Wool wrap or PUL wrap for two part cloth nappies: what changes?

What is a PUL wrap, and what is a wool wrap?

A wrap is the waterproof layer that goes over a flat, prefold or fitted nappy. The UK Nappy Network glossary files wrap, cover and outer together, and lists the usual fabrics as polyurethane laminate (PUL) or thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), with polyester fleece and wool as the other options. Which? uses the same short list: outer wraps can be fleece, wool, PUL or waterproof plastic.

Real Nappies for London describes the everyday UK wrap as PUL: durable, breathable, quick to dry, sized or birth-to-potty, poppers or hook-and-loop. It names wool separately as a plastic-free wrap type (it cites Disana as an example). West London Waste’s A–Z simply says PUL is the material wraps are made from and that it stops the nappy leaking — that is the council’s default, not a claim that wool does not exist.

What extra care does a wool wrap add?

Clean Cloth Nappies defines lanolising as putting lanolin back into a wool wrap so it stays waterproof and less smelly. That is the ownership cost of the type: a PUL wrap is a washing-machine object; a wool wrap is a lanolin object. Maker leaflets (for example Disana-style wool-care treatments sold in the UK) set the water temperature, soak and how often to top up. Those intervals belong to the leaflet, not to this page.

• PUL week. Wee-only wrap: wipe, hang, next fitted or prefold. Soiled wrap: into the nappy wash. Wealden’s average is about three changes per wrap; Real Nappies for London uses one wrap to every three inners and 4–5 PUL wraps once you count sizes.
• Wool week. Inner nappies still wash every change. The wrap is aired. When it smells or starts to let damp through, you wash it on a wool wash and lanolise again, following the maker.
• Drying. PUL is the quick-dry wrap on Real Nappies for London’s page. Wool is dried flat or hung cool; heat and tumble routines written for PUL are the wrong care type.
• Lanolin on skin. Textile lanolin treatments are for the wrap. They are not NHS nipple-care lanolin and are not a nappy-rash cream.

This is a cost-of-ownership split, not a wash-odour troubleshooting guide. If a PUL wrap smells, that is a detergent and dry-out question for a wash page. If a wool wrap smells, the type answer is usually: air it, then lanolise when the maker says the water-resistance has worn.

How do the two wraps contain wee at night?

Which? overnight advice is about the mix: an extra-absorbent inner (it names hemp or bamboo boosters) plus an outer whose elastic sits in the groin crease, not on the thigh, with no fabric sticking out. That fit check is the same on PUL and wool. Which? also lists wool as one of the wrap materials; it does not publish a lab leak score for wool versus PUL.

Two-part systems are the council night workhorse for a different reason: Edinburgh says a separate waterproof layer makes leakage less likely than a single-elastic all-in-one, and Wealden calls shaped-plus-wrap good at keeping explosions in. Those lines are about two-part versus one-part, not wool versus PUL.

Which wrap type fits which kind of stash?

Choose on care you will actually do, and on how many wraps you want in the cupboard. Real Nappies for London’s published wrap prices (scheme page, not a shop) start from about £8 for a sized PUL wrap and about £12 for a one-size PUL wrap. Wool wraps are a different product line and a different care kit (wool wash plus lanolin). Those pounds are scheme ballparks, not a supermarket unit-price table.

• PUL if you want the wrap in the same wash as the terries. Machine, wipe-and-reuse, 4–5 wraps per size on Wealden’s page.
• Wool if you want a plastic-free wrap and will lanolise. Network and Real Nappies for London both list it as the alternative material. Overnight use is a common reason people add one, because CCN describes wool wraps as a frequent night choice — that is their description, not a test result.
• Fleece if you want a third feel. Which? lists it alongside wool and PUL. Treat care as closer to PUL than to lanolin.
• Fit still wins. Wealden: covers must fit properly to avoid leakage. NHS Best Start in Life: liner in, fasten, snug waist and legs, two-finger check. Material does not fix a wrap that sits on the thigh.

In shortPUL is the UK default wrap: laminated, machine-washed, wiped and reused for a few wee-only changes. Wool is the lanolin wrap: aired between nights, topped up with lanolin when the maker says water-resistance has dropped. Which? lists fleece, wool and PUL in one sentence. That is a care-and-containment choice, not a safety rating.