Now that I received my prefold cloth diapers, I need to wash them and to make them absorbent. So what I did as usual, I Googled it and found so many ways to wash them. It was almost overwhelming! I even thought to myself why did I decide to do cloth diapers?!!!
Prefold cloth diapers for first time use
So here is what I did to prepare my prefold cloth diapers:
Step 1. I chose a detergent that is dye and scent free and tried to avoid enzymes. Apparently some babies have some sensitivity to enzyme and develop a rash so I decided to use a detergent that doesn’t have enzymes. The one I chose is Nellie’s All Natural Laundry Soda. It is a little bit pricey I think ($12)!
So next time I will try Country Save Natural Laundry Detergent. It also has good reviews and a mom from the Vancouver Twins Group recommended it to me. In Canada, you can buy it at London Drugs and it is kind of cheap ($8)! It is also dye and fragrance free.
Step 2. Run a warm or cold pre wash cycle first. I did a cold pre wash with just water (no detergent). I could have used warm but I did cold!! (Better for electricity even I don’t pay for hot water!!!). The prewash will rinse out any residual stuff from the manufacturer.
Step 3. Hot wash on regular cycle with one scoop of detergent. Do not use oxygen cleaner because it can cause extra pilling and the diapers could become rough. I want soft diapers for soft baby bums!!
Step 4. I did an extra warm rinse with nothing (and please so not use softener!). It is just to be sure that the detergent is all removed.
Step 5. Dry them in hot temperature!
Some people said to do 12 prefold diapers at the time but I did all, so my 30 prefold cloth diapers were washed together
Step 6. Repeat all of them (step 2 to step 5), repeat and repeat! You can do it between 3-5 times. It is important to do it again and again for full absorbency. You are going to ask me why? I did myself and I googled it again! Why do I wash them so many times did I ask myself? Easy answer: In fact, unbleached cotton has its natural water resistent coating (called cotton wax or cotton oils) and it takes a few washings and drying for them to reach their full absorbency! Voila!
You can try to run a little bit of water on your prefold. If the water runs on your prefold, it means it needs more washing. I did it after 2 washes and the water was not absorbed by the prefold. I did another wash and after that the water was completely absorbed but as I wanted to be sure that it is well down I washed for a total of 4 times! All my prefold diapers are now soft and ready to put on my babies.
My first remark after all these washes is between Cloth-eez® Prefold Diapers and Bummis Organic Cotton Prefolds Diapers which were the same size at the beginning, the Bummis shrink more than Cloth-eez®.
For the cover, I did just a regular wash but I didn’t tumble dry them. I think they will last longer if you don’t tumble dry.
Prefold cloth diapers for regular washing
It is what I will do when I will use my prefold diapers. I might adapt it and I will update this post if needed!
1. I will wash poop as soon as I change the babies and put it in my wet bag!
2. I will do the same process that for the first use! But only one time not 4 times!!! So Step 2 to Step 5 only one time!
I will try to hang dry in front of our fireplace if I do not want to tumble dry!
The thing is I might use for step 2 warm water instead of cold. I just want to be sure that poo and pee are out of the diaper before I do my main hot wash!
If there is a smell of ammonia, I will use vinegar at the prewash. White vinegar will neutralize the ammonia of pee.
Voila, I will updated it when I will wash them regularly and tell you what I do and if I changed my method!
