With commentary by Glenys Drayton, founder and inventor of Conni Products.

When will I know that my Conni product is on its last innings? I’ve used the bed pad for all four of my kids over the years, it’s leaking now? The product still looks and feels great but it’s just not doing what it used to. How often should I replace my Conni underwear?

These are just some questions we get in regards to your Conni product and its lifespan. While we like to think all great things last forever, sometimes when used for a particular purpose, there will come a time when you’ll need to replace your product.

Conni’s absorbent and waterproof technology has been a testament to innovation since we began. The issue with being so innovative (...tickets!) is that while the item can still look and feel amazing, long-time use can break down the technology, causing the Conni product such as your bed pad, to not work to its maximum potential as it previously has.

The customer service team here at Conni decided to go straight to the source and ask the boss, Glenys Drayton, or the chief as we affectionately call her to answer this question for us. Not only does Glenys run the show behind the scenes, but she is also the brains behind Conni’s absorbent and waterproof technology design (I know she’ll be cringing reading this...but credit where credit is due!)

……….now this is your time to shine chief…....

Thanks for throwing me in at the deep end Shalbi!

Over the years I’ve had countless people ask how long should a bed pad last and my immediate thought is how long is a piece of string. I’ve never been able to understand why the same question isn’t asked of a pair of jeans or a shirt or even socks. This is an impossible answer because the same socks purchased by someone who never trims their nails regularly won’t last as long as the person who has a pedicure every two weeks. Those pesky long nails can wreak havoc on a sock!

It’s the same concept with a bed pad….how long does it sit around before its washed after it is soiled? A component of urine is ammonia and this will rot fabric if allowed to remain in the fabrics for too long. What sort of washing machine do you have and what type of detergent do you use? Is it a good quality detergent that doesn’t contain fabric softener? Do you hang it on the line or do you tumble dry it?

The absorbent core of our bed pads is made up of millions of high performance intertwined fibres that become slightly looser after each wash. Eventually, they will start to wash away after about 100 washes in a domestic machine. They will continue to absorb but it will become less absorbent over time due to the fibre loss down the plughole. The same happens to a t-shirt, it gets thinner and thinner. 

 

 

The waterproof membrane on our products also starts to break down over the same period of time and eventually you will experience just a slight bit of moisture (what we call ‘clouding’) on your sheet as the membrane starts its cycle of breakdown. I’ve always maintained that if you care for the bed pad well by washing it soon after it is soiled, say within the next 4-6 hours and you dry it on the line more than you do in the dryer it will last around 250 washes in a domestic environment. I’ve known some people to claim 400 washes but I never tested that bed pad for its efficacy.

It’s the same with our underwear. People ask how long should it last and my response is how often do you replace your normal underwear? The rationale here is that some people replace their underwear every 6 months and others don’t replace it until the elastic has broken away from the body. Our underwear will last the same amount of time...that is 6 months or until the elastic has broken away from the body. Whatever you prefer. There are some things that will damage your undies such as wearing a size too small and overstretching the elastic or washing in boiling water or soaking it in a powerful bleach as examples. These are things you should never do, not even to your jeans or shirts.

 


 

So you can see that this is all relative to your own expectations and how you treat the products.
Things to remember...NEVER use fabric softener as this will stop the product from absorbing. Never use body powder that will get into the absorbent layers and try to avoid skin cream getting on the absorbent part of the fabric. Just follow the care instructions and you’ll be safe.

  • Conni absorbent products dry quickly on the clothesline or in the tumble dryer on LOW heat. (Too much heat can damage the waterproof layer.)
  • Wash with WARM or COOL water and a good quality laundry detergent.
  • Do not use fabric softeners
  • Do not use bleach

Shalbi...next time let's pick one of the boys in our team to answer our next round of customer questions. Better get me to check it before it goes out because they’d possibly say their undies last for 10 years! Just saying…. and I acknowledge not all boys are like that. Just some.