What about the breathability and moisture permeability of the 10 "expensive" versions of baby diapers?
From birth to learning to "turn, sit, climb, stand and walk", there are too many things that need to be used. In the past few years of rapid growth, the small "gold swallowing beast" consumes diapers at an astonishing rate.
Due to the long use time, in order to ensure the comfort of children's buttocks, parents are particularly concerned about how to choose diapers, which are indispensable in terms of safety and performance. And some consumers think that if they really don't know how to choose, then choose expensive things, and things for children are worth it......
In October 2023, Consumer Reports selected a variety of well-known "expensive" versions of baby diapers on the market and sent them to an authoritative third-party testing agency for testing.
Test the brand
好奇、Bc Babycare、GOO. N大王、露安适Lelch 、尤妮佳moony、沐歆LOVEKINS、BeBeBus、盛夏光年、NatyCare尼塔、奈丝宝宝
Test metrics
Breathability, moisture permeability
A sneak peek at the test results
1. Compared with other products, the air permeability and moisture permeability of the bottom film are better;
2. Nita has a low relative moisture permeability.
The bottom membrane of diapers is more breathable in midsummer light years
Breathability is an important factor in comfort.
During the period before the child's bowel movement, if the diaper is not breathable, the infant will feel uncomfortable because the diaper is not breathable, and the body surface temperature will rise, which will cause skin discomfort. Therefore, many parents will choose more breathable diapers for their children.
However, many consumers judge breathability based on thickness, and usually think that the thinner the diaper, the more breathable it is, but in fact, the breathability of diapers has little to do with thickness, but has more to do with its bottom membrane.
At present, diaper products are a liquid suction control system established by multi-layer non-woven materials, which is generally composed of a surface layer, an absorbent core layer and a bottom film according to the structure.
When wearing diapers, the surface of the diaper and the baby's skin will form a closed microclimate that is different from the external environment. After urination, the temperature and humidity in this microclimate will rise to a certain extent, coupled with the stimulation of urine, it may cause corresponding symptoms such as red buttocks and eczema, but when the diaper has good air permeability, it is possible to avoid this.
Consumers are very concerned about the breathability of diapers, because breathability is an important factor affecting comfort. And most people think that the thinner the diaper, the more breathable, and most manufacturers also tend to design light and thin diapers. Is this the case?
The National Household Paper Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Center has done a test for the breathability of diapers, and found that the most important impact on the air permeability of diaper products is the waterproof and breathable bottom film.
In addition, according to the research results of Fujian Pulp and Paper Quality Supervision and Inspection Station, the air permeability of diapers in the intact state is not much different from the air permeability of the bottom film, which shows that the most critical part to determine the air permeability of diapers is the bottom film, and the influence of the coating layer and the absorbing core on the air permeability of diapers is limited.
Therefore, Consumer Reports chose the bottom film of diapers as the test object this time, which is closer to the real situation of the product. According to the outer packaging information of the 10 diapers submitted for inspection, most of the products show that the bottom film material is "PE film" or "breathable film".
At present, the latest domestic national standard for diapers does not involve breathability projects. With reference to GB/T 458-2008 "Air Permeability of Paper and Cardboard" and GB/T 5453-1997 "Determination of Air Permeability of Textile Fabrics", the average air flow rate through a certain area perpendicular to a certain area is determined for the bottom membrane of 10 diapers under the specified differential pressure conditions, that is, air permeability.
The results showed that the diaper with the highest bottom membrane permeability of 2231364 mL/min was the most permeable in the middle of the summer light year.
Observing the thickness of each diaper, we can find that the thickness of 10 diapers is between 4.5mm~8mm, and the thickness of the product with high air permeability is not necessarily the thinnest.
The reason why the air permeability of the diaper depends on the air permeability of the bottom film is because most of the bottom film is PE breathable bottom film, and the number of holes in the bottom film determines the air permeability of the bottom film. Since the bottom film and the absorbent core are bonded with hot melt adhesive, this process has the potential to cause the holes in the bottom film to be blocked, further reducing the air permeability of the bottom film.
However, in addition to breathability, the bottom film should also be waterproof and free from leakage. Therefore, to improve the breathability of diapers, it is necessary to develop a breathable bottom film that is more breathable and does not leak. In general, the hot melt adhesive adhesive process can be improved during the diaper production process to preserve the breathability of the bottom film to the greatest extent.
The two diapers have better moisture permeability
After the child has a bowel movement, the gap between the diaper and the skin will become damp and hot, if the water vapor effect is good, it will reduce the degree of dampness and heat, enhance the comfort, on the contrary, the water vapor is too poor, the resulting heat will make the baby uncomfortable, and in severe cases, it will also cause eczema.
Duygu Gozen et al., when discussing diaper rash, believe that the cause of diaper rash is the lack of fresh air in the small space formed by the diaper and the human body, as well as the irritation of humidity and excrement.
Therefore, strictly speaking, air permeability also includes water vapor permeability, which can be expressed by water vapor permeability [g/(cm2 •24h)].
Consumer reports refer to GB/T 12704.1-2009 "Textiles - Fabric moisture permeability test methods - Part 1: Moisture absorption method", and the moisture permeability of the bottom film of 10 diapers was tested.
The results showed that the moisture permeability of the two diapers was relatively high, which was 4300 g/(cm2 •24h), respectively, while the relative moisture permeability of Nita and Bc Babycare was low.
[Special statement]: The test results and brands mentioned in this report are only responsible for the test samples, and do not represent the quality status of the same batch or other models of products.
Bibliography:
Zhou Jianfa, Discussion of the breathability of diapers
Guo Sheng, Xu Jinxia, Lu Dongdong, Test of diaper breathability