When you prewash cloth nappies, can you just pop them throught 3-4 continual washes, then dry them, or do you have to wash - dry - wash - dry etc... ?
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When you prewash cloth nappies, can you just pop them throught 3-4 continual washes, then dry them, or do you have to wash - dry - wash - dry etc... ?
Why would you need to wash them more than once? That's a new one on me! I only washed and dried mine once then used them.
Kerrie
Candice are you using the hemp and prefolds? If so they need to be washed, dried and washed again for at least 3 times before use.
Otherwise for all my other nappies they just get the one prewash before using.
HTH :D
ow... cool. I was always under the impression that I would have to wash them severeal times to get their absorbancy up
Yep - you will find the more you wash, the better they get at absorbing. Its a strange, but great thing!
I received my first 2 pocket nappies today (hooray!) and I was told to simply wash the main part, but the inserts, especially the hemp one, would need a few washes to get absorbancy up. Good question about whether to dry in between. No doubt I would have come up with the same question some time soon :)
Actually, I never dried my hemp prefolds or nappies in between LOL. I just gave them 3-4 washes in a row with a really good spin in between and they seemed to absorb heaps after. Never got any leaks anyway LOL.
I haven't actually washed any of mine yet... and was just wondering if they lint? Coz I was considering chucking them in with a couple of towel washes to begin with, but if they're gonna leave fluff everywhere (like new towels do) then I'll wash them separately.
New nappies can lose quite a bit of fluff for the first few washes. I found terry nappies like tots bots and terry squares to be the worst! Hemp sheds quite a bit too. 20 mins or so in the dryer can help get rid of a little. And if you have fleece stuff then you might want to wash it separately as it's a major fluff attractor (I learnt that the hard way LOL!).
Excellent. Thanks Angel. :)
I washed my hemp & cotton prefolds yesterday... and OMG the lint!! LOL. I'm glad I didn't have the microfleece in there! Altho, I did a load of washers and stuff afterwards and they got covered in the fluff (coz good ol' me didn't check the machine for all the lint :rolleyes: )
Forget the absorbency... they need all these prewashes just to get rid of the fluff!
Hemp and Bamboo from where I bought our nappies have to be washed 3 times before use to get the absorbency up. I didn't dry in between, i just did three straight washes.
They say that maximum absorbency isn't achieved for several more washes after that anyway, but 3 to start with is enough to get you going.
Hmm.... seems there are different opinions! I have emailed BBH - but they haven't replied yet & I want to start washing! Does the fluff still come out of the nappies properly if they aren't dried in between? After these first 3 washes, I want to be able to wash them in with clothes - will they still be fluffing?
Ah - just got my reply from BBH...
I don't think I'll bother!:
Depends really- if you dry them in between, your nappies will shrink down to the right size a little quicker, however it wont affect their performance. Personally, I wouldn't bother with drying in between- they'll still work the same :o)
Ok, BBH usually put care instructions in with the nappies. But it is also on their website. You should prewash 3 times, no need to dry in between. But full absorbency takes about 10 washes to reach, and believe me you'll notice the difference. So avoid using them at night until then.
I can't believe how much fluff they generate! I think it will be a while before I can wash them in with anything else. I thought I had picked all the fluff out of the machine afterwards but today, when I washed all our dark clothes.... oops!
With my hemp, bamboo and prefolds I always soak them in a bucket with warm water, ie squeeze them under water to make sure they are completely soaked through before I put them in the wash pre-rinse and then 1-2 cycles and hang them out to dry and we've never had any problems
why wouldn't you just wash them once and then use them? as they get used and washed the absorbency will increase and you won't waste so much water.
washing an already clean nappy is a bit wasteful, and for the sake of increasing absobancy when you are expecting only newborn wee is a bit redundant.
I understand the reasoning behind doing a few washes but I only do one myself before it gets worn.
When I buy a new one I just make sure that it's worn at home and definatley not for a nap the first couple of times JIC it's not as absorbant as it could be.
SungaiKecil I totally get what you're saying about wasting water but I guess if it's only a few nappies then it would be a waste to wash them. If you've lashed out and got a heap then it would be alright.
I *think* that it's not so much the volume of the wee being the problem as much as the absorbant capacity of the fabric being hindered by chemicals that are used in the manufacturing process. Supposedly the wee can run out the side of the nappy before the fabric can absorb it.
Hemp needs to be pre-washed 6 - 8 times before it achieves full absorbency
Bamboo needs to be pre-washed 3 times
Other stuff just once
I do one white MCN wash, and one coloured MCN wash
delicate fabrics get put in a zippered bag e.g minky, malden mills, anything with applique on it
remember to do up your laundry tabs on the aplix items (that's industrial velcro).
by doing a separate whites load, i avoid the dark nappies going all linty, but i do have enough MCN to warrant this.
when you have a young baby, the 8 prewashes for the hemp, aren't so important cos you are changing frequently anyways. But with an older bub, many more people report BIG leak issues with not doing the pre-washes.
Nappies Covered (who mainly sell nappy making materials) have very thorough washing instructions for the MCN nappy materials.
I was told to wash and dry each time so i did. With the new water restrictions and being a year wiser (with MCN), now i think i would only pre-wash the newborn prefolds a few times (like two).
Everything you buy that's made out of fabric, has residues on it from production (of fabric, of sewing, preservatives for packing) that need to be washed out, just to put on your or baby's body.
The organic cotton prefolds do "plump" up after the prewashes, before that they look a bit limp.
hth
yep i always pre wash a couple of times - I have mostly Bamboo!