Sloomb Review: Playwoolies and Wool Diaper Cover

Sloomb makes several types of Wool Cloth Diaper products. We are reviewing the Playwoolies Pants and Knit Wool Diaper Cover.

As my cloth diapering venture into Wool Covers deepens, I have to say that I’m in love with this method of cloth diapering. Basically, this is how humanity has diapered its babies for centuries. An absorbent cloth diaper, covered in lanolin-rich wool pants. And it works! The concept is simple, Sheep naturally secrete lanolin onto their wool, which protects them from rain and snow. Essentially, by lanolizing the inside of the wool diaper covers, you are trapping the moisture inside.

Paired with a Prefold, Flat or Fitted diaper, these Sloomb Wool Diaper Covers are incredibly effective at preventing leaks. Even overnight. Even for more than 10 hours overnight. And it’s breathable!

This review contains affiliate links.  All products were purchased by me and my opinions are my own.

Sloomb Playwoolies – Wool Diaper Pants

A cloth diaper cover that doubles as a cozy pair of wool pants? Yes, please!

Where do I start? These adorable wool pants are so soft. It’s Winter 2016 at the time of my review, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Needless to say, Baby It’s Cold Outside. Littlest is certainly very cozy in his Sloomb Playwoolies. They cost around $70, which made me hesitate at first, but we have gotten so much use out of them these past 2 weeks that I am very happy I made the purchase.

I ordered Size 0-6 Months and they fit just fine on him at 8 weeks old when we first got them. Of course, I had to roll up the pant cuffs. The colour is a very rich Coffee Brown, just right for matching with almost everything we own. Playwoolies come in sizes all the way up to 5T, so I know we will be wearing this product for years to come. I’m even planning on ordering a pair for my potty trained 2 year old, just because the merino wool is THAT amazingly soft and comfy. Not just a diaper cover!

What Goes Underneath?

Well that’s the beauty of it. Underwear, PUL Diapers, or just fitteds and prefolds. These Playwoolies can be a diaper cover with a little lanolin treatment, or just plain old pants on top of literally anything else. Of course, the cover is only as good as the absorbency inside it. I’ve found the Motherease Sandy’s Fitteds, Thirsties Natural Fitteds, and Grovia or Imagine Bamboo Prefolds all work great inside these covers. I haven’t tried flats yet, but the Sloomb Chat Group tells me they work too! Next on my list to try is the Sustainablebabyish Fitteds, made by Sloomb themselves, so you know they will work great with these covers.

But won’t they smell if I use them as a diaper cover? Nope. I’ve been using these for 2 weeks, and after properly washing and lanolizing them upon arrival, to this day they don’t smell like pee. Sloomb recommends I wash them every 2 weeks or so, so guess what I’m doing later tonight?

How Do I Wash Them?

I used Sloomb brand Solid Lanolin, as well as Bee Natural Emulsifying Cubes to wash my wool covers

Washing Wool Diaper Covers is not as daunting a process as the internet led me to believe. I just filled my bathroom sink with warm water and a squirt of Baby Wash. I then hand washed all 3 of my wool covers (these Playwoolies, the Sloomb Wool Diaper Cover and my previously reviewed Disana Wool Diaper Cover) in this warm mixture, gently working the covers through my hands. I drained the sink, and squeezed the water out of the covers.

Then I took a coffee mug and dissolved one mini-teaspoon (sugar spoon, I think my grandma calls it) of Sloomb Solid Lanolin ($9.95) and one scented Bee Green Naturals Emulsifying Cube ($6.50) with super hot tapwater. I stirred for a while until there was no visible solids left. It looked like milky water! Once that was ready, I poured it into a new sink full of warm water. Then I added my wool, which I had turned inside out (since you want to get the lanolin on the inside of the covers) and left them to soak for 15 minutes or so. Drain the sink, squeeze the water gently out of the covers (wrap them in a bathtowel while squeezing), and lay them to dry. They took about 36 hours to dry completely.

Sloomb Knit Wool Diaper Cover

Littlest is wearing a Sustainablebabyish|Sloomb Wool Diaper Cover in “Mist”

In addition to the Playwoolies above, I ordered this adorable Wool Diaper Cover too. It costs about $62, so it’s pricey for a cover, but since I can reuse it constantly, and wash it every 2 weeks (unless poop gets on it somehow), the price is pretty balanced. We especially love this cover for naps and bedtime over a fitted/booster.

The wool is thick and velvety soft, making him super cuddly when he wears it. It’s hard to lay him down, I just want to keep holding him and patting his squishy soft bum!

It’s thicker than the playwoolies but still trim enough over a fitted to fit nicely underneath his pajamas. I do think it’s a bit bulky under pants, but I myself adore the fluffy butt look.

He is wearing a size small now at 10 weeks  (8 weeks when we got it) and it fits very well. There are tons of colours to choose from. I settled on Mist, which is a beautiful Grey.

The care of the wool is pretty straightforward as mentioned above. We had a slip up with my prefold once and got a bit of poop on the wool and it washed out very easily with warm water and baby shampoo. No stains!

All in all I am a big fan of both of these Sloomb products, and plan to buy more as Littlest sizes up.