Washing before wearing

[BowsAndRibbons]

I just bought my first cloth refastenable diaper from Amazon, it’s a Rearz overnight something or other.. the label and description were vague. 
 

anyway, in the description it said wash twice before wearing. It also says machine wash and dry. 
 

I have a couple questions

1. when it says wash twice does that mean wash>wash>dry>wear or wash>dry>wash>dry>wear

2. Why do I need to wash twice?

3.will I need to wash twice after every use?

4. How do I determine if this is the type I need plastic pants with?

 

thanks in advance! Things are crazy in life right now, so it might be a few days before I get to respond

[Stroller]

4 hours ago, BowsAndRibbons said:

Why do I need to wash twice?

Hi.  They need washing a couple of times before you use them because the fabric won't absorb as well until you do.  It's to do with the manufacturing process, which leaves 'bulking' stuff in the fabric - this needs washing out.  It's not harmful, but reduces the absorption properties.

You don't need to wash twice every time.  I wear cloth all day every day, and I put the wet nappies in a plastic bucket (with lid), & when I've got a washing machine load I wash them at 60 degrees Celcius, on a cotton setting.  That's the recommended temperature for babies' nappies - any cooler may not get them clean enough.  Never leave them more than 48 hours without washing or they'll get smelly.  If you're somewhere really hot, you may need to wash them more frequently.

I've no idea whether you need plastic pants or not with the nappy you've bought - does the website not say?  If in doubt, wear them.  I always do, even on the few occasions I'm in a disposable.

[ValentinesStuff]

With new cloth diapers I wash (full cycle with detergent) rinse, then wash/rinse a second time with no detergent, then dry wear.

Part of the reason for the multiple cycles is to loosen up the fabric and increase it's absorbency, also you are removing any coatings on the fabric.

Do NOT use any fabric softeners or dryer sheets, they leave a coating that will reduce the absorbency of the diapers.

You don't need to wash it twice every time, although you may want to if they are exceptionally messy.

If the outside of the diaper is not PUL or some other waterproof barrier, then you will need plastic pants of some sort. A quick test if you are unsure is before you wash the diaper poor a cup or so of water into the inside and see if leaks out the outside.

 

PS: My old washing machine had an option for two rinse cycles, and I would always do that. My new one doesn't  but I often run a second rinse cycle anyway. That just helps get all the detergent out and loosen up the fibers.

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

 

Pretty much yes for all. After wearing and use, you should rinse then wash, depending on how you use them, but that is a good thing to do as a rule of thumb. It is also a rule that you pre-wash ANY washable item that you get before use. They are treated with things to keep them in good condtionn during long-term storage since they will be shipped from the factory to thei point of sale, and this may take some time Whites are deceptive. That gorgous snow white color is not the naturla color of cotton, I've seen cotton balls and they are the "dingy" off-white to which "whites" return after a few washings if launtry detergent is not used. Most such products contain a "bluing" as part of them called an "optical brigtening" which my parents and grand parents and about 6 generations before them, used to add separately. The YouTube channel, Townsends, did an episode on 18th century laundry: It was a pisser. I have hade my current sets of underwear for aboue 3-1/4 years and they still look as white as the day I got them

Every cloth diaper needs rubber panties. In fact EVERY diaper needs them. If you have not had some embarrassing or problematic incident by now, it means it just has not happened YET. The materials used in throw-aways are NOT high-quality since they are meant to be discarded after one use so CHEAP is the operative world. The same for workmanskhip and throw-aways are far more complicated in construction thatn cloth and panty systems. Take one apart and see what it consists of.  A throw away diaper and panty combination does two things. It puts up TWO walls against a problem and  each is held up separately, so if the diaper sags it only takes ins built-in waterproof cover with it. A separate panty is held up separately and does not necessarily sag with the diaper. With a re-usable diaper that has no waterproofs outside, wetproof panties are an absolute necessity: Period. For a thorough understanding, see RUBBER PANTIES'R'US in my siggy

[BowsAndRibbons]

Update:

 

thanks for the solid advice! I did wash the garment twice with the regular laundry, and dried it. I purchased some plastic pants, but they were not wide enough in the thighs, so a garbage bag with leg holes cut out is providing a similar support. 
 

I am in love! This is bar far the best diaper experience I’ve ever had. I feel so much better protected and the material is amazingly soft! 

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

Wait until you get a real pair of rubber panties. You should learn how to read a size chart. Any of the ones in my Reveiws section of RUBBER PANTIES 'R'US would be a good choiceif you read and follow the size chart, but I recommend the whole page so that you can get some perspective if you are a newbie at it

[BowsAndRibbons]

That was rude. I can read just fine, thank you very much. The size chart included in the product I bought didn’t have thigh circumference listed in the measurements. I figured plastic pants were like underwear where thigh size isn’t important. 

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

33 minutes ago, BowsAndRibbons said:

That was rude. I can read just fine, thank you very much. The size chart included in the product I bought didn’t have thigh circumference listed in the measurements. I figured plastic pants were like underwear where thigh size isn’t important. 

I figured that you were a newbie at this and might have missed it. Many size charts list the leg opening  unstretched and stretched. Rearz has two products, Susan and Christy that are the same except for the leg opeining size

[BowsAndRibbons]

On 2/25/2021 at 8:36 PM, Little Christine said:

I figured that you were a newbie at this and might have missed it. Many size charts list the leg opening  unstretched and stretched. Rearz has two products, Susan and Christy that are the same except for the leg opeining size

I bought the plastic pants from the medical supply store. There was not a thigh measurement, just a waist measurement. 

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

NOw I get it. I have not done that in years. The ones that you get from places like Babykins, Rearz, Protex, etc are better documented and you can pretty much find what you want. I have done some reviews in RUBBER PANTIES'R'US. I have not yet done the compnay reviews, but I can recommend any of the ones mentioned above along with Fetware. IN the Purchase and Care section of RUBBER PANTIES'R'US, there is a fairly extensive list of image links to companies

[diaperpatrol]

On 2/27/2021 at 6:11 AM, Little Christine said:

NOw I get it. I have not done that in years. The ones that you get from places like Babykins, Rearz, Protex, etc are better documented and you can pretty much find what you want. I have done some reviews in RUBBER PANTIES'R'US. I have not yet done the compnay reviews, but I can recommend any of the ones mentioned above along with Fetware. IN the Purchase and Care section of RUBBER PANTIES'R'US, there is a fairly extensive list of image links to companies

I just bought a size small Omatsu cloth diaper and size small plastic pants, both from rearz. do you think the plastic pants will be too small? the medium and small both had sizing that was confusing. I have no idea house rearz sizing is with their cloth products. I’ve been AB/DL for 20 years but this is my first time buying a cloth diaper. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

4 hours ago, diaperpatrol said:

I just bought a size small Omatsu cloth diaper and size small plastic pants, both from rearz. do you think the plastic pants will be too small? the medium and small both had sizing that was confusing. I have no idea house rearz sizing is with their cloth products. I’ve been AB/DL for 20 years but this is my first time buying a cloth diaper. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Omatsu is a separate brand from Rearz about which I know nothing. From what I know of Rearz, they give two sizes, Waist and hip. The waist size is given as a range If you fit in that range, it will fit you more or less as the fit may be a bit tight and you sould move up a size. The hipsize in with a diaper. I go into it in more detail in RUBBER PANTIES'r[us in the section on purchase and care. As a newbie, you sould read the whole page