Question about prepping PF's

[mama*pisces]

I just got 10 new DiaperRite prefolds , and I want to prep them in boiling water, to conserve water. For those of you that used this method of prepping, how long did you leave them in the boiling water, and how many washes in the machine did you do afterwards? TIA

[confustication]

I cheat. I do one wash on hot with a bit of dawn to strip and saturate the diapers, then I boil them (toss them in the biggest pot I have for about 20 minutes.) Finally, I do one last wash with normal 'diaper routine' and call it good. They may not be pefect, but they work, and within a couple turns through the laundry they finish up... I can deal with them being a touch less absorbant thn they ultimately will for a few days, and I don't waste the time, energy, and resources washing them to perfection.

[mama*pisces]

Hmm...sounds good but I don't have any regular Dawn ATM to strip them with. If I don't strip them should I just boil them for a longer amount of time?

I just tried boiling them in 3 different pots, with barely enough water to cover them, but there was barely any room left and they started overboiling a little. They were in there for a good 10 minutes but I think I need to start over with a bigger pot and more water.

[Mama~Love]

I'd boil them, then wash with a few drops of dishsoap (they are all meant to remove grease & oils), dry them, and boil again for about 15 minutes, then through the wash one more time like you would normally wash them, then dry. That should be good enough.

[coldandsleepy]

I started out with 36 prefolds and necessarily had to boil them in batches. Since I was doing them like that, I experimented a bit.

Seemed like 15-20 minutes worked well. The ones I only boiled for 10 minutes weren't quite ready, and I didn't see anything particularly special about the ones that I boiled for 30 and 45 minutes.

Are DiaperRites bleached or unbleached? Unbleached have more cotton oils still in them, so you may need to boil them twice if that's what yours are.

[Coconut Chronicles]

I boiled each batch for 20 minutes and then two machine washes.

[Lineymom]

Originally Posted by Coconut Chronicles

I boiled each batch for 20 minutes and then two machine washes.

That's what I did. I have unbleached. I did notice that that actually have quilted/shrunk a bit more with more washes since then, but they were plenty absorbant in the first uses.

[JTA Mom]

I've prepped over 5 dozen prefolds. Here is my easy-peasy, quick prepping method.

Fill washer with hot water. Toss in about a dozen prefolds. Add a teaspoon of dawn (or any other grease fighting detergent) if you have a front loader, like I do, or two teaspoons for a toploader. Add a couple pots/teakettles of boiling water. Run.

Throw in the dryer on HIGH heat.

Repeat.

My bleached ones were done in 2-3 washes (more like 2). My unbleached took 3 washes.

It's really important to use super hot water (hence adding boiling water) and high dryer heat. This degrades the oils so the dawn can pick them up and wash away.