How to Prep a New Cloth Diaper for First Time Use
So you took the plunge and got some brand new fluff in your hands? Great!
Sometimes new diapers come with instructions on how to prep the cloth diaper before using it. Basically “prepping” is washing away any natural oils that may be on the fabric and getting the diaper nice and absorbent.
When I get new fluff I like to fill my washing machine with just a bit of water from the hot setting. My washer is no frills so I simply set it on “small” and “hot”. If I get a lot of fluff (6-8 diapers), I’ll just go ahead and fill the washing machine with more hot water. When you’re prepping it’s important to make sure that you don’t add laundry detergents or soaps to the load. The point of this is to just use the natural washing ability of the hot water washes and rinses to get the job done.
So toss the diapers in the hot water and let the machine go. I do a wash/rinse cycle… wait for the water heater to catch up a bit, then send it around again- still with hot water for 3 or 4 more times. It’s kind of a day long process since my washer doesn’t buzz when it’s done like my dryer does. After the last rinse I either line dry them outside if there’s still some sunlight or I pop them in the dryer. I never put my dryer on the hottest setting mainly because in most diapers there is cotton and that will shrink and because the hot heat is bad for the PUL that most of my diapers are made with.
Let me know if you have any questions, leave me a comment and I will be happy to help!
Stay tuned for our next post with more tips on Cloth Diapering…
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