Soft CD w/o a dryer?

[ZoraP]

I'm hoping to get some tips on how to make my line-dried chinese prefolds softer. They get so stiff on the line that I think they'd be uncomfortable. I used to have a dryer and would line-dry the dipes until nearly dry, then pop them in the dryer for 10 minutes or so, which softened them up. Now I don't have a dryer and would rather not buy one, except for the "crunchy diaper" issue.

I also avoid fabric softener because it reduces absorbency and may cause rashes.

Thanks in advance!

[HappyFox05]

Subbing, cause I've wondered about this as well. Our Crickett's diapes are great, but wow they're stiff when they come off the line.

[DocsNemesis]

I have no idea. I know vinegar acts as a fabric softener, but I've only used it with drying as well, and only every few washes. I think its not always recommended either.

[MadiMamacita]

i asked this question a few months ago, and some sage mama told me that the crunch factor is related to how quickly they dry. if you double or triple them up on the line, they should dry softer. it works well, though I don't really understand it!

[MadiMamacita]

also, we have a second line that is in the shade that i hang dipes on. that works well, too.

[starrmama]

This isn't exactly what you're asking, but I'd switch to flats... that's what I did for this same reason - plus they dry incredibly quickly compared to prefolds. With a doubler to go with every flat, I find that absorption is about the same as a prefold... they're a little bit crunchy, but not to the point that I think they're uncomfortable on my dd... my prefolds were Sooooo crunchy when line dried!

[mntnmom]

Do you have hard water? We've had better luck since I started using vinegar in the wash. But if it's really bad, I would look at a water softening treatment. Of course, that's if the other suggestions don't work first!

[ZoraP]

Thanks for the suggestions -- we just did another load and tried a few new things: I added a *bit* of fabric softener to the load, set the spin cycle lower so that they came out a bit more wet, "snapped" them all several times before hanging, and hung them close together so drying takes longer. It seems to have worked, but now I'm wondering what effect the fabric softener will have on them in the long run. I'll keep experimenting and post any "formula" that seems to work well. We do have hard-ish water, so water softening may be a good idea; I'll wait and see how our other attempts work first.

I used these prefolds 10 years ago with my first and also with my second; although I could afford to buy new diapers I feel like it's non-environmentally friendly to do so when these are still in perfect shape, YKIM?