Anyone make their own baby wipes?

[CactusPair]

what materials do you use?

 

do you have a recipe for the wipey solution or do you just use water?

 

how do you store the wipes/wipey solution?

 

is it worth it, financially and environmentally? :001_smile: or did you find it an exhausting, inefficient pursuit?:confused:

 

did it only work when you had nice, mustard-seed breastfed poops, or were you able to use homemade wipes after introduction of solid food/formula?

 

thanks!

[Jennifer in MI]

I did! I did a couple of different things. With my first, I bought some cheap flannel baby blankets at a thrift store and cut them up and used them. I'd wet about 15 at a time and keep them in a wipes container. Very easy and cheap. I only used water.

 

When those wore out, I used baby washcloths that I'd been given. Again, I just used a baby wipe container and would wet about 10 - 15 at a time.

 

Are you going to be using cloth diapers too? We used cloth diapers as well and washed everything together. So, over time, I know we saved a LOT of money. But, if you are just using the cloth wipes, think about how they'll be washed. We would have enough of a load with just diapers. I doubt you'd get enough wipes to be one full load before they really start to stink!! LOL What are you going to wash with them? Just a thought!

[Pine Ledge Academy]

...I did make my own wipes for the boys, to save money. I cut a roll of paper towels(sam's club brand) in half (electric knife from goodwill worked wonders), took out the cardboard tube, then poured boiling water over it and added a few squirts of baby wash. I kept it in a round tub (the kind pop-up wipes come in). the pop-up part didnt work so well, so I took the lid off to get to the wipes....but you pull the wipes out from the center of the roll. I did like them and used them for several years. I think it did save us money and it was gentle on their skin. tho, when you run out.....you just have to make more before hand. I always kept several rolls of paper towels cut and ready so I only needed to boil water (this keeps it from growing anything...or so I was told). I used them for all kinds of diaper deposits. hth

as for the environment....they have to be wiped with something, and as the above poster mentioned, you don't want that sitting around too long...

Edited May 15, 2009 by Pine Ledge Academy

[CactusPair]

Oh, yes, cloth dipes to go with the homemade wipes. I already have the cloth dipes from before, but never did the wipes, so that would be new this time. I'd just throw them all in together for a spin in the wash:lol:

 

thanks for your input and ideas!:001_smile:

[Rosie_0801]

I use wipes I've made from cutting up old t-shirts. We keep them in a jar of water. Preferably a jar that doesn't leak :) They work even for "heavy duty" use, by that stage you do need a bigger jar though!

 

:)

Rosie

[eternalknot]

We still use cloth wipes, even though we're all way past the mustardy-poo stage :)

 

Like the other poster, we use receiving blankets and thin baby-washcloths (for different 'needs' - the washcloths grip better).

 

When the kids were littles, I kept a squirt bottle of distilled water mixed with a smidgen of Dr. Bonner's or a drop of various essential oils. The bottle was the peri kind that my brother brought home from his stay in the hospital - perfect size, amount of liquid, ... everything.

 

Now we just use the wipes dry, or get a quick squirt of water from the sink (sinks are within arm's reach) and toss it into the wetbag.

 

We no longer have anyone in cloth diapers, but we still do a small load of "bathroom cloths" (wipes and mama cloths, if it's that time) along with socks and undies twice a week or so as needed.

[Melissa in Australia]

I used a cloth diaper ( nappy they are called here). I just grabbed one from the pile, wet it and used it. put it in the wash with the dirty nappies. Just the way my mother and grandmother , and great grandmother did. We never bothered with something special for wiping.

[Terrabelle]

We used cloth diapers and baby washcloths with our last baby. This was the first time (baby #5) and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. It was really easier to use the cloth washcloths than it would have been to used paper wipes. You just threw them all in the pail and washed them together.

[Samiam]

There are several recipes for wipes solutions online. I used one that was bottle water (or could boil, just don't do straight tap water cuz it molds), some baby wash (although I didn't really want to use it cuz it was mineral oil...later started using Burt's Bees Almond Oil...the oil helps with the "smoothness" of the wipe...if that makes sense)....a drop of Tea Tree Oil to as anti-bacterial agent, and a few drops of Lavender Oil, as a skin soother.

 

Loved it. When baby was little, I puts wipes and solution together in a old wipe container, so the wipes were already wet. As baby got older, I got lazier, and just kept the solution in a bottle to put on the wipe as we needed it.

[Nicole M]

People! Aren't those colder than ice on wee bottoms? I'm so confused.

 

I bought packages of thin washcloths and wet them in the sink with hot water on my way to the changing table. If it was a really bad situation, I'd use some soap on one washcloth and have a plain wet one for the rinse mode.

[SonshineLearner]

The distilled water makes them not get icky. I've heard of people using an old wipes container and putting the water and cloths in a wipes warmer...

Carrie

[Rosie_0801]

People! Aren't those colder than ice on wee bottoms? I'm so confused.

.

 

Microwave :)

[JoyfulMama]

I bought a large pack of cheap washcloths (non-baby)at the store, and used those. When I had a wee little babe, I used a wipe warmer, with wet cloths, a dab of soap, and a drop of essential oil. Then we moved to dry cloths to wet with tap water when needed. For away, I used a small spray bottle and dry cloths, as the sink wasn't always convenient.

[Amber in AUS]

I made my own wipes from two layers of organic bamboo velour serged together about the same size as a wash cloth. The velour helped to grab off those nasty bits. Normally i would just wet with warm water right before changing bub. If we were going out then i would wet a few and pop in a zip lock bag or a tupperware container. I just put then in with the cloth nappies. Very easy, not that much extra work and definately a cost saving.

[momofkhm]

and it said "Anyone make their own baby". Why, yes, yes I have made my own baby - 3 times in fact. It was lots of fun! :tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie:

 

But yes, the wipes question. I have made wipes. I used bounty paper towels cut in half. That was messy - little bits of paper towel everywhere!

[elw_miller]

what materials do you use? flannel

 

do you have a recipe for the wipey solution or do you just use water?

water, sometimes with a few drops of tea tree oil

 

how do you store the wipes/wipey solution? 1 small squirt bottle for the diaper changing area, 1 for the diaper bag

 

is it worth it, financially and environmentally? :001_smile: or did you find it an exhausting, inefficient pursuit?:confused: Definitely worth it. We have 3 dc and all have been (or are) cloth diapered. I primarily use prefolds in the beginning and then primarily use pocket diapers (Fuzzi Bunz, Happy Heinys) when they're older and more wiggly.

 

did it only work when you had nice, mustard-seed breastfed poops, or were you able to use homemade wipes after introduction of solid food/formula? I think homemade flannel wipes do a better job on solid food BMs than store bought. Most store bought wipes just seems to polish the BM whereas the flannel wipes actually get it off. My dh actually prefers using my homemade flannel wipes even when the child has on a disposable. It's also easier just to stuff a dirty cloth wipe into the dirty cloth diaper and then toss the whole thing into the diaper pail. One thing that can help is using a fleece liner in the diaper. If you catch that the kiddo has a BM right away there is very little mess and the BM just falls off into the toilet. Even if there is a mess it comes off pretty easily because most of the mess is on the fleece; no having to swish the whole diaper, just the fleece liner.

 

 

Good luck!

[LaxMom]

People! Aren't those colder than ice on wee bottoms? I'm so confused.

 

I bought packages of thin washcloths and wet them in the sink with hot water on my way to the changing table. If it was a really bad situation, I'd use some soap on one washcloth and have a plain wet one for the rinse mode.

 

We used a wipes warmer in winter when we had infants. I just folded the flannel wipes in half and they fit fine. (We also have terry/flannel wipes that fit in the warmer without folding)

 

As noted, we just used water, a little tea tree oil, a little lavender and a drop or two of Dr. Bronner's to emulsify the essential oils in the water. I used tap water and never had a problem with molding or becoming "off". Of course, I was using cloth wipes, so I didn't have hundreds to work through in the same solution. On the other hand, I have had a container of wipes in the car for several weeks, for hand wiping, and it's fine, too.

 

Oh, and, yes, I would say it's financially worth it - our diaper outlay for three children (two of whom still wear them at night at 4 1/2) has been about $500, excluding the couple of extra loads of laundry per week. I can't even imagine what the outlay for disposables would be for, essentially, 12 years of diapers thus far.

Edited May 16, 2009 by MyCrazyHouse

[arcara]

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE homemade wipes!!! We use cloth diapers, so they go right along! We use baby wash cloths in a solution of baby wash, baby oil, and tea tree oil. It only takes a minute to make up a batch. I make up the solution in a container, dunk the wipes in it and squeeze them out, and put them in a wipe warmer. We go through them in about 2 days.

 

They work so much better than commercial wipes. I usually only need one wipe for the messiest of diapers because they actually pick and absorb the mess instead of spreading it around like store-bought wipes. We keep commercial wipes in the diaper bag, but use cloth ones at home.

[Nicole M]

You kids are making me feel so old. My youngest is 12. If "warmers" (who knew!) had been invented back when he was a babe, I did not know about them.

 

I'm glad that so many of y'all are passing on those stinky disposable wipes, though. Good for you!

[Samiam]

Cold?!?!:001_huh: Not any colder than commercial wipes which are damp, sitting around the house....not any colder than a damp cloth towel you might have sitting near the sink to wipe up spills.......I mean, any liquid sitting out is going to be room temp.....is your shampoo, lotion, mouthwash, etc cold?

[pandemonium]

Cut a roll of paper towels in half and squash down. Mix 1/2 c water, a few tablespoons baby oil and baby shampoo over it. I put them in an old baby wipe container.

[Carrie12345]

I use flannel scraps, preemie prefolds, serged terry wipes, and my favorite (and fewest, lol) hand-tie-dyed organic bamboo velour wipes.

 

At home, I just wet them at the sink. For on the road, I throw a few damp wipes in a ziplock bag. My kids are really sensitive to "stuff" on their bottoms and I hate the smell of tea tree oil, so we don't mess with any wipey solutions.

[CactusPair]

Thank you so much for all the ideas and encouragement. It's great to see that so many are using homemade wipes and clothe dipes!:001_smile:

[Hannah]

We used a roll of toilet paper drenched in baby oil in a round plastic container. Worked great.

[Vida Winter]

My babies all had super-sensitive skin and could not tolerate wipes until they were about a year old. I got a few dozen baby washcloths at Wal-Mart and used them with warm water and would simply give them a good scrub and rinse in the sink then wash them with the laundry. When we would travel I would keep a few damp cloths in a ziploc bag, with an extra ziploc for the soiled cloths. As long as you have enough of them, this works out pretty well.

 

I had always heard of moms making their own baby wipes but never tried it since my (above) method worked out pretty well.