Can you tell us a little about yourself?
-How old are you? Where do you live? What do you do for a living? What are your hobbies?
My name is Johan, I´m 55 years old and live in Sweden.
I work as a senior design engineer for a big Swedish company.
I spend my free time together with my family and we love to go to our holiday home and spend free time there. Other hobbies are mountain biking and hiking in the woods.
Can you tell us something about your personal situation? Why were you looking for incontinence products?
I´m incontinent 24/7 and have had these problems my whole life.
Several investigations have been done to try and find the cause of my urine leak.
The conclusion is that the signal between the brain and bladder is blocked.
I have done several treatments, for example Botox injections in bladder, electric stimulation (TENS) and other different medicinal treatments. The worst leakage is during the night.
During the years have I somehow accepted my condition and try to live as normal as possible.
Why did you decide to try reusable diapers instead of disposables?
We need to take it from the beginning!
Healthcare in Sweden is very good and if you have incontinence problems and have done a proper investigation you can get your incontinence supplies for free.
All products on market are not free, there are a limited supply depending on where you live.
Every 3-5 years they do a new procurement when they pick out a number of different products (often the cheapest ones) that will be available for free.
If you are unlucky your product is no longer available after this procurement and you need to find an new alternative.
It´s good that products are free but it´s is also a challenge to find right available product.
For the most time have I been lucky and found free products that suits me.
These are new times now.
More talk about the environment and that we need to use environment friendly products.
This got me thinking about my disposable diapers. I use many diapers every day, are there any options? After some searching I found cloth diapers for adults. Unfortunately it was difficult to find these products in Sweden. Lot of stores sells cloth diapers for children but not for adults.
But I decided that I would like to give cloth diapers a try.
What was your biggest concern about cloth diapers?
I have no experience with cloth diapers and it's hard to know where to start.
Many questions came up, how many diapers do I need? How do I wash them? How often do I need to wash? Do I need booster diapers?
I felt that I needed to find someone who can help me choose the right product.
I found a few suppliers and sent emails describing my needs and based on the responses (from the few who responded), nappy.nl made the best impression.
I did get a nice letter and I felt direct that this company can help me.
What is your experience with the cloth diapers in comparison with the disposables?
Of course, it is more work to wash and handle cloth diapers. Unfortunately, it's also more expensive because I get my disposable diapers for free. My experience is that cloth diapers are thicker especially if you need more absorbency during the night.
But it is most positive to use cloth diapers. They are really comfortable and soft to wear. Reusable diapers are warmer so cloth diapers are a good option during the warm season.
It also feels good that you can wash your diapers instead of throwing them away after use. I have noticed that I now have less garbage than before!
Do you use the cloth diapers at day and/or at night?
I mainly use cloth diapers during night. It’s hard for me to handle cloth diapers during day when at work. I have tried during day at home and it´s a little bulkier but if you´re alone it could be okey.
Optimally I would be to find a product that are suitable for day use.
What is it like to change cloth diapers? Is it different from changing disposable diapers?
For me it´s not a big different. I use disposable “all in one diapers” and the cloth diapers I use have the “same” design.
It´s more work to take care of your cloth diapers after use, you need to store them in a good way before washing. Disposable you only throw away… but is this good or bad?
To put on a new cloth diaper could also be a little more work. The one that I use is in three pieces that you need to “assemble” before you can put it on. After some trial and error you find the way to do this and after that it´s no problem!
On the contrary, it can be a safe feeling to handle your cloth diaper in this way, knowing that everything is in place and ready to take care of you.
How many diapers do you have and how often do you wash them?
I have 8 sets of cloth diapers for night.
I wash every 3 days.
Do you think it is a lot of extra work?
Yes, it´s more work than with disposables. But for me it's also therapy, I feel satisfied that I use cloth diapers that I wash and reuse.
What do you do when you are away for work or on a holiday?
In my work I travel a lot with many hotel nights.
After talking with Nappy’s.nl I found some good bags for storing used diapers. I bought some and tried this solution on a trip with hotel nights. More work and handling, but it works!
During holidays it depends on where I travel. If we are in our holiday home it´s no different, I use them during the night. But if we are traveling with hotel nights I often use disposables.
Sometimes it´s easier to use disposables.
I try to use cloth diapers as often as possible!
What’s your favorite diaper at the moment and why?
I have found out that Blümchen Junior/Adult 2in1 is the best solution for me.
The special insert that’s fit together with this diaper is very comfortable and I haven´t had any leakage beside diaper with this combination. During the night I also use two boosters, Blümchen Junior/Adult Bamboo/Stay-Dry boosters that fits good inside the 2in1 diaper.
This combination is the best I have tried for night use and is comfortable and secure.
What would you advise other people who are considering cloth diapers?
Give it a try!
Send a mail to nappy.nl and describe your need and they will help you chose the right product. Then start with some few test diapers and when you have find the right one, buy more so you can try during a longer period.
You will not regret this!
How did you find us and how did you decide to buy your first cloth diaper with us?
It was hard to find a supplier in Sweden so I started to search internet for nearby suppliers. I did get the best impression and support from nappy.nl so it was easy to choose them as an supplier!
What is needed to make cloth diapers mainstream?
First we need to talk more about incontinence and try to remove taboo from incontinence and adult diapers. This subjects is hard to talk about, even with health care. I have meet many doctors and nurses that have problem to discuss these problems and especial talk about adult diapers.
Diapers make me feel secure and comfortable, they are my solution for an active life.
Cloth diapers are not always the perfect option but it´s definitely a good solution for some periods, for example during night.
It also depends on how much you leak, for less leakage it could be a good solution 24/7.
Do you feel that there is a taboo surrounding incontinence? How can we break the taboo surrounding incontinence?
Yes, sorry to say that but there is a big taboo and we need to talk more about these problems!
For a long time I lived alone with my problems. I thought I was alone in the whole world with these problems. But after have had an leak accident during a doctor’s appointment I did get help. Suddenly it occurred to me that I wasn’t alone and these problems are more common than you know.
These days it´s easier to find information over internet and I believe that healthcare talk more about it also.
But there are definitely still taboo surrounding incontinence and adult diapers.
What are your suggestions for us to help customers choose the right diaper?
Talk more about it in blogs and other places on your home page.
Every year there is a “World Continence Week! That you could observe on your home page, or perhaps do your own week? Every notice about incontinence is important and will help us remove taboo! Show that you can help and have good cloth products for these problems!
Thank you so much Johan for all the nice emails and this nice interview! We are very happy that we were able to help you and that you are helping us in return!
If you have any questions after reading this interview, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are very happy to help you. There is almost always a suitable diaper to be found for both day and night. If you can't figure it out yourself, send an email to [email protected] or call us on 0031(0)522-475883, so we can help you.
Written by Ilka, owner Nappy's.nl
