Diaper Tape Breaking.

[subhubby1968]

If this has been asked, sorry for the repeat question.  

When I wear diapers I tend to only wear one for 6 or 7 hours, but from time to time one of the tapes will break or lose it's stickiness.  Should I just give up on the diaper for the day or is there tape that can hold my diaper until I am done with it later in the day?  Thanks for the help.

[CodHero24]

There's a lot of things that could be going wrong here...

The batch of diapers you got could have defective tapes first of all.

OR you're touching the tape landing area with your fingers before taping.

You might also be taping too tightly, instead of taping a snug fit also supported by a onesie and plastic pants.

Are you rubbing the tapes excessively after placement?

Are you taping, then removing the tapes, and then re-taping??  Because this is HORRIBLE for the tape's adhesives.

[Little Sherri]

Be careful about having diaper cream residue on your hands, and then touching either the sticky side of the tab, or the landing zone - diaper cream often leaves a greasy residue even after washing your hands. If you wear disposables under plastic pants, the humidity in there can also foil the adhesive and cause premature tape separation. Repeatedly opening and closing the tapes can, of course, weaken them as well.

Also, all diapers are not created equal in this regard. Rearz/Incontrol and NorthShore both offer several models with excellent tabs - those are primarily what I wear, and tab failure is not a common issue for me (and I'm in diapers fulltime). 

As for making repairs, assuming it's a plastic-backed diaper, I've found that white duct tape works great, and the better brands of clear packing tape also work very well. Dollar Store packing tape or duct tape probably won't cut it. If you experience a tab failure on a cloth-backed diaper with hook/loop tabs, you have to go with a mechanical repair - I use staples. Just be careful using a stapler in those delicate areas... lol. You can also pin on a cloth-backed disposable using diaper pins, like you would with an actual cloth diaper, in a pinch, assuming the tab has lost its "stick" but hasn't ripped completely off. 

[barnburner]

If its plastic backed with a tape landing zone, I use Scotch Heavy Duty Packaging Tape, I have not had many issues with it and it looks way better than duct tape.

 

If you are to want to try this, know that not all packaging tapes are made the same.

 

If its cloth and hook and loop tapes, I just wrap the same tape all the way around me.

[subhubby1968]

3 hours ago, CodHero24 said:

There's a lot of things that could be going wrong here...

The batch of diapers you got could have defective tapes first of all.

OR you're touching the tape landing area with your fingers before taping.

You might also be taping too tightly, instead of taping a snug fit also supported by a onesie and plastic pants.

Are you rubbing the tapes excessively after placement?

Are you taping, then removing the tapes, and then re-taping??  Because this is HORRIBLE for the tape's adhesives.

I think the couple of times it has happened is that I might have had it taped too tightly.  I am still fairly new at self diapering and I am always afraid I am not doing it tight enough.  The type I have been buying, usually Rearz and now Littleforbig all have the tape that is obviously the type where you only have one shot to get it right. 

52 minutes ago, barnburner said:

If its plastic backed with a tape landing zone, I use Scotch Heavy Duty Packaging Tape, I have not had many issues with it and it looks way better than duct tape.

 

If you are to want to try this, know that not all packaging tapes are made the same.

 

If its cloth and hook and loop tapes, I just wrap the same tape all the way around me.

That is a great idea!  I have some of that in the house!

[ValentinesStuff]

Duck tape also works well, masking tape in a pinch. Or even diaper pins.

 

Be sure to press down firmly on the tapes while putting on the diaper.

[ppdude]

I've had zero luck with most tapes -- masking and duct tapes do not work at all. Packing tape doesn't work either. The stuff I get is supposedly real good but in practice NOT. The only tape that seems to work is the "gorilla" brand. Most of the time I can't get the backing off (it's double sided) and just place it over the tabs to make it a replacement tab. Holy hell getting it off though -- once affixed, not going anywhere ever.

Good luck.

 

[barnburner]

2 hours ago, ppdude said:

I've had zero luck with most tapes -- masking and duct tapes do not work at all. Packing tape doesn't work either. The stuff I get is supposedly real good but in practice NOT. The only tape that seems to work is the "gorilla" brand. Most of the time I can't get the backing off (it's double sided) and just place it over the tabs to make it a replacement tab. Holy hell getting it off though -- once affixed, not going anywhere ever.

Good luck.

 

Try wrapping the packing tape all the way around the diaper so that the end lays on top of the other side of the tape, No sense in covering up a cute printed diaper with a non-see through tape.

 

So I have a big tummy and love it when the diaper nearly reaches my belly button, but this causes an issue for when I sit down, the top tapes would want to break. The exact tape I posted above works wonders for me and allows me to sit down without worry and the top of the diaper stays close to where it should be.

[Little Sherri]

10 hours ago, subhubby1968 said:

The type I have been buying, usually Rearz and now Littleforbig all have the tape that is obviously the type where you only have one shot to get it right. 

This is interesting to me - I live less than an hour from Rearz' world headquarters, so I have quite a lot of Rearz products in my repertoire. They don't really make any one-and-done tab products in my experience - the ones with a landing zone usually stand up to a few repositionings. And I find their tabs to be among the best - not that I've never had a failure, but, most of the time, the tabs outlast the diaper. So I'm curious as to what's going on here. Are you maybe buying incorrectly sized diapers? Or, do you wear plastic pants over them, and maybe humidity is the issue? 

[rusty pins]

I second the comments about making sure your hands are clean and no lotion or powder gets on the tapes.  I doubt that is the problem or all of the tapes wouldn't stick and it wouldn't suddenly come loose hours into wearing your diaper.  Don't know the answer to why it's happening but my solution is diaper pins.  Why?  They have always worked well for me when a tape fails and most important, you can easily carry several of them in your pants pocket.  As a tape can fail anywhere, try having a big roll of duct tape or packing tape on you when you have to duck into a store restroom to fix a loose diaper tape!

[CodHero24]

22 hours ago, subhubby1968 said:

I am still fairly new at self diapering and I am always afraid I am not doing it tight enough.  The type I have been buying, usually Rearz and now Littleforbig all have the tape that is obviously the type where you only have one shot to get it right.

Yup, but those tapes are the most exciting! lol

[Crinklz Kat]

I've had plenty of tape failures with the Crinklz.   Gorilla clear tape is what I use now when that happens. 

[Dale Ridge]

White duct tape works quite well, or at most home improvement stores, duct tape is also available in assorted colors & cute designs.