Cloth Diaper Question

WinterBenson · January 2013

I read on one of the labels to wash 4-5 times before using on baby...is this true? I haven't even started washing my stash yet. Should I just go ahead and run them all through the wash 4-5 times? Including the inserts??

Does this mean that I have to wash and dry them 4-5 times? Or can I just run them through the wash 4-5 times??

I already posted this on the cloth diapering board, but this one gets much more traffic.

babywisher · January 2013

I ended up doing 4 wash and dry cycles and 1 just wash cycle. I didn't put detergent in but 2 times. This was for my prefolds. I only did one was for my aio and covers. This is to get all the initial oils and such off. The prefolds need to be made absorbent. After the first few washes put a little on one to dee if it beads off or soaks in.

moosegal · January 2013

For natural fibers (cotton, hemp, bamboo), you will want to wash and dry them multiple times to strip them of their natural oils. Washing them multiple times makes them more absorbent.Things like microfiber inserts or other synthetic fibers only need to be washed once.

If they are prefolds or inserts with no plastic snaps, velcro, elastic, etc., you can also boil them with one or two drops of blue Dawn dish detergent for about 30 minutes before washing to cut down on the number of times you will need to wash.

You'll want to dry them between each wash cycle. When I was prepping my newborn prefolds, I'd just throw them in with loads of regular laundry as it came up -- but we use the same detergent for everything, which is cloth diaper safe.

tamarar5 · January 2013

Just wash 4 or five times then dry when you are done. Unless you have other laundry you want to get done in between. Sour CDS stink... pun intended.

Ezekgab · January 2013

I washed mine 3 times and dried in the dryer 2 and hung to dry the last time. But I have one more order coming and when it gets here I'm going to do them all together once and then the new ones twice more. Although I have bamboo insert and it said to wash them up to ten times before using?! Not happening.

amharper831 · January 2013

I washed my cotton prefolds about 5-6 times before they seemed to fluff up a bit more, for my specific ones it recommended 4-8 washes (including drying) but I just went with 5-6. Used detergent every time, as those were the instructions. As someone else said with natural fibers you have to strip the oils.

It was recommended to me to boil them, like in a giant pot on the stove for about 15 minutes, and that just doing that once would be good enough. I never tried it though!

Also just make sure you use a cloth diaper safe detergent

I have rockin green detergent, and laundry detergent from the honest company, and they both work great and are safe!

irishmom2010 · January 2013

Cotton and natural fibers reach their best absorbency after 10+ washes, but 4-5 wash and dry cycles will bring them to a good starting absorbency. Wash the natural fibers together. Any microfiber and synthetics only need to be washed once.

And, last but not least, make sure you use soap with each washing to break down the natural oils that are in the natural fabrics.

MouseInLux · January 2013

If you don't have PUL or snapps on the diapers you can avoid the long wash wash wash thing by putting them in a big (maybe lobster) pot and boiling them.

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