When it comes to finding quality disposable absorbent underwear, there is a lot you need to think about. Called adult diapers by some companies, disposable underwear need to wrap snugly around your body, facilitate bathroom breaks, and be put on and worn like standard underwear.

Yet, if you’re an active person living with bladder incontinence, you’ll likely agree that absorbency is crucial for choosing the best pull-up pants. Fortunately, our disposable absorbent underwear is softer and more absorbent than adult diapers made by other companies, helping you feel safe and comfortable every day.

A happy female hiker with outstretched arms. Finding and wearing highly absorbent disposable underwear can help you enjoy life and maintain your sense of freedom like this woman.

The underwear’s center core is where urine and watery feces are held after absorption. Our pull-up pants are  made up of:

• A topsheet: This is the material that touches your skin and is made to instantly move liquid waste to the core while remaining soft and dry.
• An acquisition and distribution layer: Located just under the topsheet, it works to draw urine away from your delicate skin and disperse it evenly along the core for increased absorbency.
• The core: The core consists of a cellulose fluff pulp and sodium polyacrylate granules, which work together to lock your urine and liquid feces into place.
• Superabsorbent gel polymers: Chemical compounds called superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) can hold many times their weight in liquids, are made from partially neutralized sodium polyacrylate, and absorb liquids through osmosis. As a result, they lock away highly acidic urine so that it can't cause a rash, infection, or inflame your skin.

Superabsorbent gel polymers also allow underwear companies to use less pulp, reducing the product’s size but improving absorbency.

Testing Underwear Absorbency for Yourself

Because disposable absorbent underwear comes in a broad range of sizes and styles, it can be challenging to figure out the product that works best for your circumstances. Fortunately, you can do a quick test to determine how much liquid your disposable underwear can hold.

1. Because of the high salt content in urine, SAPs have more difficulty soaking it up than water. Therefore, to mimic urine and get more accurate results, mix nine grams of table salt per one liter of water.
2. Using multiple identical pitchers, fill each with saline solution. Use one pitcher for each underwear test. 
3. Next, place pull-ups or an adult diaper into a bowl to catch run-off liquid, and pour the solution slowly and directly onto the center core of the underwear while it’s facing up until the absorption stops. This will simulate urination and test how effectively the liquid is dispersed and absorbed into the core.
4. Pour any leftover liquid back into the pitcher to improve measurement accuracy.
5. Then, compare the amount absorbed by placing the pitchers side by side. The pitcher with the least liquid corresponds to the most absorbent disposable underwear.

Disposable Pants Are About More than Just Preventing Leaks

Adults of all ages use disposable absorbent underwear to prevent bladder leaks, but you should consider other aspects that help a product’s absorbency. Your underwear should:

Minimize Wetness

First, fitted underwear not only prevents liquid from escaping; it also lifts it away from your skin which is vital for your health and comfort, especially overnight.

Overnight adult underwear needs to keep skin dry to minimize uncomfortable chafing and infection risks. In addition, dry underwear means you can enjoy an uninterrupted, restful sleep.

Incorporate Odor Control

Next, absorbent disposable underwear designed to be worn overnight or for more extended periods has odor control features to provide added comfort and assurance.

Have a Comfortable Waistband and Features to Ensure a Snug, Healthy Fit

Finally, disposable underwear with high absorbency has other factors that make it worth considering. Features including:

• A soft, elastic waistband that can keep your underwear in place while walking or jogging
• Side panels that you can tear easily to dispose of when soiled
• A design free of latex, chlorine, or dyes
• A soft, breathable, cloth-like exterior to protect sensitive skin
• Elasticized legs and leak guards to back up the absorbent core
• A slim design that looks great under your regular clothes

The Most Absorbent Disposable Underwear Should Fit Properly

Whether you’re doing Pilates or pruning flowers, your underwear shouldn’t leak or overflow. Yet when disposable underwear fails, it is often not because it couldn't absorb enough but because the fit was wrong.

Made for Living pull-ups offer a better fit, and because they wrap around the body, they provide better leakage protection. We offer four sizes: small/medium, large, extra-large and double extra-large to provide a snug fit that locks the absorbent core in place. Plus, the dozens of Lycra micro-strands we weave throughout the waist and legs help your underwear conform to your body.

The Least Absorbent Diapers for Adults

With incontinence products, you often get what you pay for. Trying to save a buck by purchasing bargain adult diapers made with cheap materials can give you leakage problems and cost you more money down the road. 

That’s because inexpensive diapers contain fewer absorbency materials and cannot hold as much urine or fecal matter as quality disposable absorbent underwear. Unfortunately, this means they'll need to be changed several more times during the day.

Bargain diaper brands may also use cheaper material, including a waistband that stretches easily out of shape and a cheaply made chassis that tears easily. 

Made for Living Makes Worry-Free Pull-Up Underwear

But it is not just up to the amount of SAP in the core, every choice of materials and design matter. The proper distribution sheet makes sure liquid spreads all over the available absorbent material. The right shape and placement of elastics ensures that the product stays close to the body even as it becomes heavier, making sure nothing gets out before it’s absorbed.

Made for Living disposable absorbent underwear have been tested, adjusted, and streamlined over the years with thousands of users so that we can deliver everything you want and nothing you don't. Contact us or sign up for our subscription membership today to find out for yourself.