Inexpensive Diapers: Prefolds

They save both the environment and your family budget. Prefolds are cheap cloth diapers that won’t cost you a fortune. You only need to team them up with some diaper covers and you’re, well – covered. How to build a functional but inexpensive diaper stash?

Modern Cloth Diapers vs. Muslin Squares

In many European countries, “a cloth diaper” is a synonym for the most common muslin square. A simple square made of muslin cotton of usually 70×70 cm. Muslin Squares were used as diapers by our grandmothers and required quite the maintenance – they had to be stripped regularly (stripping = boiling), ironed, and folded. And babies needed a diaper change often as a simple square of thin cotton wasn’t very absorbing.

Modern cloth diapers, on the other hand, are much more elaborate. Some types are as comfortable to use as disposable diapers – pocket diapers being a good example. While modern cloth diapers still save a good chunk of money for your family budget (we’re talking about hundreds of EUR here), the most elaborate types of modern cloth diapers are still quite an investment. Not everyone can afford to buy a Large Cloth Diaper Set.

For this reason, simple muslin squares are still popular. They work well with newborns and small babies – their absorbing capacity is sufficient for them. For small babies, its practical to fold a muslin square into a so-called newborn fold, thus creating diaper pants of sorts. The newborn fold holds everything safely inside the diaper, including liquid newborn stool.

In general, muslin squares are a staple of every parent! Apart from serving as diapers, they can be used in various different ways. We managed to find 13 reasons why everyone needs muslin squares for their baby.

We’re big fans of muslin squares here at Bamboolik, we even manufacture and sell them. That said, we can’t recommend them for the entire diaper period with a clear conscience – for older babies, their absorbing capacity is just not sufficient. Unless you change your baby’s diaper every hour. Which is very impractical to do and even so, the absorbing capacity might not suffice 100% – one dose of pee of an 18-month-old baby could be simply too much.

More Layers = More Comfort

Here come prefolds, as a crossbreed between ordinary muslin squares and more elaborate cloth diapers. Prefolds are made of multiple layers so they’re more absorbing than muslin squares. Plus, as their name suggets, they’re prefolded – which makes them more compact than muslin squares and easier to put on your baby.

Prefolds are inexpensive cloth diapers that can be used as universal absorbing layer for any cloth diaper type. You can use them in two ways:

• in a newborn fold for newborns and smaller babies – the newborn fold mimicking diapers pants which hold even liquid newborn stool safely inside the diaper,
• folding the prefolds into thirds or quarters and simply inserting them in a diaper cover of your choice.

Prefold Types

(Organic) Cotton Prefolds

Prefolds could be made of various fabrics, with cotton being the most common. The main benefit of cotton is its high absorbing capacity. Which goes hand in hand with a disadvantage – they take their time to dry. If you put together your cloth diaper stash from mostly cotton prefolds, bear in mind that they might take 24 hours to dry on a rack. Even more in colder months.

When to Use Cotton Prefolds as the Base of Your Diaper Stash?

• When you don’t mind their slightly higher price (especially when you choose organic cotton prefolds), enhanced by the fact that you need more of them, due to their drying time.
• When you prefer 100% natural fabric.
• When absorbing capacity is your top priority.

Microfibre Prefolds

Another popular fabric for prefolds. It’s a cheaper material that dries really fast but is still very absorbing. Microfibre prefolds get dry in about 12 hours on a rack which means you can wash and completely dry your diapers in half a day. You need less diapers thanks to that.

When to Use Microfibre Prefolds as the Base of Your Diaper Stash?

• When you’re looking for cheap diapers and price is your top priority.
• When you live in a small flat with no tumble dryer and you don’t want to have your drying rack out all the time.

Diaper Cover for Water-Resistance

Both organic cotton and microfibre prefolds require a waterproof diaper cover over them. If you aim to build your diaper stash “from birth to potty”, pick one-size diaper covers in a universal cut. Our DUO Diaper Cover has been a staple of our portfolio for years. Rightfully.

How to Build Your Diaper Stash

Thinking hard about how many prefolds you need to buy? No need – we’ve done the math for you! Our Economy Prefold Set contains microfibre prefolds, waterproof diaper covers and Stay Dry diaper liners – to keep your baby’s bum dry and make the diaper change a less dirty job.

The Economy Prefold Set gets you through from birth to potty and costs just 250 EUR. Count with us: How much would you spend on disposable diapers every month? We’ve calculated that the price of our Economy Prefold Set equals roughly 5 months on disposable diapers. The rest of the diaper period (up to 2–3 years) is free. (Washing costs are minimal.)