Washing prefolds with other laundry? (and a few other related ??s)

[jwoodbri]

Newbie to cding... Can I wash my newborn's (ebf) prefolds with other laundry that also needs to/can wash on hot like towels or sheets?

Also what do you combine covers with? I have proraps and thirsties and I'm guessing they shouldn't go in the hot wash right? I've just been throwing them in with regular (warm wash) laundry... but they are staining around the legs.

Ok one more... I've been rinsing dirty prefolds in the sink and then placing them in a hanging wetbag. When it's time to wash them I do a cold soak cycle followed by a hot wash w/ 2nd rinse. (I have a HE front loader.) Does this seem ok to you?

Thank you!!

[joshs_girl]

It's perfectly okay to wash your covers in hot water. I wash all my dipes together, regardless of materials (except for wool, of course.) And I wouldn't wash my PFs with other clothes, simply because they need extra rinses. And no need to rinse them before washing - just toss them into your pail then dump the whole load in the washer.

[Gabes Mommy]

It's fine to wash your dipes with other laundry; however, they do need extra rinses. The covers should be fine in hot water, but I would do a cold wash first to try to prevent stains.

[kawa kamuri]

i washed alone.

i put the covers in the same load.

i didn't rinse just put them in the pail as is and then straight in the wash and did a cold rinse first but i just have a cheap top loader so i don't know what kind of difference that makes.

[veedeepee]

I wash my Thirsties covers with my other baby laundry (clothes, etc.) instead of with the diapers. That way they're in a warm wash instead of hot...and they don't need the extra rinse, like PP said. Here is my system for washing them, and dealing with the staining on the edges:

If the cover has poo on it, I set it aside while changing my LO's diaper. I usually put the LO in the crib for a couple of minutes after a diaper change, so I can wash my hands, go to the bathroom, etc. So if I have a poopy cover, I take that to the bathroom sink and rinse the poo off. I keep a tiny squirt bottle of liquid laundry detergent by the sink (it's not what I wash baby's laundry in, but it's one of the plant-based natural type of detergents that I use on my own clothes b/c I have sensitive skin). I squirt a tiny drop of laundry detergent on the white elastic part of the cover (that's where it stains). I then fold down the velcro laundry tabs and pitch it in the baby's hamper...I was having staining issues on the white edges until I started doing this. If I don't have time to deal with the poopy cover, I have a little plastic bin by the changing table where I can put it until later. It's a bit more work to rinse off the dried poo, but it still works.

Hope that helps with the staining issue!

[Michigan Mama]

Originally Posted by joshs_girl

It's perfectly okay to wash your covers in hot water. I wash all my dipes together, regardless of materials (except for wool, of course.) And I wouldn't wash my PFs with other clothes, simply because they need extra rinses. And no need to rinse them before washing - just toss them into your pail then dump the whole load in the washer.

:

[fruitfulmomma]

I generally wash my diapers & covers all together but sometimes they don't make it to the bucket and end up in the other laundry and are just fine. I always dry on hot. Also, I don't ever pre-rinse them before wash day because I've had some end up mildewed and with a breastfed baby they don't need it.

[jwoodbri]

Originally Posted by veedeepee

Hope that helps with the staining issue!

I will definitely have to try that. Thanks for the suggestion! She's just so skinny right now that the covers often leak. (Plus she likes to sleep on her side...)

[jwoodbri]

Thanks for all the replies. They do help me get this whole thing figured out.

One more question... can I just throw the wetbag in with the diapers too? They are SMJAE bags http://hyenacart.com/SMJAE/index.php?c=12. Hmm I suppose I could email them about this one. I was wondering though if the water would get caught in the bag...

[jwoodbri]

Ok so I just did a load of prefolds, covers and the wetbag (which didn't fill up with water) and a bunch of my prefolds are really stained. I'm guessing they were the ones I experimented with not rinsing or not rinsing right away. I had been using the sprayer in my kitchen sink to help get the color out but was worried about them being too wet sitting in the wetbag. I know I could try drying them in the sun but I'm not currently set up for this. Any other suggestions?

[veedeepee]

Sometimes my wetbag ends up with a bunch of water in it after the wash cycle ends...sometimes not. It's no big deal to dump it in the laundry sink, though. If the water ends up dumping in on the diapers as you pull it out, just spin the washer for a few more seconds to get rid of it.

As for the stains...that's pretty normal. I don't usually dry my diapers in the sun b/c they get crunchy/stiff. Every now and then when I'm seeing lots of stains and it starts to bother me, I hang all the stained diapers out on the clothesline for several hours (they're already clean & dry when I hang them out). The sun gets the stains right out. If you're not set up with a clothesline, could you put a drying rack outside? If you're in an apartment and that's not an option, perhaps you could put them by a sunny window? Otherwise, the stains are really just and aesthetic issue, so you could just live with them. It doesn't mean they're not clean.

[durafemina]

don't worry about the stains - even really old bf poo stains will come out quickly in the sun (when you get around to being set up )

can I ask why everyone is doing extra rinses after the wash? is it to get the detergent residue out? I normally rinse before only. . . (and wash on cold)

[veedeepee]

Originally Posted by durafemina

don't worry about the stains - even really old bf poo stains will come out quickly in the sun (when you get around to being set up )

can I ask why everyone is doing extra rinses after the wash? is it to get the detergent residue out? I normally rinse before only. . . (and wash on cold)

Yes, it's to make sure all the detergent is out.