I switched from disposable diapers to cloth when my oldest child (now five) was ten months old. My primary reason for switching to cloth was to cut one more expense out of an already very tight budget.
Almost immediately, I fell in love with cloth diapers – the feel of soft cotton against my baby’s skin instead of plastic and tape just made my heart feel so good. It was such a nice bonus that they were cute, too!
As much as I loved our new cloth diapers, there was one aspect of switching to cloth that I hesitated to embrace – cloth wipes.
I knew it didn’t make sense to hang on to the disposable wipes. I had to deal with them separately from the cloth diapers, and after a while I could clearly see that logistically, cloth wipes would be so much easier. But somehow when I was so freshly new to using cloth diapers, it just seemed so overwhelming to change one more thing.
Finally, I gathered the courage to try cleaning up diaper changes with some baby washcloths that I repurposed as wipes, and from that day forward, I’ve been a cloth wipe convert.
Why switch to cloth wipes?
Photo by little lily bamboo on etsy
1. If you are cloth diapering, it is simply so much easier to switch to cloth wipes as well. The wipe can be tucked into the dirty diaper and goes through the diaper laundry.
2. Disposable wipes sold commercially contain ingredients that provide cause for concern. Recently I looked over a package of one popular brand’s “sensitive” baby wipes. Amongst the ingredients were potassium laureth sphosphate, malic acid, and tocopheryl acetate – all of which score as “moderate” hazards in the Skin Deep cosmetic safety database.
Even more alarming, however, was the inclusion of methylparaben – an ingredient which has been given a score of 10 by Skin Deep – the highest possible level of concern.
And bear in mind these are wipes we are using to clean the most sensitive and delicate skin on our children’s bodies.
Where can I buy cloth wipes?
Cloth wipes are sold by nearly every retailer who also sells cloth diapers. If you prefer to buy handmade, search Etsy or Hyena Cart for an array of wipes in all kinds of materials and sizes.
How can I make cloth wipes?
Photo by WoolDins on etsy
It is extremely easy to make your own cloth wipes! You can certainly repurpose materials from around the house to make your wipes. Old flannel sheets or other 100% cotton flannel items (extra receiving blankets, for example) work nicely, as do old cotton t-shirts.
Once you’ve selected some materials, cut them into squares. Most of the wipes in our collection are either 6 x 6 or 8x 8 inch squares. You can sew around or serge the edges, or just use pinking shears to cut the squares to help with fraying.
How do I store cloth wipes?
Used cloth wipes can go right in with dirty cloth diapers. For those no longer cloth diapering but interested in using cloth wipes for the family, check out Crunchy Chicken’s suggestions on cloth wipes set-up.
For clean wipes, there are two different approaches – keep them in a wipes solution or store them dry and wet as you go.
If you like the convenience of pre-moistened wipes, you can re-use a disposable wipes container. Fold the wipes and soak them in a solution you’ve prepared. I preferred to keep stacks of dry wipes with the diapers and then used a squirt bottle filled with wipes solution to wet them as needed.
How can I create a wipes solution?
Some parents use only warm water with the wipes, but others like to use a homemade wipes solution. It’s all a matter of personal preference. Making a wipes solution is not at all complicated, and it can generally be mixed up from materials you already have on hand. Zany Zebra Designs provides a comprehensive list of wipes solution possibilities.
Besides being economical and safe for baby’s skin, cloth wipes are more effective and efficient than disposable wipes. Not only are they great for diapering, they are also handy to have on hand for a variety of circumstances that call for clean-up. In fact, I found them to be so practical that we have continued to use our cloth wipes as a family even though our cloth diapering days are over.
Have you had success switching from a disposable clean-up system in your home to a reusable one? Tell about your experience in making the switch, or share what concerns you have that prevent you from choosing cloth for cleaning-up.
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I agree that cloth wipes are easier to deal with logistically and better for baby and the environment, but they also work so much better! I can use only 2 cloth wipes to power through a mess that takes at least 6 disposable wipes to clean up. I got a couple of freebie wipes made of cotton terry (you could easily cut up an old towel or use old washcloths) and they’re my go-to wipes for really unpleasant wipe-related situations.
My storage solution for my wipes is a wipe warmer. Simply wet the wipes and fold or roll them into the container. It keeps them not only wet but nice and warm too. I use a wipe spray on them before wiping baby as well . I love my wipes it only takes one wipe to clean even the messiest diapers where as with disposables I’d use 3 or more!
I totally agree with you—it makes sense to use cloth wipes if you’re using cloth diapers. Our system was quite basic: just a pile of baby washcloths smooshed into a drawer. When it was time to change a poopy, I just snagged a couple cloths and wet them at the sink before upending the baby. Easy-peasy!
.-= Jennifer Jo’s last blog: Playing Martha =-.
Yep, we use cloth wipes. I had made a bunch before our daughter was born, since we were going to be cloth diapering.
But when a friend gave us a giant box of disposable “sensitive” wipes, I went against my better judgment and decided to use them since we had them. Within a couple days I realized that my recurring problem with little bumps on my hands had returned. You see, I tend to break out in little tiny water blisters if I use certain lotions, sunscreens, etc (I still haven’t narrowed down the exact cause). And since my mom has the same condition, when I realized what was going on I felt horrible! My poor baby! We gave the wipes to another family at church and we haven’t looked back.
We use flannel wipes with a spray made of water, olive oil, Burt’s Bees baby shampoo, and tea tree oil.
.-= Jessie’s last blog: Norman’s Birthday =-.
I am a first time mom and started with cloth diapering right away. My little guy is four months old now and has the healthiest baby bottom around! =) I do cloth wipes, as well, and it’s no extra work. I keep a coffee carafe by the changing table and just use warm (often cold!) water to wipe and if he is starting to get a little irritated or has had a BM, I will wipe again with an aloe, water, and tea tree oil solution I made myself. Sometimes I will also apply just a little bit of Nipple Butter that I had leftover from when I first started to breastfeed. To save on our electric bill, I just started to lay my diapers and wipes out to dry. So that they don’t stay “crunchy”, I bring then in when they are still barely damp, wet down one or two wipes, and finish them off in the the drier for 10 or 15 minutes. Compared to the 80 minute dryer cycle I was running every other day, I am sure hoping this new method cuts down on our bill.
I LOVE that you said you “fell in love” with cloth diapers – we did, too:) Adding another vote that cloth wipes are fantastic – we use them for diapers, but we also use them for just about everything else around the house, too! We have a set that stays with diapers and a ton more that float everywhere else – cleanups after meals, messes that we’d otherwise use a paper towel for, quick bathroom cleaning, dusting, napkins to take to the park…the list is endless. And just in case no one has suggested this yet, if anyone feels a bit lacking in sewing skills, flimsy wash cloths make a great wipe or cloth for around the house! I know that that defeats the re-purposing aspect, but the few dollars we’ve spent on extra wash cloths has been saved a million times over in less money spent on paper towels and baby wipes!
.-= Lillian @ Domestic Simplicity’s last blog: Chickens and non-GMO Shopping and Outdoor Preschool and Farmer’s Market Fridays =-.
Count me in as another vote for those simple washcloths (the ones they sell at walmart for like 4 bucks for a pack of 8 or so). We have like 30 of them, and we just wet them in the sink with water when needed. We actually only use wipes for poopy dipes… when he’s just wet, we don’t wipe him… I read somewhere that this allows his skin to regulate its own ph levels better. He very, very rarely gets a rash, and it’s always gone within a few hours of some cream applied, and it’s usually because he was in a wet dipe for a little too long accidentally or something like that… (He’s had a rash that lasted more than a day maybe twice in his life, and he’s 18 months old). I love our chemical-free diapers & wipes system!!!
I am completely on the cloth wipe wagon. It just makes sense when you are cloth diapering. I made my own wipes and each time I reach for one it gives me a little sense of satisfaction! I’m easy to please!
I like cloth wipes. my oldest has very sensitive skin. ( So sensitive I have been unable to successfuly use cloth continuously w/ her) However cloth wipes w/ just water are so much easier on her than the store bought wipes. I just use all those baby washcloths I got before she was born. I change them by the sink so I just wet them when I use them. Its easy! They also clean much better!
i switched to cloth wipes almost immediately after switching to cloth diapers. it’s super easy. we keep a bowl near the changing table and just run for warm water quickly. now that the weather is warming up, we use cold water as well
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you can get a cheap stack of 10 plain washcloths from Ikea, we use these and any washcloth we have handy. they go straight in the pail with the dirty diapers. it’s super easy and they line-dry very fast!!!
.-= Sylvia’s last blog: and one for papa =-.
oh yes, and pure water is so much better for baby’s bum as well!!!!!
.-= Sylvia’s last blog: and one for papa =-.
We currently don’t have a washing machine where we live, so we are continuing to use disposables for now. I can’t make a laundromat trip every day or every other day, and having those dirty wipes stored for a week just grosses me out. Any ideas around this? Not too crazy about washing them by hand in the sink or tub, either.
.-= Jenn G’s last blog: Welcome to my blog! =-.
If you have the financial means, you could look into a diaper service. I don’t have any personal experience with them, but they’ll drop off clean diapers and take the dirty ones.
.-= Jessie’s last blog: Norman’s Birthday =-.
I agree with the diaper service suggestion. If not, you can wash every three days, would you be able to swing that?
GREAT post! I’d love permission to repost this at my blog – Sweet Sprouts!
I love using cloth diapers, and usuing cloth wipes along with them is WAY easier than using disposies too. I tried it that way at first also, and it is just so much easier to do both! I use a peri-bottle (left over from childbirth) full of water on my cloth wipes. That’s it!
Love it!
.-= Anisa’s last blog: Carrier Recall and Baby-Wearing Safety =-.
Thanks for this post, Megan! Great tips and ideas! We used cloth wipes with our babe and really loved them. Now that she has just learned to use the potty, I don’t have as much incentive to try and start using family wipes… But it is definitely a goal, at least for #1. But now we have all these wipes sitting around with no purpose to fulfill so there’s some incentive!
Hello! I am a LONG time fan of cloth wipes. When I had my first child, over 12 years ago, his skin was SOOOO sensitive that regular wipes would be too harsh. (I have terrible issues with ALL sorts of scented things and so did he at the time). We tried to find gentler, unscented stuff, but they were so hard to find, that by default, I had to ‘create’ cloth wipes. I simply repurposed white cotton wash cloths. It worked SOOOO well, that we never turned back! We travelled quite a lot, but we never found the cloth wipes to be hard to handle. Dry, the store anywhere: wet, they went in a waterproof bag until we reached destination. Several children down the lane, I moved to somewhere where washcloths do not exist (or if you find them, they are the mitten type) so I found a wonderful company called Cotton Babies and ordered some from them (my old ones were, by then, QUITE raggedy!). Now, though, I wish I had thought about MAKING my own… The thought of repurposing old flannel somehow never occured to me… I will also concur with those who said that the cloth wipes are SOOOOO much more efficient: I don’t think I evere used more than two, even for the MESSIEST mess. Also, once we were given some washcloths with subtle pastel patterns, we decided to use THOSE for ‘noble’ table messes and spills, etc. while using the white ones for bodily functions. So, three cheers for cloth wipres and thank you for the article!
When my oldest was little, I tried cloth diapers thru a diaper service. Boy was I glad to go back to disposable diapers — the mess of cloth was too much for me to bear at the time.
However, now I would give it another try. Simply because of the environmental factor.
Great ideas about how to obtain cloth wipes/washcloths. ETSY is a great resource for hand made washcloths. Here’s a great example of organic washcloths: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41545325.
Thanks for a great article!
Annabelle
.-= Annabelle’s last blog: I kindof hate him right now! (Crafting 365/59) =-.
Thanks for the inspiration, Megan! I think I’m ready to step up to the wipes next time around with my cloth diapering!
.-= Nicole aka Gidget’s last blog: Muffins and Felt =-.
This morning I was reading a blog on organic vegetables and as so often happens on the internet I eventually wound up here. When I saw the link, I was thinking it might be referring to some type of cleaning wipe one might use around the house. I’m into non-chemical steam cleaning, etc. Ok, so because I’m old, and in spite of the fact I have 8 grandchildren, I think far more about cleaning a bathroom or kitchen sink than wiping a baby’s butt, it just didn’t occur to me what this blog was really going to share. Surprise!
I got such a chuckle out of reading this blog. Apparently, cloth diapers have become a brand new organic concept! Everything recycles eventually, I guess.
Now, let me think here, cause I’m pretty old, nearly 60. But as I recall, my children are 37, 35, and 31. Cloth diapers were commonly used in the years with my the first two babies; disposables were just coming on to the market with the last. While I was “gifted” some cloth diapers at my baby shower – some that were large, thin, and had to be folded, and some that were prefolded and stitched, most I made myself from pretty flannels that had baby prints on them and from a pattern shaped for a baby’s butt without the extra bulk between the legs. My cloth diapers served as burp rags, changing pads, and sometimes even bath towels.
Pooy diaper goo got rinsed in the toilet and we new mothers of that era learned the art of swishing and flushing, and never loosing a diaper down the toilet – mostly from our own mothers. And, yep, I used those ever-so-dangerous diaper pins and never drew blood from my babies or myself.
No, I didn’t wear disposable gloves to rinse diapers (and none of us ever got any horrendous diseases), and the diapers got washed in the same washing machine that everything else in the house was laundered in. No diaper service available where we lived and even if it would have been, it would have cost far more than our meager early marriage budget would have supported.
With regard to wipes, thin old wash clothes worked just fine. I did have the advantage of a rather large bathroom counter on which to change my babies, with a sink right there. When traveling or visiting a couple of wet wash clothes were put in a plastic bag in my huge diaper bag along with some TP and an extra plastic bag to put the stinky stuff in until I got home. No diaper genies, just a plain old pail.
I will admit, that later I did use a few disposable diapers on my darling baby girl, but only when away from home for an extended period of time. They were too expensive and caused diaper rash unlike my good old homemade cloth diapers. Plus, we lived in the county – no garbage pick up – so we had to burn them in the burning barrel.
Plastic pants were a necessity with cloth diapers, but once my kids were trained, I found the toddler sizes made great shower caps for those years when I had over-permed big mall hair. (You can laugh now.) Post potty-training diapers became house cleaning rags, car waxing rags, shoe polishing rags, and served a host of other uses for the next 10 – 20 years. Recycling wasn’t quite in vogue yet, but let’s say I was a trend setter in my own small cloth diaper way.
I don’t have a medical degree and I haven’t done any research studies on this, but my kids were all potty trained well before they were two years old and without a lot of prodding. I think it really had to do with the fact that they were very aware when they were wet or poopy; they could feel and smell it and didn’t particularly like the discomfort. So, kudos to you mommies and daddies who have the wisdom to use cloth diapers. You may well have an advantage over the disposable diaper parents who’s kids still don’t have a clue at four years. And advantageously, you will have environmentally friendly green cleaning rags and wipes for the next 2 decades. Nothing wrong with that.
Do you need to rinse with water when creating a wipes solution. It looked really soapy and I am not sure how to go about this. Thanks for your help.
If you have already mixed up some solution and it’s too soapy, you could follow with a little water rinse if needed. You might use one wipe with the solution on it for the messiest part of the clean-up and then a wipe that is just wet with water for a follow-up.
In your next batch, try cutting back on the soap and see if that helps.
We have a problem (that’s me and Damien hes only 9ish, on a UK website that Blue Bottle uses + it’s cronies, and he, so I guess the only way forward is recycling, buy a proper dipper mum and stop fooling around, and get it recycled by ENRT PLC London stock exchange AIM the worlds favourite for recycling (PS you can get it recycled in the USA) but it may come back made in Hong Kong! did you know they make sewer pipes from Dippers? No you didn’t! Did you know they would be contributing to ballistic to save your children from any bullets when they join the forces? Mum you have never had a better opportunity to recycle your dippers (I mean your kids dippers) and save the planet from Blue Bottles. Thank you for your time Mamma, when you come on over here you look me up now! I will give you one hell of a time! Yes Mamma. Lots of Love now as ever 2 Jinxed
Hi all, I have just started using gdiapers and our little girl is 9 months. We had thought about it while I was pregnant and then so many people bought us diapers, that we just used up what we had. Anyways, since I only have bought a couple boxes of disposables, the idea of cloth had entered my mind again. Especially since we plan on having more children. Anyways, I am only on day 3 of using the cloths and yesterday I had already started thinking about cloth wipes. It’s just easier when you are disposing of the dirty ones. Like people have said, they just go in with the dirty diapers. Less to worry about in the long run really. I’ve enjoyed reading all the posts and look forward to getting going on the cloth wipes. Hoping to head to the dollar store today to pick up a couple of spray bottles.
Happy wiping everyone!
I am new at this whole diaper/wippee’s made of cloth. I am on boy #5 and just starting. I have my items but have not jumped in yet. Still researching. I am imagining the poopiest nastiest diaper, which doesn’t bother me much anymore, but trying to figure out how to tackle it with cloth. I need details. I understand spraying the diaper off or swishing is the easiest, but what about the wippee. Swish it? Spray it? Just throw it in the bag? Smell? Sprinkle with baking soda? What do I do?
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