A comparative study on the performance properties of breathable and non-breathable baby diaper back sheet

Abstract

Disposable diapers are very important in terms of babies’ health because they are in touch with the baby’s skin. Disposable diapers have sheets with different functions from each other. The main layers of disposable diapers are as follows: top sheet, absorbent layer and back sheet. The function of the top sheet is to pass the liquid to the lower absorbent layer whereas the function of the absorbent layer is to absorb the liquid. As for the back sheet, this layer keeps the liquid inside and prevents it from leaving the diaper. The back sheet is usually a nonwoven/ polyethylene (PE) film composite. Considering the babies’ health, breathable back sheets are mostly used in baby diapers to keep the skin drier. These have a positive effect on the baby’s skin, especially in terms of occlusion, diaper dermatitis. In this study, the performance properties of some commercial baby diaper back sheet layers have been investigated. For this purpose, weight, thickness, air permeability, water vapor permeability and water resistance tests were applied to back sheet samples with different fabric mass as breathable and non-breathable films. All back sheet samples are SMS nonwoven/ polyethylene (PE) film composites. Breathable samples have a larger fabric mass than non-breathable samples. For breathable samples, while increasing mass, air permeability and water vapor permeability decrease, water resistance increases. On the other hand, the same tendency is not seen in non-breathable samples. Breathable samples have higher air permeability, water vapor permeability, water resistance, and bursting strength than non-breathable samples. Consequently, the using of a baby diaper containing breathable back sheet is more proper in terms of baby’s skin health.