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Do diapers expire?


bdmw96

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Ive always wondered if this is a thing. I don't recall ever seeing any expiry or best before dates on the packages for the diapers ive purchased. The thought occured to me when thinking about the frequency of when I use diapers. I dont wear 24/7 so I may diaper up maybe twice a week. So a package that would last a 24/7 user a week would take me roughly 2-4 months if i wear every week. I still have pairs of Confidry 24/7 that I purchased back in 2015. Would a diaper that has sat around for that long decrease in its ability to absorb? Then there is the fact that some diapers use the little liquid absorbing balls while others use a type of cotton. 

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When I first read this - well of course diapers expire right after you use them ! Diapers for Dummies 101

But then you had to go and introduce this Shelf Life factor - so what is this big deal you have diapers locked

away in a vault and you are what saving them for a more appropriate absorbing occasion.

I really can't image someone buying diapers in bulk to last for say a year - maybe closer to 90 days to 4

months but I am not a budget hawk - what do I know.

As for old diapers losing their absorbency - you will have to use it to find out - but I doubt you will trash the

rest of the package if not. Maybe just double up or wear a moisture proof diaper cover. Think of this as

being a frugal move. Yes the chemical absorbing materials my lose their effectiveness over time but

I think that the diapers will have been used and disposed of before that time.

Humorously I don't think there is a D S B - Diaper Savings Bank ! 

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No, I don't think that they expire. Source, I used an Attends from 1987 (yes, over 30 years ago) and it worked just the same as one that would have been purchased today. Expiration dates are for stuff like organic compounds that you eat, or medications that become unstable, or for sterile packages that lose their sterility. The ingredients in diapers such as perfumes may fade over time, but the majority of their components are stable, so long as they don't get wet or become mildewy. I have a few original Tena Slip Maxi size Medium packages that I am saving for when they become scarce again (or for the discerning consumer who likes the original), and I am sure that they will have their absorbency unaffected by the passage of time. 

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Diapers may have a shelf life.  I would not say you have anything to worry about if your diapers are 2 or 3 years old.  I have some in my closet that are over 12 years old and they are fine.  Remember if you have very old diapers, 20 or 30 years old you have to take into consideration how diapers were made back then.  They may not have had as much SAP as diapers do today and they may be designed differently.  What you might percieve as no good might just be that they were made that way originally, not as absorbent and tending to clump when wet.  Diapers have evolved over the years and even though they are still old diapers, it might be comparing apples to oranges so to speak.  The most important thing to consider with old diapers you are thinking of buying or ones you've had on hand for a while is how they have been stored and packaged.  If they have been in a secure dry place that isn't overly hot or cold, they should be fine.  If they have been stored in a basement, garage, storage shed or damp place, they may be moldy and damp and no good, even if they are still sealed in the plastic package. 

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Go back a few years and SAP did not exist or was not then used in diapers. Back then, it was just absorbent fluff. Diapers were thicker and less absorbent then. One problem you could run into with old diapers that have SAP is that they could leak. The SAP crystals can cut through the plastic barrier if the diapers have been moved around a lot. 

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One of the major reasons manufacturers wanted to start making cloth-like diapers was to avoid sticky-tapes, Often the original adhesive would get dry and no longer work. All kinds of diapers can be ruined if they get wet in storage or transit.

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Answer: Yes they do have a shelf life but their are two answers to this

"Usable Shelf Life":This is how long the diaper will be good for use before something bad happens if you did use them after those dates. for baby diapers is rated for 3-5 years. For adult diapers thats number is slightly less then its 2-4 years. Those numbers are higher by a year or so if you store them at constant room temperature. (72 F)

Shelf Life: This is how long the diaper will still look like a diaper and not turn to dust when you hold it. Baby diapers: about 15-35 years Adult diapers: About 20-55 years

 

After use shelf life: This is how long it will take for the diaper after it has been thrown away for it to turn into dust after arriving at normal garbage dump conditions(I know people who helped me out in the past who worked at the dump with a experiment of diapers). Baby diapers: About 7-10 years(Not 1,000 years that some parents claim) Adult diapers: About 12-20 years

 

Disposable diapers plastics are made with "plastic code 4" which is polyethylene plastic. These plastics are common found as grocery bags and of course! Diapers

http://www.designlife-cycle.com/disposable-diapers/

 

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Some packages have a line of perforations on one side, meant to be torn apart, making an opening from which you pull the diapers one by one, as an alternative to tearing the top seal, that which makes all diapers accessible at once. My new packs of Abri-form L4 Air plus have both tear-apart top seal and a tear-away side. No idea why, but I suspect that diaper packs with these perforations will not be as sealed from moisture as those ones without it.

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I doubt that the bags diapers come in are truly air-tight, so atmospheric humidity will affect them eventually. And plastics degrade from atmospheric ozone- bags and diapers both. If you vacuum-pack them that would do a lot for those problems, but we're talking lots of years time before they happen. Most of us will use them long before there's any problems. Collectors go for unopened bags which will remain unopened so as to retain their full value, so it's not really a problem for them. This would really affect only those wishing to use vintage diapers as intended. As that supply drys up (wets up?:P) the issue will go away on it's own. 

Bettypooh

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