Zorb – Love it or Hate it?
Zorb(TM) is one of Wazoodle’s DiaperMaker fabrics. According to the manufacturer, “Zorb absorbs 10x its weight in less than half a second — that’s 20x faster than cotton, bamboo or hemp. Zorb has incredible holding power too, a single layer holds up to 3 times the moisture of the best absorbing knits”. How could that not make you want to try this new fabric?
The popularity of Zorb has been on the rise. A lot of cloth diapering moms think it’s a solution to their night-time cloth diapering problems. Some think it’s miracle cloth… at least until they try it.
As a lot of you know, I make Zorb doublers. The doublers are actually made of two layers of OekoTex certified bamboo fleece and one layer of Zorb. I think a lot of people forget about the bamboo fleece part of the doubler. They forget that bamboo fleece itself is very absorbent (after several washes of course), that Zorb alone does not do all the hard work.
Zorb(TM) and Bamboo Fleece Doubler
Here are some pros and cons of using Zorb that I’ve experienced:
PROS:
- Quite absorbent
- Does not retain odours
- More cushy than bamboo fleece by itself
- Cheaper than bamboo, hemp and organic cotton.
CONS:
- I hate sewing with it. I find that I’m spending more time serging Zorb doublers than bamboo fleece only doublers. I also tend to make more mistakes when sewing with Zorb than without.
- I find the absorbency of one layer to be comparable to that of two layers of the thinner bamboo fleece. Note that 1 layer of Zorb is approximately as thick as 2 layers of my thinner bamboo fleece.
- It’s not made of natural fibres only. Might not bother most cloth diapering people out there, but it does bother me a little. If you looked at my diaper stash, you’d see that most of my diapers are made of natural fibres only.
So, what do you think about Zorb? What has been your experience with it?
Tagged as: bamboo fleece · cloth diapers · zorb
Hi Nessie, I am a stay at home mom who was searching for Zorb material online and found your blog. I purchased a pattern for AIO cloth diapers and it calls for a sewn in soaker made of Zorb. The diaper seems to me like it is made primarily of synthetic materials and I am a more natural person. Do you really think that the other fabrics work better, and is Zorb really difficult to sew with? I have some of those Sham-Wow towels, and this looks like the same fabric, but I was not very impressed with those towels. Could you please email me and let me know what you think about this new miracle fabric? Blessings, Anna
Hi,
… I have been making AIO diapers with zorb for the past several months…and I have to admit…I’m not that impressed.
I have all sorts of fabrics that I have been experimenting with, and zorb seems to absorb the least..it might take on a bunch immediately, but it doesn’t “hold” it very well.
Microfiber outdoes zorb by a long shot, but I hate microfiber for the stink. I’m thinking of leaning away from zorb, upping my price a bit…and just sticking with bamboo.
Dry time is not as important when your diapers are actually working!! I just can’t figure out how they can make those claims when it is very obviously not true…1 layer of zorb is NOT equivalent to 3 layers of microfiber… 2 layers of zorb is not even as good as a three layered terry cloth insert!
But, I wonder if I’m alone…it seems hard to come by “negative” zorb reviews.
Hi Gretchen,
Thank you for your comment! I think I’m even less impressed with Zorb now than when I wrote that post. Recently, my daughter has become a SUPER heavy wetter and I’ve been using more bamboo fleece doublers than Zorb and bamboo fleece ones. I think a lot of people who really like Zorb diapers or doublers are usually those who don’t have very heavy wetters and/or those who hate long drying times.
As for microfiber, I’ve hated it since my daughter was tiny (she’s 2 now). I never liked the feel of it and it never held urine well when soaked. I’ve recently read some scary things about polyester (please see the post titled, “Polyester – Safe or Not?”) which made me glad I stopped using it early on.
Good luck with your diaper making!
Hi there! I purchased some Zorb a few weeks ago and made some AIOs and a few doublers with it. I do NOT like the Zorb for AIOs. It absorbs quickly, but as the previous poster said, it does not hold the liquid. It’s rather like a sponge and the liquid travels through the matrix in the direction that gravity pulls. Every single time I’ve used one of my AIOs on DS for naps/night he leaks out. During the day he’s fine because he’s all over the place and gravity doesn’t pull in any one direction for too long =).
It seems to perform better for the doublers. They are top layer microfleece (for stay-dry), middle layer Zorb, bottom layer 100% cotton flannel. I use them mainly with bamboo fitteds and when I pull them apart most of the moisture is in the bamboo insert, not the doubler.
Yes, it is relatively cheap and I will use up what I have to make more doublers, but I will not be ordering this again.
Hi
I use Zorb and like it. I also use an inner layer of Jersey and a layer of flannel behind it. It seems to work well for daytime use. It does absorb a lot, but needs to be changed often. I don’t like fleece as an inner layer tho as it retains odor. I don’t think it’s meant for stand alone but I think it works well in conjunction with other fabrics.