How to Make Your Own Reusable Baby Wipes
It's really easy to make your own baby wipes at home. You'll save money, you know exactly what's going onto your baby's bum, and you'll be saving the environment all at the same time.
Washable baby wipes are brilliant - they really clean up the mess, and even a really bad blowout only uses a couple of wipes. On the occasions that I did use disposable wipes, I found that I needed more disposables than reusables to clean my babies up. I used reusable wipes both at home and when we were out and about. I got into a routine, and I found it pretty easy. We were cloth nappying, so I used to throw the wipes in with the nappies. Even if you aren't cloth nappying, though, it's pretty easy to use washable baby wipes.
Make Your Own Baby Wipes Recipe
Here's how I used to do my reusable wipes. Wash them, and hang them in the sunshine to bleach naturally. I have a big glass bowl, and I always put the next day's wipes into the bowl (usually about 15-20 wipes) and poured a kettle of boiling water over the top. Then I added a drop of tea tree oil and a drop of lavender oil to the water, mixed it around a bit and allowed the wipes to cool. The boiling water kills any leftover bacteria not killed by the sun, the tea tree oil adds some natural antibacterial protection, and the lavender gives a bit of soothe (and hides some of the tea tree smell, which I dislike!). Once the wipes cooled, I wrung them out, popped them into a plastic container with a lid, and put them on the change table. I had a smaller container for getting out and about with, and I always had a biodegradable nappy bag to put any dirty wipes in. I found this method really straightforward, and I did it for years with both my boys.
Another Foolproof Method for Making Your Own Baby Wipes
The other option, which I like to think of as the dry wipes option, is that you make up a spray solution and spray it directly onto the wipes when you're ready to use them. There are loads of recipes for the spray solution, but here's a really easy one:
- 1 tablespoon of Dr Bronner's pure castile soap
- Couple of drops of essential oil (you can choose whatever you like for antibacterial or aromatherapy)
- 3 cups water
Mix it up and pop it into a spray bottle. You'll need to do this every week to make sure that the spray doesn't go off. I've also seen versions of this where the water is replaced with three cups of chamomile tea (chamomile is a traditional remedy for nappy rash). You can also use these solutions with cotton wool, like the Simply Gentle Organic Cotton Pleat or Baby Cleansing Pads.
Which cloth to use for reusable wipes?
Cloth wipes are pretty easy to make with some face washers, or even some cut up flannel material (although in my experience, you really need to take the time to stitch the hems of flannel material, otherwise it frays). I've also tried Chux wipes after reading this idea somewhere, but I can tell you that these are a terrible option!
Here are two great brands that we stock at Hello Charlie: