Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am still looking for the perfect waterproof pad. This one turned out to be good, but not perfect. Here’s the story… I received the pads a few days ago, to be used by my husband who is ill. This phase of the illness is new to us so I’m experimenting with different incontinence products, determined to not contribute to the landfill and waste resources with disposables. I had just received the pad and he was using it for the first night when his activity woke me up at 4:00 AM. There was a lot of confusion and commotion and I helped him orient himself, all the while being happy to see the pad was in place, so while there was other clean up to be done, I was relieved the mattress was protected. Well, as I straightened the sheets, and the pad, which had become rumpled, I found two large distinct wet spots under the pad. It appeared the pad had leaked straight through, providing not even as much protection as a common towel would have done. I was so angry that I had wasted my money, angry that I had to change all the bedding at 4:00 AM, angry that I had to deal with a wet mattress in the wee hours of the morning. How dare they sell this product as waterproof when I might as well have just put a tea towel on the the sheet?!! So once we were back in bed and I was trying to get back to sleep at 6:00 AM, in addition to other anxieties I was mentally adding “get a refund” to my to-do list for the next day. So the next day I decided to get the refund done and out of the way and off my mind but decided to do some research first. I was really perplexed as to how it could have left these two distinct wet spots, one about 8” in diameter, the other a bit smaller. It just didn’t make sense. So I took it outside and laid it across the arms of a chair so it was suspended mid air and proceeded to dump a pint of water on it. Because it was suspended it sort of made a little bowl that contained the water. To my amazement it did not leak at all, not even a drop. The water puddled in the center of the pad and gradually absorbed out toward the edges. Then I got the answer to my question. As the water reached the edge it just rolled off, making a path for the remaining water in the “bowl” to follow. As I thought back to the rumpled condition of the pad the night before, it was clear to me that the pad simply didn’t absorb quickly enough. The weight of my husband’s body on the pad made little channels that allowed significant amounts of liquid to roll off the pad and onto the bedding and mattress. When he got up the pad shifted and covered the spots, creating the illusion that the pad had leaked through. I haven’t used these products enough to know how it could be different, what design or material changes might make it more effective. It is a very thin pad, thinner than others I am trying out. It needs to absorb more liquid more rapidly to really do the job. I’m hoping it may become more absorbent after a few washings. And speaking of washings, it is machine washable and dryable, but there are warnings to make sure the water and dryer are not too hot. I’m assuming excess heat will delaminate the waterproof layer and that makes me wonder how long these will last. I’ve been drying them only partially, in a low heat, then air drying the rest of the way. As I experiment with products, I’m drawing the conclusion that these pads should only be used as back up and that waterproof pants with inserts should be the primary line of defense. We are having good luck with that strategy. This pad will handle the small amount of dampness that may come from a minor leak in waterproof pants, but it seems to be unable to handle larger amounts of liquid. Also, something I had not thought of, is that once you have a damp pad in the bed, you may be protecting the mattress and bottom sheet, but any top sheets or blankets will become damp as they come into contact with the damp pad, so there is still bedding to be washed the next day. So again, I am drawn back to making waterproof pants the primary barrier. More simply put, this pad may be part of an effective system, it has a role to play, but used alone it’s effectiveness is limited. At least that has been my experience.