The Diaper Man

A story about how cloth pre-fold diaper Service used to be the ONLY way to diaper your children and the disabled. This story takes the readers through the entire process, from drop-off to laundering as well as adds elements of fiction and fantasy into the mix.

The story takes us through the processes from the user point of view, as the diapered person is sent to homes who want a diapered person around to take care of until the customer decides to send the diapered person back to the Diaper Service. Some of the customers are Maid Services, some of the customers are mothers, fathers, ladies who wish to be moms and need practice so the service provides these people with diapered people.

When the diapers and the diapered assets get too old and dirty and tattered, the service simply either sells the diapers and the diapered assets as rags along with the rag cloth diapers to Maid Services, to Janitors and cleaning services who may use the diapers and the diapered assets as cleaning tools before disposing of them or the just...throw them away in the trash.

The Diaper Man who worked for Crib Diaper Service, came every Thursday to collect the wet cloth pre-fold diapers, onesies and sometimes, the diapered teenaged boy or girl themselves. Today, was one of those days. The morning started out as usual with Johnny's foster mom coming to change her teenager Johnny's diapers. Johnny was a teenager with short brown hair, brown eyes and he always wore four layered cloth pre-fold diapers with a pair of frosted plastic pants with betty boop printed all over them. She came into my room with six layered cloth pre-fold diapers draped over her right arm and the newborn cloth diaper she used to wipe me down with in her left hand.

Foster Mom: Hi there....good morning...did...you...sleep good? Awwwwe....did you...wetsey-wetsey? Let...me....see.....oh....yes.....you...did....let... mommy get you...all....nice....and...dry...o...k?

Yeah.....that's a....baby.....yyyyes.....now....soon....it's goung to be...all...better.....today....you and your...wet diapers are...going back to the...nice diaper service to get....all...nice...and clean.....you...LIKE being...clean...don't you?

Johnny: But.....But...Mommy! I...don't WANNA go...back to the...diapy service! Do...I..have...ta?

Deborah-Foster Mom: Yes....baby....you do...so you...and your diapers can be all....nice...and clean and....fluffy....you got...all...dirty and....stained and....your...onesies were all...dingy, because you went out with Poppa. The...nice....Diaper Man will be along soon...to take you, your diapers and onesies back to the nice service...be..a darling and....wait here in your crib without a fuss....ok?

Deborah finishes folding the cloth pre-fold diapers using the airplane fold then pulls the front of the four layered cloth pre-fold diapers up between Johnny's legs and then pins the right side first then the left side bedore pulling and working the plastic pants up past Johnny's thighs and up and over the thick, bulky cloth pre-fold diapers.

Deborah: Ah....there....we...are....all...nice...and...comfy and dry....I...am going to....leave some of your....wet cloth diapers in your crib until the nice diaper man comes to take them and you...ok?

Deborah drops 16 wet cloth pre-fold diapers into Johnny's crib near the footboard and then raises the side, licks it, then leaves. About....an hour or two go by and the doorbell rings. Deborah goes to answer the door, it's the diaper man, from Crib Diaper Service.

The Diaper Man: Hi there Ma'am, I have come to...pickup your...diapers and your diapered boy.....

Deborah: Ah... yes....good....I will show you to where we keep his wet diapers and to the crib where Johnny is. Come in, come in.

(Closing the door behind the diaper man)

The Diaper Man: I hope that....Johnny was a good boy and that he served you well as his diapers did. (Walking behind Deborah into the bedroom where Johnny was in his crib and the wet diapers were in a large diaper pail in the closet, then noticing how dirty, stained and how dirty and stained the cloth diapers and onesies got) For.. heaven's sake! How....did....the diapers, onesies and Johnny get so...dirty?

Deborah: Well... you see...he was outside with my husband and they were doing some rather....dirty work. Johnny got into the dirty stuff and got all...stained and dirty. Do...you think that the service will be able to...get him and his diapers and onesies clean again?

The Diaper Man: Hmmmmmm! Well.....I don't really know....I...mean....they may.....and if they can't, well.....then....they all may end up becoming either rags for cleaning or thrown away. I will get the diapers, onesies and Johnny back to the service and see what they do. (Taking the 32 gallon diaper pail provided by the service which was full of dirty, stained up cloth diapers and onesies and carrying it outside through the front door to the back of the delivery van and putting it inside. Then the diaper man came back inside and back into the bedroom to get Johnny) OK Johnny boy, it's....time to come with me now. I have to take you back to the nice diapy service ok? Come with me...ok?

Johnny: (Being wrenched by his right arm in the diaper man's left hand outside, through the front door, outside, down the steps down the short sidewalk to the curb where the diaper service truck was. Johnny was wearing only his thick cloth pre-fold diapers by then as the diaper man opened the back doors and forced Johnny up and inside then onto a pile of his bagged cloth pre-fold diapers which were a mix of clean and wet cloth diapers, onesies and t-shirts.

Johnny: Uuuuh! Do you HAVE to....be so...rough? Gees! It...stinks back here!

The Diaper Man: Tough! Now...stay there for the entire ride...while I go to the...other stops and get more diapers ok? Then, when we get to the Diaper Service, you can get out and go with the diapers to be inspected and washed and dried.

Then the diaper man closed and locked the door and then walked around the side of the van to get in and drive to the next house, a couple of blocks away. As the van pulled up and stopped, the driver shut the engine off then jumped out and walked to the steps, walked up to the front door of the next house.

It wasn't long before the customer opened the door and let the diaper man inside.

The front door closed and about 25 minutes later, the diaper man came out dragging a large diaper pail out to the back of the delivery van. Then the back doors flung open and Johnny saw the diaper pail get emptied into a large canvas cinch-sack then the canvas cinch-sack was then tossed into the back. Then the doors closed and then the diaper man brought the pail to a stack of other empty pails near the front of the van. Then the diaper man got in, started the engine then drove to the next stop. He repeated the same process over 20 times before the back of the van was full and Johnny was leaking wetness from his frosted plastic pants. The diaper man now was driving across town to the industrial district where there were a lot of warehouses. In one of the old warehouses, the Crib Diaper Service was. The driver backed up to the loading dock behind the Crib Diaper Service and then got out. He came around to open the rear doors so he could start unloading all of the wet and messy cloth pre-fold diapers, onesies, t-shirts and plastic pants. (Marion Donovan invented "The Boater" back in the 1940s. Marion Donovan invented a reusable, waterproof diaper cover called the "Boater" made from parachute cloth in the late 1940s, which led to a patent for a leak-proof diaper cover in 1951 and revolutionized diapering. She later developed the first truly disposable paper diaper, though she never received a patent for it. Donovan received 20 patents in total for various inventions, including the "Zippity-Do" zipper pull and a floss device.

The Boater (Diaper Cover)

Inspiration: Frustrated by messy cloth diapers and traditional rubber pants, Donovan sought a more efficient and hygienic solution for diapering.

Design: She created a leak-proof diaper cover using lightweight, breathable nylon parachute cloth and snaps instead of pins.

Market Success: After being rejected by manufacturers, she successfully marketed the Boater to Saks Fifth Avenue, where it quickly became a popular product.

The Disposable Diaper

Concept: Building on her success, Donovan went on to design the first disposable diaper, a concept that was met with resistance from manufacturers.

Development: She developed a special paper that was strong, absorbent, and could draw moisture away from a baby's skin, keeping them dry.

Impact: Although the disposable diaper was not patented by Donovan, her vision paved the way for the development of modern disposable diapers like Pampers, which emerged years later.

Other Inventions

Zippity-Do: A pull-cord for easily operating back zippers on dresses.

DentaLoop: A soft, looped dental floss designed for easier use.

Closet Organizer: A storage container and organizer for garments.)

As the diaper man got out of the van, he came around to the back and opened the doors. He began to unload all of the wet and messy cloth pre-fold diapers, onesies, plastic pants and any clothing that was collected first. Once he had done that, he came back to the open doors at the rear of the van and began to pull Johhny out and to his feet.

Johnny: Hey! Where....are we?

Diaper Man: We...are at the nice diaper service now, where they will inspect, soak, wash rinse then dry you and your diapers and clothing. Now be a good boy and come with me....o...k?