Why Prepping Makes a Difference

I'm a very visual person. I cannot envision anything to save my life. My husband is great at envisioning. He can envision changing the furniture in our living room and see every detail down to the spacial dimensions. I, on the other hand, cannot. This is why I like conducting this little experiment on my cloth diapers. I had received three prefolds over the summer. I gave my sister two of them to use on her newborn son and I kept one for myself. She used them consistently (it should be noted that she loved using the prefolds and how effective they were at keeping that slimy newborn poop in the diaper); so the prepped prefold that I am using as an example to show you the difference has been washed and dried (not always in a machine as she lives in an apartment with coin operated laundry) several times since August. As you can see in the picture below this is an overhead view of the prepped prefold laying on top of the non-prepped prefold. The prepped prefold is smaller than our brand new prefold which is fitting since both are a size 1. The non-prepped prefold would not fit on a newborn effectively that's for sure. Like I said too, my sister rarely uses a dryer to dry her diapers because she has to pay to use one so often times her diapers can be found on a drying rack in her apartment. Her son was quite the skinny little newborn this prefold fit perfectly on him. (Also don't mind the writing on the tag, I marked it so I knew which prefold was my prepping tester.

Prepped vs. Not Prepped Prefolds. Thirsties

  This next picture is the money picture. Look at the thickness; it's almost not even comparable to the non-prepped one. The prepped prefold is soft to the touch and as you can see significantly thicker than the non-prepped prefold.

Prepped Thickness vs Non Prepped. Thirsties

  We suggest that for all natural fibers you wash and dry them separately three times before adding them to your normal diaper laundry. The reason we suggest this is because the natural fibers have oils on them that can affect absorbency in your other diapers. You also want to get rid of the natural fibers so that the diaper can reach its optimum size and absorbency. Also, before you start using our prefolds prep them a minimum of three times; the diaper will reach its maximum absorbency capability after eight washes. Looking at the picture above you can see that this statement is definitely true. The prepped prefold had been washed and dried more than eight times. Remember, the more prepping you do the thicker and softer the diaper becomes.
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19 comments

  • Prepping is a must! It makes the prefold so soft and fluffy!

    Brittney T on
  • Wow, good visual of how much of a difference prepping makes. I’m a newbie to cloth, so I’ll be sure to prep all my natural fibers, especially prefolds.

    Rebecca T on
  • When I get new natural fiber inserts or diapers I wash them three to four times with clothes, sheets, and/or towels before running them a final time with the rest of my diapers before their first use. This way I can prep them in a weekend, although they will continue to gain absorbency with additional washes.

    Leela R. on
  • Wow, that is quite the difference.

    Marcelaine on
  • We have one Thirsties prefold, and I did notice an increase in the absorbency as we used it more.

    Christina L on

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