If your teenager is still wetting the bed — or managing light daytime leaks — and you’re done with the disposable pull-up routine, washable incontinence underwear like Confitex may have already appeared on your radar. The question most parents (and teenagers themselves) are actually asking isn’t whether these products exist. It’s whether they’re genuinely suitable for a teenager’s overnight output, how they compare to disposables, and whether they’re realistic to live with day to day.
This article covers Confitex specifically: what they are, what they can and can’t do, and who they’re most likely to suit.
What Is Confitex and What Does It Make?
Confitex is a New Zealand brand specialising in washable absorbent underwear for bladder leakage. Unlike period underwear brands that have expanded sideways into incontinence products, Confitex was built specifically for urinary leakage from the outset. Their range includes products for both light and moderate incontinence, in styles that look like ordinary underwear — briefs, hipsters, and trunks for different body shapes.
They are available in adult sizing, which typically starts from a UK size 8–10 upwards. That means many teenagers aged 13 and over will fall comfortably within range, particularly older teens. Younger teens or smaller-framed children may find the sizing starts too large.
How Much Can Confitex Actually Hold?
This is the critical question for bedwetting use, and it’s worth being precise rather than vague.
Confitex categorises their products by absorbency level:
- Light: designed for a few drops to around 8ml — appropriate for stress incontinence, post-void dribble, or very minor leaks
- Moderate: up to around 20–40ml depending on the specific product
- Heavy: their higher-capacity styles claim up to around 80ml
For context, a full overnight void from a teenager with primary nocturnal enuresis can easily reach 200–400ml or more in a single episode. Even their highest-capacity products are not designed to contain a full overnight wetting episode from a heavy wetter.
That is not a criticism of Confitex — it’s simply what the product category is built for. Washable absorbent underwear, across virtually all brands, sits in the light-to-moderate range. If your teenager wets heavily overnight, washables alone are unlikely to be sufficient.
Who Are Confitex Realistically Suited To?
Light or Infrequent Wetters
If your teenager has occasional accidents — wetting partially, or wetting infrequently — Confitex’s higher-capacity styles may genuinely manage it. Some teenagers wet less than 100ml and for them, a heavy-duty washable may be a workable overnight option, particularly if combined with a mattress protector or bed pad as backup.
Daytime Leakage
Confitex is arguably better suited to daytime use for teenagers managing urgency leaks, post-void dribble, or stress incontinence than to overnight bedwetting. For a teenager who leaks a small amount when laughing, sneezing, or rushing to the toilet, washable absorbent underwear is a genuinely dignified, discreet solution that avoids the bulk and crinkle of disposable pads.
Teenagers Who Find Disposables Distressing
For some teenagers — particularly those with sensory sensitivities — the texture, noise, or feel of disposable products is a significant barrier. Confitex looks and feels much closer to regular underwear, which matters enormously for self-esteem. If your teenager is refusing to wear anything disposable, a washable option may be worth trialling even if the capacity isn’t perfect, as part of a layered approach. This is discussed further in how to talk about bedwetting without shame or embarrassment.
The Overnight Bedwetting Reality Check
It needs to be said plainly: for teenagers who wet fully overnight — which is the majority of teens with primary nocturnal enuresis — washable underwear alone is not going to be enough. This isn’t a flaw in Confitex specifically; it’s the nature of the product category.
A teenager who produces a typical overnight void needs something built with a significantly higher absorbent core — either a high-capacity disposable pull-up, a taped brief, or a booster pad system. The gap between what washable underwear can hold and what overnight bedwetting actually produces is one of the under-discussed realities of the market. If you’ve been investigating why standard overnight products leak even when they’re disposable, the design issues go deeper than most parents realise.
Some families use a washable brief as a cover layer over a disposable pad insert — a hybrid approach that can offer both capacity and comfort. This isn’t officially marketed as a use case by Confitex, but it’s worth knowing that some parents find washables useful as an outer layer for this reason.
Practical Considerations for Teenagers
Washing and Discretion
Confitex underwear is machine washable, which is a significant practical advantage for families who are tired of nightly disposable waste and cost. Most lines can be cold or warm washed and air-dried. They should not be tumble dried at high heat as this degrades the absorbent layers.
For a teenager who wants to manage their own laundry discreetly, washables are genuinely easier to handle than bagging up wet disposables. There’s no crinkle, no packaging, and nothing that announces itself visually or audibly as incontinence-related. That matters.
How Many Do You Need?
If using nightly, you’ll realistically need a minimum of five to seven pairs to allow for washing and drying time without running short. At around £20–£35 per pair depending on the style, the upfront cost is notable — though it replaces ongoing disposable expenditure over time. Do the maths for your specific situation; the break-even point varies considerably depending on how often wetting occurs.
Sizing
Confitex runs in standard adult sizing. Check their size guide carefully — the fit matters for containment, and a product that’s too loose won’t function as designed. If your teenager is on the smaller end of an adult size range, go by measurements rather than assumed clothing size.
Confitex Versus Other Washable Options
Confitex isn’t the only washable incontinence underwear brand, but it is among the more established ones with a specific incontinence focus. Competitors include TENA Washable, Hartmann, and various period-underwear brands that have added incontinence lines. The honest difference between them tends to come down to absorbency claims, fabric feel, and price rather than any dramatic performance gap at the higher capacity levels.
For teenagers specifically, what often matters most is whether the style looks like ordinary underwear, whether it’s comfortable to sleep in, and whether the capacity is adequate. Those three factors should drive the decision more than brand loyalty.
When to Look Beyond Washables
If your teenager:
- wets fully and heavily overnight
- has tried washables and they’ve been insufficient
- needs reliable overnight containment that allows everyone to sleep without disruption
…then washable underwear isn’t the right primary solution, even if it’s an appealing one. Higher-capacity disposable options — including pull-ups designed for heavier output, or taped briefs — are worth looking at without stigma. They work better for heavy overnight wetting, and for many families they remain the most practical choice regardless of what the marketing landscape might imply about “moving on” from them.
If your teenager is also dealing with the emotional weight of bedwetting, managing the stress as a family is just as important as the product question.
The Bottom Line
Confitex washable incontinence underwear is a legitimate, well-made product that works well for what it’s designed for: light to moderate leakage, daytime use, or as part of a layered approach for lighter overnight wetters. For teenagers managing occasional or small-volume wetting, they’re worth trying — particularly if disposables have been causing distress or embarrassment.
For teenagers with full overnight bedwetting, Confitex alone won’t be enough. Use that information to set expectations before purchase rather than after. If you’re still working out what the right overnight solution actually looks like for your situation, the answer often isn’t one product — it’s understanding the full picture of what your teenager’s wetting pattern requires and matching the product to that, rather than the other way around.