please tell me exactly how to "prep" my new prefolds

[doulawoman]

Hi, I can;t seem to find exact directions on this...I also can't find anything that's not contradictory online. HOW does one "prep" new, unbleached prefolds?? I know they need to be washed 4+ times, but what temp, detergent? what kind? I'd like to keep it simple. I have eco friendly baby detergent and I saw a website reccomended "dawn"...??? I have an HE washer if that helps. Thanks in advance.

[Galatea]

Wash them on hot with 1 Tablespoon eco baby detergent. Rinse on cold. Then turn the washer back on hot with another tablespoon detergent. Rinse on cold. Put them in the dryer on hot.

Then wash them on hot with no more detergent. (There should still be some in the diapers so you will see suds.) Rinse on cold. Wash on hot again with nothing. (This time it should get all the detergent out, but if it doesn't, wash on hot again.) Rinse on cold. Dry on hot.

[JTA Mom]

I've prepped 5+ dozen prefolds, plus flats, plus inserts, plus blah.

Here's the quickfire routine:
You DO need a dryer for this.

Wash #1:
Load in 1 dozen prefolds. Squirt in about a teaspoon of dawn or palmolive or any 'grease-fighting' dish detergent. Boil up a couple pots of water. Once they are boiling, let the washer fill with HOT water. Once full, stop the machine and dump in the 2 pots/teakettles of boiling water. Let run.

Then put in the dryer on HIGH, until totally dry, about 60 min. This is important. This weakens the oils and strips off the loose fibers.

Wash #2:

Same as wash & dry #1.

Wash #3:

Same as wash & dry #1.

For bleached, it takes about 2-3 cycles to be FULLY prepped. For Unbleached 3-4, usually only 3.

Prep 'tests':

There are two tests to see if your prefolds are 'prepped'. Both will mimic a baby peeing.

Test #1:

Grab dry prefold. Wet hand under running water. Sprinkle drops of water onto prefold. The water should instantly be absorbed into the prefold. As in, you see the drop falling and then a wet spot on the prefold. There should be NO beading of the water on top of the prefold. If there is beading, it needs to go another round of washing.

Test #2:
If prefold passes test #1, do this one. Cup your hand under the running water. Pour water onto one spot of the prefold. The water should instantly be absorbed and start spreading through the prefold. If the water beads up at all or 'runs' off for a little bit, it is NOT prepped and needs to go through another wash cycle.


If you have NO dryer Or are using a laundromat, so need to keep the number of washes/dryer down:

Fill a huge stockpot with water, boil about 2 prefolds at a time for 15-20 min with a bit of dawn. Throw in washer on hot with a teaspoon of dawn, then line dry/dry on hot. Should be good to go!

Ami

[CookAMH]

Mine's pretty simple...wash and dry three times, first time only with detergent. Test by pouring a cup of water into a dry diaper. It should immediately and completely absorb. If not, wash and dry one more time and retest.

[Ola_]

I think the Dawn dishsoap is supposed to pull more of those natural cotton oils out of the prefolds than a regular laundry soap. It's not strictly necessary and I'm sure you can just use regular detergent, it might just take a few extra washes. I'd definitely do the hot water for this.

I love the prep tests above - very handy!

[cristeen]

Do you have an idea/plan for your wash routine once baby arrives? That's what I would run.

With my HE, I don't have to go through all the crazy steps some people do. My machine has a button to push to add a prewash to the cycle, and another button to add a second rinse. So I just run a "Heavy Duty" cycle (some people run a "Sanitize" cycle), push the prewash and the second rinse buttons and that's been plenty for my (dirty) dipes.

When I was given 2 dozen prefolds a couple weeks ago, I just tossed them in with my dirty diapers for the next week and a half or so, ran them on my usual routine, and when I pulled them out of the dryer just popped the prefolds back in the washer for the next round. It took a couple weeks, but I didn't waste a ton of water that way.

[sunshynbaby]

I just washed and dried mine five times using hot water with the detergent I normally use. It worked fine for me.

[orange_mommy]

I know this thread is old, but I need to bookmark it because there are so many useful tips in it, as I am cloth diapering for the first time and baby is due in a month.  Cristeen, it was nice to see someone with a HE washer giving tips because I was thinking "How am I going to wash diapers with a HE front loader?!"  Sounds like it will be surprisingly easy! Thanks! :D

[chel]

want to add that when doing diapers for a newborn you can cheat a little.  since nb don't need as much absorbency.  i was able to just do 2 wash and dry cycles (one with detergent and one without) and then start using the diapers.

i'm sure they weren't at their prime at the start, but quickly got there with the frequent use diapers get.

[orange_mommy]

I remember reading that you use way less detergent with cloth diapers than with normal laundry?  How much less should a person be using?  Thanks!