Pre-washing nappies

[peartree]

Sorry in advance if this seems like a stupid question...

When pre-washing new nappies, do you have to do it more than once? And if you do it more than once, do you have to let them dry in between washes or can you chuck them back in the machine for another cycle?

*on another note, is it really sad that I wish I wasn't going away this bank holiday weekend, as I've just received emails to say that my first orders of nappies and fleece/terry for making wipes, are being shipped?

 

[Mary Jo]

Microfibre nappies only need to be washed once. Nappies made of natural fibres (cotton, bamboo, hemp) need more than that in order to get them to maximum absorbancy, but lots of people just do them once or twice and then are prepared to change LO more often for the first few times in them. You don't need to dry them in between times. And some people soak them overnight, changing the water a couple of times in lieu of all the washes.

and no, it's not sad, there's few things more thrilling than fluffy mail, if you're that way inclined!

 

[buttonnose82]

if it is a natural fiber then you need to wash more than once to increase absorbancy, if it is a manmade fibre then just 1 wash to get rid of any chemicals is fine

you don't need to let them dry in between washes

 

[peartree]

Thanks ladies!

Argh...just realised that the ebay terry cloth has been sent to my old address.

 

[LittlePants]

You need to wash all nappies once with powder, before use, just to remove the dressing used in manufacture. After that, cotton, bamboo and hemp will get more absorbent the more you wash it, up to about 290 washes, but as long as you know the nappies will need changing a little more often at first, you don't have to do any more than the one wash. It's more eco-friendly and economical to just let them build up absorbency naturally as you wash them anyway. There is no need to dry them or use powder between pre washes (unless you are planning on using them as well of course!)