Question on diaper washing from a newbie

GirliMumi · #1 May 27th, 2012, 12:45 PM

Hi Ladies!

I hope you don't mind me popping in for some ad avice! I am totally brand new to cloth! I am a member of the Jan08 PR and those ladies loved cloth when we had our first babies! I didn't jump on the bandwagon then but I have now for my 2nd! I have an assortment of pre-folds and covers as well as pockets to get started and will hopefully having this baby very soon!

My questions are this. I have a few different brands (fuzzibuns, bumgenius, charlie banana and oh katy) and I just wanted to make sure it is ok to wash them all in the same load of laundry. I read somewhere not to wash bamboo inserts with micro fibre inserts and haven't been able to find the article/instructions since. Is this true? I only have 1 bamboo insert so I can just put it aside if that is the case.

2. For the first time washing and prepping them, I have heard to wash anywhere from 5-10 times to clean out any chemical residue and maximise absorbency. How do you know what to look for when they are good to go?

3. Lastly, for the first time wash, do you wash and fully dry the diapers that many times before using? In my mind I thought you could just re-wash them without drying in between before starting to use them.

4. Oh just one more....do you suggest using baking soda and vinegar in every wash or just sporadically?

Thank you so much ladies in advance! I have so many questions, I just don't want to screw them up from the get go!

alicenwonderland · #2 May 27th, 2012, 02:31 PM

My questions are this. I have a few different brands (fuzzibuns, bumgenius, charlie banana and oh katy) and I just wanted to make sure it is ok to wash them all in the same load of laundry. I read somewhere not to wash bamboo inserts with micro fibre inserts and haven't been able to find the article/instructions since. Is this true? you only need to wash the cotton, hemp and bamboo apart from the microfiber the first couple prep washes. Then they can all go in together. I did a prep load of microfiber, and a prep load of prefolds, doublers, natural inserts etc.

2. For the first time washing and prepping them, I have heard to wash anywhere from 5-10 times to clean out any chemical residue and maximise absorbency. How do you know what to look for when they are good to go? microfiber and polyester diapers only need 1 wash before using. natural fibers need a few. They can usually be used after 1 or two... just won't be fully absorbant.

3. Lastly, for the first time wash, do you wash and fully dry the diapers that many times before using? In my mind I thought you could just re-wash them without drying in between before starting to use them. in my opinion, drying is an important part of the process. It helps the fibers to shrink up and get fluffy and absorbant.

4. Oh just one more....do you suggest using baking soda and vinegar in every wash or just sporadically? I don't use either. Occasionally i'll push vinegar in the final rinse, but definately not all that neccesary.