All About Wool Diaper Covers

Now you know you’re in deep: pocket diapers were your gateway drug, then you researched your options, and now you are just dying to see what the hype about wool is all about, right? You’ve come to the right place. 29 Diapers aims to give you ALL the information you need to figure out your cloth diapering options, and that includes mysterious wool. If you still have a question after reading this post, please contact me, and I will answer you personally (and update this post with the info you needed!).

Wool diaper covers can look like everything from Mario-print custom pants to wrap-style snap covers.

How Do Wool Covers Work?

Wool diaper covers are extremely versatile. Today’s options include everything from pull-on wool pants or shorts (“longies” and “shorties”) that double as a diaper cover, to wrap-style snap covers that are fastened just like a PUL diaper cover. The big difference with wool, beyond the natural and extremely breathable fabric, is that it is water-resistant rather than waterproof, and that it needs to be soaked in lanolin-saturated water before its first use, to make it water-resistant.

Wool in Action

The AWESOME thing about wool is that the lanolin on a wool cover actually neutralizes urine, or turns it to water, so you can air-dry your wet wool covers and then use them again and again until they’re soiled. This means you don’t need to wash them as often as your PUL covers and you won’t need as many of them in your stash, which is a relief  considering they cost anywhere from $20-85 each!

Wool Care

Wool covers do need to be hand-washed separately from the prefolds or fitteds you use them with, which some people take in stride and others think of as a deal-breaker for convenience. To wash a wool diaper cover, fill a bowl with warm water and add a squirt of liquid castile soap or baby wash. Let the covers soak a couple of hours, and then wring out the water gently by rolling them in a towel or running them through a spin cycle in your washer. Do NOT squeeze your diapers to wring out the water, or they could lose their shape. Also never put them in the dryer, or you’ll end up with teeny tiny felted doll diapers. Wool covers can be washed several times before needing to be re-lanolized. Lanolizing a diaper cover is similar to washing it: you fill a bowl with lukewarm water, then fill a cup measure with hot water and a teaspoon of solid lanolin. It should dissolve and turn the water milky. Add that water to the bowl, swish it around, and let the covers soak for a few hours. Then roll them in a towel or run them through the spin cycle to remove the excess water gently, and air dry.

Nifty Nappy Woolie Wraps are made from super soft upcycled sweaters--each one is totally unique.

Cost

Yeah, wool costs enough to get a paragraph of its own on this topic. If your baby has sensitive skin or allergies, this natural fabric may well be worth the extra cost to you. People who love wool swear it is a bulletproof night diapering system when paired with a good fitted diaper, and its breathability can’t be beat. BUT… let’s face it: many of us got into cloth diapering for the cost savings and stayed for the eco-friendly benefits, not the other way around. In light of that, a custom $20-85 wool cover seems a bit out of reach. But the good news is that there is that huge range in cost, so you should be able to find something fairly affordable at the lower end to try wool without a huge commitment. Great brands include Nifty Nappy, Sloomb/SustainableBabyish, and CrankyPants. The other cool thing about wool is that it’s made from upcycled sweaters, or custom embroidered merino wool yarn, so no other baby out there will have a stash quite like your baby if you outfit him in wool.