How long did your prefolds last?

[llwr]

My premium prefolds are falling apart. They're the standard DSQ with dark blue serging, bought new from a diaper service company. I had 24 that I used all the time for about two years and at night for another 6 months. The outer layer is literally shredded to threads and falling off. Is this normal? I thought PFs were supposed to last easily for 2-3 kids. I do dry them regularly, but not always.

I've tried adding a layer of flannel to an entire side and also to just the center strip for better absorbancy and also to prevent further damage, but I'm not sure that it's much of a help, and my snappi isn't happy with the flannel. I'm thinking about sewing 2 diapers together to make one, but even when they're getting threadbare, it seems like overkill. Any other ideas? I don't mind buying some more, but I don't want to replenish my entire stash.

[beebalmmama]

Mine are just starting to get some very worn areas, mainly around where I've used a snappy. But then I used them for about 1.5 yrs with ds1 and we're into about month 3 with ds2. I hope they last another year or so. But I'm considering buying a few other dipes to have a larger stash to rotate through. Mine are also like yours, DSQ with blue trim and 24 of them.

I used to always wash them with vinegar and had heard that can break them down quicker. But the help with the stink was more important to me. I also machine dry, not sure if that does anything compared to line drying.

I would think sewing an outer layer could help, but I hear you on the snappy. I have a couple of WAHM made flannel dipes and can't use a snappy on those.

[MyLittleWonders]

I have prefolds that I bought when ds#2 was an infant (green edge); they have only been used on two children, but dh has used them regularly since in his classroom for erasing his white boards and they are still going strong.

Do you have any old T-shirts that you don't mind repurposing? You could sew that around the prefold as a new outer layer; I have had more success in the past snappi'ing knit/interlock than flannel.

[lunita1]

Originally Posted by llwr

My premium prefolds are falling apart. They're the standard DSQ with dark blue serging, bought new from a diaper service company. I had 24 that I used all the time for about two years and at night for another 6 months. The outer layer is literally shredded to threads and falling off. Is this normal? I thought PFs were supposed to last easily for 2-3 kids. I do dry them regularly, but not always.

I've tried adding a layer of flannel to an entire side and also to just the center strip for better absorbancy and also to prevent further damage, but I'm not sure that it's much of a help, and my snappi isn't happy with the flannel. I'm thinking about sewing 2 diapers together to make one, but even when they're getting threadbare, it seems like overkill. Any other ideas? I don't mind buying some more, but I don't want to replenish my entire stash.

I had 3 dozen premium prefolds for my first, used from about 4 months to potty training. With my second I got an additional 20 or so used Gerber DSQ prefolds, and I also used disposables part time. By the time she was potty-training, many of the premium prefolds were getting holes in them, and more were developing holes a few months into using them on dd3. I was given another 2 dozen used prefolds by a friend who was done having kids, but I mostly used disposables with her, and when she was potty trained I moved all of the 50 or so old prefolds to my rag pile and only saved the newest used prefolds (the ones a friend gave me) for baby 4. My oldest is 11, and most of them are in horrible shape now, barely recognizable as prefolds. I'm pretty sure they were Indian prefolds, but honestly I'm not sure. Interestingly, the Gerbers (which were cast-offs from a diaper service, I think? Some had had blue Gerber stamps on them, and they were serged with white thread with a single blue line at the ends rather than all-blue serging) seemed to hold up better than my others. The weave seems tighter.

My infant prefolds have been used for my 4, plus at least one other kid IIRC. They're still in great shape, but they really were only in use for maybe 16 months - 2 years total.

My mom's prefolds from when my brother and I were a baby lasted a lot longer, but she also told me that she got them from the textile mill in Rhode Island where my aunt worked in the seventies. I think maybe the fabric quality when downhill when we started getting them from Asia? Also, I remember her saying something about having dozen and dozens of them (and I remember our diaper pail being HUGE) so maybe they got less use than they would have if she had been using only 2 dozen.