucalan or other lanolin treatment. Do this by handwashing the cover in lukewarm to warm, soapy water. Use a mild soap and massage the cover gently, then rinse thoroughly. (If the massage is too vigorous or the water hot, you could full the fabric further, stiffening it. Just be gentle, and the cover will be fine.) This may be enough that you notice the fibers have softened again. If not, soak the cover for 24 hours in a solution of 25% white vinegar. This will dissolve any crystals of urea more quickly than would plain water. After soaking the cover for a day, repeat the handwashing, being sure to rinse away all traces of soap. This should leave the cover softer than before. At this point, you may want to wash with Eucalan, since the lanolin will keep the protein fibers softer. In order to prevent crystallization in fibers of other covers, if the cover becomes saturated, rinse thoroughly. You may want to handwash with soap as above if the cover becomes saturated often. If the cover has not been saturated but has become no more than slightly damp, the Eucalan is an excellent way to care for the cover. Use the Eucalan when the fibers are generally clean. If the fibers become crystallized, however, the lanolin can seal that in.

My diapers feel stiff. Is there anything I can do? If you dry diapers in the sun, they aren't getting the agitation they would get in a dryer. By rolling them between your hands you will flex the fibers, helping the diaper feel softer. If you are using a dryer, don't be tempted to use commercial softeners. These could inhibit the absorbency of your diapers. An easy way to agitate the fibers and help them remain soft is to put in the dryer a hockey puck or a rubber ring inside a thick sock, tying off the end. As the diapers are tumbling dry, the hockey puck will flex the fibers for you.

My diapers smell. Can I make that smell go away? Probably. The smell is probably coming from residual urine that has crystallized between the fibers due to insufficient rinsing. A good first step would be an extended presoak in white vinegar (25% in water) or Bac Out (as recommended on the bottle). To follow this up, do a regular machine wash with environmentally friendly detergent followed by an extended rinse cycle. To prevent this happening in the future, especially with the heavier nighttime diapers, put the wet diapers into a soak (preferably with Bac Out) immediately rather than a dry pail.

How can I get rid of stains? If you put diapers in the pail with Biokleen Bac Out, a live enzyme cleaner, the enzymes will begin to break down the organic materials before they can stain. If you do end up with stains, you can try Biokleen Oxygen Bleach in the wash. For natural stain fading, try hanging the diapers in direct sunlight. Adding a bit of lemon juice over the stain before hanging the diaper outside will speed up the process.

I heard vinegar neutralizes the pH of urine. It that right? Not exactly. A lot of parents know vinegar helps when they wash diapers, but why? I asked my in-house scientist about the effect of vinegar as it relates to washing diapers. He says:

The pH of urine is close to neutral, but when urea is exposed to air it begins to convert to ammonia, which is very alkaline. Vinegar would neutralize this. Detergents work better close to neutral, so the sooner you wash diapers after a change, the better your detergent will work. For a longer answer full of science-speak, see the full article at Firefly Diapers:"Vinegar and Diaper Care."

I've heard that wool covers are self-cleaning. Is that right? I've read something similar. This doesn't mean that you leave the covers so long that they get up and take themselves to the washer. One wool cover manufacturer says, "When the lanolin in the wool comes in contact with urine, a chemical reaction occurs, which creates lanolin-soap. This has an antibacterial effect, making the wool self-cleaning, as it is worn by your baby." If so, that is very cool. Keep in mind that you still need to wash the wool covers when soiled or saturated to keep the fibers clean and supple. (Source: "The Story Behind Woolen Diaper Covers," Jeannette Almstrøm, Danish Wool.)

How do I remove smears of lanolin from a used Fuzbaby cover I just bought? I don't understand why people like gooey lanolin on their covers, since it impedes the natural absorbency of wool. We experimented ourselves to see if it made a difference to smear it down the center, but it just sends the moisture out through the rest of the cover. To break down the fats in the lanolin, you just need a lot of gentle, soapy rinsing. Vinegar won't break it down, so you don't need to bother with that. This just creates a situation like that with raw wool or raw cotton where you need to flush the original oils to make the fiber absorbent. Hotter water works faster, but you don't want to use hot water with the wool. So, more water (with soap) does the trick.

Should I use lanolin on my wool covers at all? Yes, do. Lanolin is the natural oil from sheep's skin. Raw wool has a lot of lanolin in it. Once the original oils have been removed from the wool, you can add some back to keep the fibers soft and flexible. This works like conditioner works on your hair. A mild woolwash like Eucalan includes enough lanolin for softness but not so much that it prevents wool's natural absorbency. I don't particularly like smears of lanolin on wool, but some people find this works really well for them. It comes down to what you want and need. Try it. See what works for you.

Guarantee

The diaper I bought last year has developed a hole. Will you replace it? No. Materials are guaranteed for 45 days from shipment if our recommended care instructions have been followed. Natural materials wear. That is a lot of the reason we like natural materials. They won’t leave a trace in 500 years like some so-called diapers may. See our guarantee for details.

A snap popped off. Will you fix it? Yes. For normal wear on diapers, such as holes that develop over time, you should certainly make repairs yourself. We know that most people don't have a snap press handy, though, so we offer to make those repairs for you. See our guarantee for details.

Shipping

Will you mark a package to Canada as a gift? No. While it's possible that I would like you very much if I met you, and I might even want to send you a gift, the fact is that the diapers you pay for are not a gift. We run a serious business, and we won't lie about it.

Then will you mark a package to Canada as worth $10? No. I have to sign a customs declaration form certifying that the information is correct, and it will be. It's a federal felony charge under 18 USC 1001, false statement made to the government. I don't want to take that risk, and I'm sure you don't want me to either.

Why does shipping cost so much? First, we don't make money on shipping. We do charge small handling fees to cover costs of boxes, tape, and other packing materials. Then, the shipping itself is not inexpensive. I think that the best solution to shipping costs is to buy local and pay no shipping at all. If you find a diaper manufacturer locally, perhaps you could meet face to face. If you are in Salt Lake City, Utah, we may be willing to do that for you to save you shipping.

Business

Will you send me a free sample? No, but you are welcome to buy a sample before you invest in a whole set of Fuzbaby diapers.

Do you offer wholesale? No.

If I sell your diapers from my website, will you drop ship? No.

Can I buy your company? I don’t know. Make me an offer.