Bleached vs unbleached GMD prefolds and fitteds: unbleached do not absorb as quickly?

[u/LavenderCuddlefish]

I bought some used GMD prefolds and fitteds, some bleached some unbleached, and also a new set of their "try it both kit" in medium. The try it both kits only come in unbleached.

I'd gotten to 6 washes for the prep of the new kit, so I tested out the absorbency and found it still not good. Not as bad as what it was new, but still had at least half of the water running off the diaper.

I decided to check my used stash to make sure those were prepped properly. Given they were used, they should be.

However, I found constantly all the unbleached items, whether new or used, had absorption issues. The bleached all had no issues at all and had immediate absorption.

I tossed all the used unbleached ones into my prepping pile with the new ones too see if I can get them to the state the bleached ones are in.

But man, why do the bleached ones work so much better? I get that new, unbleached ones have more oils to remove, but the ones that were used for a while by someone else were washed so many times, yet still aren't ready to use.

Has anyone else experienced this? If I need more, I'm going to make sure they're bleached.

[u/bearcatbanana]

The unbleached needs more prepping cycles that bleached. The bleached ones have had some of the cotton oils stripped through the bleaching cycle at the manufacturer.

Edit: scroll down the the prepping section, there’s a paragraph that starts with “Drying is important for shrinkage…” There’s information on how to troubleshoot your natural cotton diapers not becoming absorbent.

TLDR: check that your water is hot; use slightly more detergent; use any water softeners you already use; ensure proper aggitation; and most irritating: just keep washing and drying until absorbent.

[u/LavenderCuddlefish → u/bearcatbanana]

Thanks! I already am following the quick prep instruction sheet, just was surprised that we need more than 6 washes to get them fully prepped. I guess it does say "at least 6", but what's the upper limit? 😂

[u/stjohnsworrywort]

I have both bleached and unbleached GMD prefolds and don’t notice a difference in absorbency.

[u/tkboo → u/stjohnsworrywort]

Same! I can't tell the difference.

[u/LavenderCuddlefish → u/stjohnsworrywort]

Did you notice a difference in how long it took to prep each from new? The sheet says bleached is up to 4 washes while the unbleached starts at 6 with no upper limit, so I'm not sure how many times more I'm going to have to wash these.

[u/Quirky-Kitten4349]

I'm dealing with something similar, got unbleached pre-folds used. Only about 1/3 actually absorb, the rest I'm having to keep prepping, I'm up to probably 4 or 5 extra wash cycles. The ones that absorb are great, I'm just as shocked as you that used ones still aren't highly absorbent already. I'm using them to bulk loads for now & hopefully they're ready soon 😅

[u/mentholmanatee]

I don’t have any bleached diapers, but all of my unbleached ones absorb water immediately. I bought everything new. I knew unbleached would take more prep cycles than bleached, so I was prepared to not be done in a few cycles.

I started by soaking the diapers in hot water for a few hours with dish soap, rinsing with hot water, and repeating once more. I started machine washes with laundry detergent after that. It took me maybe 6 hot wash cycles to be fully prepped?

I also have my water heater turned way up, so my hot water is fuckin HOT.

[u/PermanentTrainDamage]

Boil the unbleached prefolds, even add in a teaspoon of dish soap. Don't boil anything with snaps or elastic though.