Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-05-15 Origin: Site
In the field of adult incontinence care products, we receive calls from family members across the country every day. The most common questions are not "how much does your product cost?" but "Why does the underpad I bought for my parents still leak?" "Why does my parent's bottom still get red and sore even though I change it very often?" "That brand has high sales, but something always feels off when using it…"
Behind these questions is often not that family members are reluctant to spend money, but that they have fallen into common misconceptions when choosing underpads. For a bedridden senior, choosing the wrong underpad affects not only the dryness of the bedsheet but also the senior's skin health, sleep quality, and even the caregiver's physical and mental state. It's more terrible to "buy wrong" than "can't afford".
As a professional manufacturer specializing in the R&D and production of adult incontinence care products — Jiangsu Noda Hygiene Products Co., Ltd. — we have systematically summarized the four most common misconceptions family members fall into when choosing underpads, based on years of industry experience and laboratory test data. We also provide scientific solutions. It is particularly important to note that the national standard for diapers was fully updated in 2022. The old version, GB/T 28004-2011 "Disposable diapers (pads, liners)", was officially abolished on October 5, 2025, and has been replaced by GB/T 28004.2-2021 "Disposable diapers — Part 2: Adult diapers" (implemented on April 1, 2022). The new standard imposes higher requirements on product permeability performance, safety indicators, and quality control. The technical interpretations in this article are based on the current and effective GB/T 28004.2-2021 standard.
Misconception 1: Only Looking at Price, Ignoring the Quality of the Core Absorbent Material
On many e-commerce platforms, underpad prices vary widely. Some extremely low-priced products often drastically reduce costs in the core absorbent material — Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) . SAP is the most expensive component of an underpad and the most critical material for determining absorption performance. Insufficient SAP content or poor quality leads to: slow liquid absorption, prolonged liquid contact with the skin, increasing irritation; poor liquid retention, leading to liquid rewet under pressure, creating the illusion of "dry surface but wet underneath"; and easy clumping and breakage of the core, causing a sharp decline in subsequent absorption.
Scientific Selection Standard:
According to the current national standard GB/T 28004.2-2021, the key permeability performance indicators for adult diapers (including underpads) are graded by incontinence level: For moderate incontinence products, the absorption speed must meet ≤50 seconds for the first absorption and ≤100 seconds for the second absorption, and the rewet value ≤30.0g; For severe incontinence products, the rewet value ≤40.0g, and the leakage ≤1.0g. An important change with the new standard is that the old "strikethrough" indicator has been replaced by "absorption speed", which better reflects the actual user experience of how quickly liquid is absorbed.
Jiangsu Noda uses imported high-purity SAP, and our actual test performance comprehensively exceeds the national standard requirements. Taking rewet value as an example, our products can be controlled within 10.0g (the national standard limit for moderate incontinence products is ≤30.0g), far surpassing the standard requirement — meaning that even under pressure, urine will not wick back to the surface, keeping the senior's buttocks dry and comfortable.
It should be emphasized that the new standard also added two indicators: absorption capacity and saturation absorption capacity for SAP materials. For moderate incontinence diapers, the saturation absorption capacity must be ≥300g; for severe incontinence, ≥600g. Jiangsu Noda strictly implements these indicators to ensure that the core absorption performance of every batch passes both laboratory and practical use tests.
Misconception 2: Judging by "Thickness" While Ignoring "Breathability" — the New Standard Emphasizes Safety and Comfort More
Many family members believe that a thicker underpad provides more security, assuming a thick pad absorbs more and does not leak. This is actually a major misconception. The breathability of an underpad mainly depends on the material and structure of the top sheet, not thickness. Contrary to common sense, simply increasing thickness can actually worsen dampness and heat — thick pads often compress air pathways, and after urine contact, temperature and humidity rise rapidly, creating a hot, humid environment. The senior's skin becomes fragile and easily damaged in such conditions.
Scientific Selection Standard:
The new national standard GB/T 28004.2-2021 deserves significant attention in this regard. It not only adjusts the test methods for rewet and leakage to better simulate actual use conditions but also significantly strengthens the safety dimension. It adds multiple safety indicators such as surface attached matter, impurities, formaldehyde content, migratable fluorescent substances, and heavy metals. It also adjusts the pH value indicator, requiring the product's acidity/alkalinity to be within the skin tolerance range, further ensuring product safety and comfort.
Jiangsu Noda's underpad top sheet uses 3D-apertured nonwoven fabric. Its three-dimensional liquid guiding structure quickly transports liquid to the lower layers while reducing liquid-to-skin contact area. The back sheet uses medical-grade PE breathable film. Through a unique micro-porous foaming process, it allows water vapor to escape while preventing liquid from leaking out, achieving a balance between "leak-proof" and "breathable". When selecting, we suggest placing the back of your hand against the underpad's bottom layer to feel if there is warm, moist air escaping — this is not only a tactile check but also a simple pre assessment against the new standard's breathability requirements.
Misconception 3: Blindly Choosing a One-Size-Fits-All, Ignoring Use-Scenario Matching
Bedridden seniors differ greatly in body size, lying posture, and incontinence level. However, many products on the market only offer "one size fits all" or just one or two fixed sizes. Family members often think "60×90cm is big enough," but when the senior turns over, the pad shifts, causing side leakage. Or they choose a pad that is too large, causing it to bunch up and wrinkle on the bed, which not only fails to provide full coverage but also creates a foreign object that presses against the skin.
Scientific Selection Standard:
The size of the underpad should be chosen based on three factors: the width of the care bed, the senior's range of motion, and the volume of incontinence. Jiangsu Noda offers a full size matrix, covering 40×60cm (wheelchair/seating/mild incontinence assistance), 60×90cm (standard care bed, daily leak prevention), 76×76cm (square care bed, convenient for multi angle turning), 80×180cm (full-bed coverage, suitable for fully bedridden/frequent turners), and more. Custom sizes are also available. We suggest family members first measure the mattress width of the care bed, then choose a pad width at least 1.2 times the mattress width based on the senior's night-time turning frequency. Choosing the right size once saves getting up three times in the middle of the night to change pads.
Misconception 4: Blindly Following Sales Rankings, Ignoring the Manufacturer's Quality Control Capability
Sales rankings on e-commerce platforms reflect marketing ability, not quality control capability. Some high-selling brands are actually produced by contract manufacturers, and those manufacturers change frequently, resulting in extremely poor batch-to-batch consistency. Even more concerning, many small factories have no incoming material inspection mechanism. They may even use recycled materials or low-quality adhesives. Their products may contain harmful substances such as fluorescent brighteners and heavy metal residues — and the new national standard GB/T 28004.2-2021 has precisely added strict testing requirements for multiple safety indicators including formaldehyde, migratable fluorescent substances, and heavy metals. This serves as a systemic constraint against "corner cutting" by small factories.
Scientific Selection Standard:
Choose brands that have their own factory, a transparent quality control system, and authoritative third-party certifications. Jiangsu Noda's quality control process is fully aligned with the requirements of GB/T 28004.2-2021: Incoming Material Inspection — every batch of nonwoven fabric, SAP, PE film, and hot melt adhesive is sampled and sent to the laboratory for testing of key indicators such as basis weight, absorption rate, breathability coefficient, and peel strength. Non-conforming batches are fully rejected. Process Control — production line samples are taken every 15 minutes to test hot-melt adhesive coating uniformity, core thickness deviation, seal strength, and other parameters. AI cameras in real time identify surface defects and automatically reject non-conforming products. Finished Product Sampling — samples from each batch are retained and regularly sent to third party testing organizations for full testing according to the new national standard, including newly added safety indicators such as formaldehyde content, migratable fluorescent substances, and heavy metals.
Jiangsu Noda has obtained ISO 9001 Quality Management System certification, ISO 13485 Medical Device Quality Management System certification, FDA registration, and CE certification. Our products are exported to more than 30 countries and regions, including Europe, America, Japan, and Southeast Asia. We dare to publicly share factory live action videos and third party test reports (redacted versions) because quality control is not a slogan — it is a production record that can be traced back for every single underpad.
Conclusion: One Right Choice Brings Peace of Mind to the Whole Family and Dignity to the Senior
The quality of life of a bedridden senior depends greatly on the details of the care products used. The price of buying the wrong underpad is not a loss of a few dozen dollars, but repeated damage to the senior's skin, the caregiver's sleepless nights, and a feeling of despair that incontinence care is "hopeless".
As a manufacturer with core values of "professionalism, safety, and comfort," Jiangsu Noda Hygiene Products Co., Ltd. always adheres to the requirements of the current national standards such as GB/T 28004.2-2021, and holds itself to even higher internal control standards. The implementation of the new standard has set a higher entry bar for the industry — from graded indicators for absorption speed and rewet, to safety red lines for formaldehyde and fluorescent substances, every improvement in each indicator is a commitment to the health of users. We hope that through this in depth interpretation of the standards, we can help more families establish a scientific approach to selecting care products.
If you are choosing underpads for a bedridden family member, you may start with the following three actions:
1. Check whether the product complies with GB/T 28004.2-2021 and review its test reports.
2. Verify that safety indicators such as formaldehyde content, migratable fluorescent substances, and heavy metals meet the standards.
3. Ask whether the manufacturer has its own production facility and whether its quality control process is transparent and traceable.
Welcome to visit Jiangsu Noda's official website or contact our care consultant team to obtain our new-national-standard-based "Underpad Selection Comparison Checklist" and free product samples. We firmly believe: Every scientifically made choice is a protection of life's dignity.
Jiangsu Noda Hygiene Products Co., Ltd. — Focused on adult incontinence care, delivering care through technology.
*(Standard basis: GB/T 28004.2-2021 "Disposable diapers — Part 2: Adult diapers". The old version GB/T 28004-2011 was abolished on October 5, 2025. Product parameters and test data in this article are subject to the latest third party test reports.)*
