Prepping your Dream Diaper 2.0

The Dream Diaper is a less-prep, all-in-one diaper that features a snap-in insert and an extra pocket for absorbency. The inside fabric of this diaper is a blend of organic cotton and hemp. The Dream Diaper is ready to go on-the-bottom in one wash and reaches maximum absorbency in three washes.  We do not use chemicals to strip the natural oils from our fabric. In fact, only boiling water is used to finish our fabric. We believe it is much safer to wash your diapers a few extra times than for us to strip the fabric with harsh chemicals. We are pretty sure most of you would agree with us! It typically takes 6-8 washes to prep your Smart One 3.1 and one wash to prep your Dream Diaper; however, this may vary depending on the detergent used, type of washer, and hardness of water. A detergent that has a strong surfactant will decrease the number of washes necessary to fully prep your diapers. Most traditional detergents will have the strongest surfactants. Natural detergents that utilize plant-based surfactants will work but may take a few extra washes. Make sure you are washing a full load when you prep. 

The Smart One 3.1 diaper is an all-in-one diaper lined with 100% certified organic cotton and offers 10 layers of absorbency. This diaper requires 6 - 8 washes to prep and reaches maximum absorbency in 12-15 washes. (You can learn more about prepping your Smart One 3.1 here)

How to wash your Dream Diaper 2.0:

1. Because Smart Bottoms uses certified organic cotton, there are natural oils in the fabric. Those oils need to be rinsed out before it can be used as a diaper. What do we all know about oil and cloth diapers? Oil repels water! The organic cotton in our diapers does not go through any kind of processing during harvest or manufacturing. 

2. We recommend washing your new Smart Bottoms cloth diapers with a load of clothes or towels. This aids in the towels or clothes giving the natural oils something to cling to during the washing process. Think of it as a giant bath of natural oils just swirling around with nothing to hold onto except the diapers. No wonder the diapers couldn't hold anything in them.

3. No, you don't need to dry between washes. When I'm prepping my Smart Bottoms diapers I typically throw them in with my regular laundry. And let's be honest, I'm not doing laundry every day all day long (although it definitely feels like it some days). Between washing, I let the diapers air dry but if I have a few loads going I just keep putting them in the wash with the other loads.

4. Do not load your washer up with tons of new Smart Bottoms to prep together. Think of it as creating this giant bath of organic cotton oils to just swirl around and around together; if you've bought upwards of five to six diapers that need to be prepped split them up into smaller loads. This will take care of the potential oil bath you may give your need-to-be-prepped diapers.

5. If the diaper is leaking after washing the recommended number of times, do the warm water test. Pour warm water on the dry and clean diaper. If the water is not immediately absorbed it needs more prepping. We say to use warm water because that most closely mimics urine.

Tip: Use a detergent that has petroleum-based surfactants in it. This isn't a must but it will speed up your prepping, which means the diapers will be ready to be worn faster. Surfactant compounds are molecules (linked groups of atoms) attracted to the boundary between two liquids that normally do not dissolve in each other, such as oil and water. One end of the surfactant molecule is attracted to water but not oil, and the other end is attracted to oil but not to water.