Prepping prefolds....how long does it take??

[Shy0717]

Ok so this past weekend I started prepping my prefolds as my little guy will be here pretty soon. How many times do I have to wash them before the water actually absorbs and doesn't bead up?? Also should I use detergent everytime?? I used it the first time and now I've just been washing with hot water. Thanks

[MommaShark]

Use detergent every time, if they are bleached I've read you should just do it once or twice if unbleached it takes longer to get out the oils......4-6 times or so.....don't wash w/ other dipes and they will share their oils.

[Ruthie's momma]

We have a mix of unbleached and bleached prefolds. I prepped DD's prefolds w/i 5 wash cycles w/ hot water. The first was was w/ a bit of detergent while the others were w/o detergent. I dried them after each wash cycle. The dipes are ready to go once they are "quilted," in appearance.

[Mal85]

I boiled mine. I never have prepped via washing several times, so I can't really compare, but boiling was really easy. I just used a big stock pot (6-8 dipes at a time), a dash of Dawn in the water, and boiled them (unbleached) for 20 minutes. Then did one hot rinse in the washer and dried them in the dryer. They all came out great!

[Michigan Mama]

With bleached, I would say once through with detergent is fine.

For unbleached, my style is more 3 wash/dry cycles on hot with detergent in the first 2. YOu could do more, but I don't really think it's that necessary. Just know the absorbancy will continue to improve as you wash more.