Initial wash

[DiaperPony]

My understanding is that it is best to wash new diapers twice. Should I dry after each wash, or can I just leave them in the washer and run it twice then dry after?

[BabyTara]

You should dry between washes. Drying fluffs the diapers.

[DiaperPony]

Thank you.

[Angela Bauer]

I still use the cotton diaper washing techniques which worked so well for my maternal grandmother Vi and my mom Alice.

[DiaperPony]

Angela, thank you for taking the time to share your detailed washing plan. I like your idea of rotating in new diapers with the existing wash. I haven't bought any soakers yet, just adult prefolds. This is all new to me so I need to experiment a bit and find out how much padding I require.

I have a set of cute pink stainless steel Baby Pants adult diaper pins, haven't tried them yet to see how well they poke through the twill diaper.

I definitely look forward to the upcoming stains and smells

[BabyJune]

Using the proper laundry soap is also important for diapers or else they will "clog" and have to be stripped. DREFT is an excellent diaper detergent, and I also use PUREX I hand wash my diapers because I

[DiaperPony]

I have being using All detergent, same as I use on my regular clothes, since it has no perfume added. Will that clog my diapers?

[Cottontail]

I use the All "Free and Clear" detergent on my prefold diapers -- and everything else -- with good results.

[DiaperPony]

Yeah I think they are still shrinking. I'll be using them as rags to clean the bathroom floor if they shrink much more. Baby Pants needs to fix their sizing chart. I have a 36" waist and ordered a Large (supposedly for up to 42" waist). After 4 washings I can barely pin them. Wish I'd gone with XL.

[Thad]

@DiaperPony: or when you do get a bigger size you can use these as a soaker.