Cheap Cloth Diapering
Cloth Baby Wipes & Cloth Wipe Solutions
Although my family quickly jumped on the cloth diaper band wagon, we were unaware of how economical cloth baby wipes were. It had not occurred to us, in our vast research on cloth diapers, to investigate about the use of cloth wipes.
Cloth wipes can be used repeatedly, keeping disposable wipes out of the landfill and keeping money in your wallet. Cloth wipe solutions like bumGenius! Bottom Cleaner can be purchased or even made on your own with low cost (and environmentally friendly) ingredients. We have found the combination of cloth baby wipes and cloth wipe solutions are often more efficient at cleaning baby’s bottom than disposable baby wipes. After use, we simply throw them into our cloth diaper pail along with the soiled cloth diapers.
As mentioned before, parents can purchase all natural, organic, bottom cleaners, or for a cumulative cost savings over time, many websites offer cloth wipe solution recipes. All wipe solution “chefs” suggest only making enough solution for one week, throwing out what you do not use each week. “Chefs” also suggest waiting until just before the wipes are to be used before adding the solution. These practices prevent moldy wipes and solution.
Parents should be cautious with some of the recipes containing essential oils. Be sure to use a carrier oil, which helps to dilute the essential oil (thus reducing the probability of an adverse skin reaction). Also, some oils may cause skin reactions for sensitive children.
Here are some sites that offer recipes for wipe solutions:
- Homemade Baby Wipes Recipes at Natural Birth and Baby Care
- Cloth Wipe Solution Recipes at Zany Zebra
- Homemade Baby Wipes Recipe at TipNut.
- Make Your Own Wipe Solutionat Ezine.
Do you have any cloth baby wipes suggestions or links to share?
Tags: bumGenius! Bottom Cleaner, cloth baby wipe solutions, cloth baby wipes, cloth diapers, clothdiapers, commercial baby wipes, disposable baby wipes, environmentally friendly wipes, landfills, Organic baby wipes, wipe Solutions, www.softclothbunz.comCloth Diaper Blog is published by www.diaperjunction.com.
Discussion
19 comments for “Cloth Baby Wipes & Cloth Wipe Solutions”
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I am a part time elimination communication mom. If a mess is made on the floor or in the potty, I bring my baby’s bum right to the sink and rinse it off, skipping wipes all together.
In an earlier post I checked out the Zany Zebra easy recipe. I am using the 1/2 cup baby oil, 1/2 cup baby wash, and 1 cup water. It seems to be working well.
Hi! Just wanted to let you know that we loved your post over at KiwiLog and decided to feature it as a part of our weekly mom blog round-up. Thanks!
I’m thinking about trying cloth wipes while we try a cloth diaper service for the first time! I saw this tip on how to fold them so they pop up in a wipes container and thought I’d share:
http://thefeministbreeder.typepad.com/the_feminist_breeder/2009/03/how-to-make-popup-cloth-wipes.html
We just use water with our cloth wipes; I also have a tutorial for making your own cloth wipes on my blog:
http://thriftycraftmama.blogspot.com/2009/08/baby-wipes.html
I’ve always used 2cups water, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 drops tea tree oil, & 2 drops lavendar. I always have these on hand anyway, and it makes the wipes smell great! Good find on the pop up wipes, Heather!
We LOVE cloth wipes! Paper wipes seem so wimpy after having used cloth wipes.
I like cloth wipes because it is easier to clean up the diaper mess - it all goes into the pail without having to separate the wipes for the garbage. I usually make a solution of a squirt of baby wash, a squirt of baby oil (Burt’s Bees apricot baby oil is nice) and water.
do you shake off the poop before putting them in the the diaper bag?
I love using cloth wipes at home, but I use disposable wipes when I travel. Does anyone have any tips to make using cloth wipes during travel easier or less messy?
I just use water on my wipes. My wipes hae a terry cloth backing so it catches the poop well. Then I just roll it up in the dipe and throw it all into the pail. I don’t rinse them out, I just run two rinse cycles before I wash. As far as when I’m out, I wet some wipes and ring them out, then put them in a zip lopck bag and into the diaper bag they go. No mess at all. Again, they go right in with the poopy diaper when done so however you take care of those is up to you.
If the wipes have a lot of poop on them, I spray them off with the diaper sprayer, but if the baby poops so messy, we just put her in the sink. I put cloth wipes to go in a baggie that I keep reusing and its just like traveling w/cloth diapers. I carry a wet bag and put all the dirties in it.
We always use cloth wipes. Baby washcloths fit great inside disposable wipe containers. I use Dr. Bronner castille soap and water for our solution. The washcloths also fit great in a disposable wipe container I got in the mail. I use that in the diaper bag because I can never remember to pull the disposable wipes and the trash can never seems to be by the changing stations!
I started using cloth wipes when my son got his first diaper rash. They helped clear up his rash really quickly. I didn’t realize how easy they were for everyday! Now that is all we use at home. I just put water on them. When we are out for the day I have a travel sized spray bottle in his diaper bag. Unfortunately, our day care will be using disposable wipes, but they did agree to use his BumGenius diapers!
My son was allergic to any kind of soap in his wipe solution, so we just use olive oil, tea tree oil, and water and it works really well for us.
I use a sprayer bottle of wipes solution when we travel or when I change away from a sink. Near the sink I just wet 2-3 wipes in warm water and add a couple of drops of baby shampoo. Cloth wipes work very well! You have to wash the diapers, why not the wipes? It really is simpler. I hate it when someone else changes her and leaves a disposable wipe in the diaper. I always find them stuck to the velcro diapers somehow….
Excellent site, keep up the good work
We’re awaiting baby’s arrival, so I have no idea if my plan will work. But, after receiving at least 20 hand-me-down flannel receiving blankets, I cut a bunch of them up into 8″ X 8″ squares and plan to use these as our cloth wipes. I figure they can’t be that different from the flannel wipes sold by retailers.
Do any of these solutions affect your diapers when you wash them together?
Deb, I also used old flannel receiving blankets from friends, as well as old baby bath towels. These made adorable double-sided wipes!