Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Coolababy and Rainbow BB Update

I wrote a review earlier about the Coolababy and Rainbow BB cloth diapers earlier, you can read that HERE.  I’ve been using them all summer as well as a set of Blue Penguin’s SposoEasy all cotton cloth diapers.  I just wanted to give a little update now that I’ve had a really good chance to try them. 

First of all the fit:

Coolababy diaper –>IMG_0326          Rainbow BB Diaper –>IMG_3359a

They both fit fairly well. I really don’t think they’d fit a newborn at all.  Both tend to suffer “wing droop” after they’ve been on too long.  But I’ve found that most of the cloth diapers my guy wears look that way, especially now that he’s on the move.  I still don’t find that to be a big deal and it doesn’t affect the absorbency.

The Stains:

They are still completely stain free!  I DO use a flushable liner to catch the solids, but many times it doesn’t catch everything.  I rinse them ASAP and they are washed when I have time.  If I am doing a load of diapers soon, I may not even rinse them (just remove the big stuff!).  The fleece doesn’t stain easily and my inserts are still VERY absorbent.  I even end up wringing out the inserts before I hang them on the line.  Yes, hanging them on the line can contribute to less stains. 

Drying and odor:

The Coolababy AND the Rainbow BB diapers are awesome as far as odor goes.  It’s important to treat them well to begin with, but cloth diapers can get stinky sometimes.  My SposoEasy diapers seem to retain odor much faster.  The Coolababy and Rainbow BB shells retain almost no odor and they dry quickly on the line or on lowest heat in the dryer.  The inserts keep some odor, but occasional washing in hot with a double rinse (I double rinse all the time anyway) with a little vinegar and baking soda really does the trick.  I also HIGHLY recommend Crunchy Clean Diaper Soap or Rockin Green Diaper Soap because they smell AWESOME and they are specifically made for cloth diapers.

Waterproof-ness:

The PUL (polyurethane laminate) that is the outer shell is still holding up well.  I haven’t noticed any wear at all.  They do wick a little, but its usually when I haven’t changed him for a long time and they’re really wet ;)

ONE PROBLEM:

IMG_3369a IMG_3374

As you can see, some of my Rainbow BB’s has bad elastic.  I haven’t had this problem with my Coolababy, but I just have the one, and I have 12 Rainbow BB.  My guess was that it was one of two problems: 1) the elastic was sewn poorly and let go at one end, or 2) it is just bad elastic as gave out.  I decided that since I only paid about $6.50 apiece for these that they were worth repairing.  Here’s what I did:

IMG_3828 IMG_3830IMG_3978

I used a seam ripper and opened from the inside the elastic pockets, only at each end, and pulled the old stuff out.  You can see it was not bad sewing but bad elastic.  I pinned one end of my new elastic with a safety pin and guided it into the pocket then stitched at each end.  It didn’t take me very long.

IMG_3822                                 IMG_3979

If you are handy with a needle and thread or know someone who is, I still say these diapers are well worth the money.  Overall I’ve still been very happy with them and they are holding up well.

Hope this helps.  I’d love to hear what you all think.  Please feel free to link these reviews!

11 comments:

Jenny said...

I bought 6 of these a few weeks ago and have been using them mostly for all night diapers since they had two inserts. I love how absorbent they are and think they hold liquid in even better than my fuzzy bunz diapers (which are more than twice the cost). I went in on an order with a friend and we both ended up with one diaper that had faulty elastic. Thanks for the tips on repairing them. I seam ripped the whole side, guess that was a waste of time. :)

If anyone is considering getting these, my friend found out that you can order directly from the manufacturer. You have to get at least 100 of them but they end up being about $6.16 each. She just did a diaper coop on craigslist and ended up needing to order 300 diapers. If you need some think about doing the same thing. It worked out really well and saved everyone involved a bundle! Just be sure you get their $ before you order for everyone.

Thanks again for the review!

Val said...

thanks for writing a review, i just ordered some of each to compare them myself.

me said...

I am so glad to read that I'm not the only one with elastic issues! I actually bought these diapers after reading your review back in August and they have held up great and I love them with the exception of the elastic issue! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to repair them. At first I only had one elastic give out and I just threw that one out. Then another went a week later so I saved it to try to repair but I was lazy so it's still sitting in my sewing basket. Then a couple days ago they came out of the dryer with 7 busted elastics! Ugh! So now that I know they can be fixed I'm going to give it a try and hopefully these will now hold up for a long time! Thanks!

Jo H said...

I've been researching the diapers available from China on EBay and reviews are SO hard to find! So thanks a bunch for your detailed reviews, they've really helped me out a lot!

Unknown said...

Thanks for this rewiew.
I have a question: how do you wash the Coolababy and / or the Rainbow ones? In warm or in cold water? I have seen on E-bay (by Rainbow BB):"Wash diapers in cold water!". Is it true? cannot wash in warm water? What is your experience?

Thanks for the answer.
Dora

Ash said...

Dori, I have washed mine (rainbow) in warm water and it hasn't messed with the lining or anything, however it could be possible that it has broken down the elastics faster.

Mrs4444 said...

this is a great review! I tried cloth diapers with Kyle (18 years ago), but I gave up after about a month; they leaked all the time! I'm guessing these are much improved!!

Bao said...

Thanks for this review!! I got a few diapers from China on eBay and I'm not sure what the brand is. They seem fine, though. And at about $8 (incl shipping!), they cost a fraction of the price of FBs or BGs!!

Unknown said...

Do you wash these in hot or dry them in hot, just wondering if they stand the test of heat or not?

Happy Howell Home said...

Hey Mama,
Just hoping you could tell me how long the Coolababy ended up lasting. i hear they don't last more than 6mos to a year. What was your experience?

nhdb86 said...

You should try hanging the diapers horizontally. The elastics will last longer