How Does One DO Cloth Wipes?

[chely7425]

So, we have been doing cloth DS's whole life, but we have been using throw away wipes because cloth wipes freaked DH out. He is coming around to the idea more now though so I would like to give them a try but I have NO idea what to do!!

1. How many wipes do I need? We will soon have a newborn and a 14 month old in diapers...
2. Where do I buy them? I need something that will hold up but nothing fancy, we are on a tight budget.
3. What do I keep them in?
4. How do I wet them? What do I wet them with??

Any tips on the whole thing would be great... this is almost as overwhelming as trying to figure out cloth for the first time!!

[kirstenb]

Originally Posted by chely7425

1. How many wipes do I need? We will soon have a newborn and a 14 month old in diapers...
2. Where do I buy them? I need something that will hold up but nothing fancy, we are on a tight budget.
3. What do I keep them in?
4. How do I wet them? What do I wet them with??

1. We have a 2yo and we have about 30 wipes. They get washed every other day and that is enough for us. When the little one arrives I will get at least 50 more so I have enough between the two of them. You can use them for other things as well so if I have too many they won't go to waste.

2. We buy ours online. I have Jolly Bum wipes. Most places that sell diapers sell wipes. I like the velour ones because they are so soft. You can also try making your own out of flannel using pinking sheers.

3. I just keep them in the drawer with the diapers. I don't put them in anything special or wet them beforehand.

4. I wet them with water when I need them.

[MommaShark]

The best deal I found when I looked was here:

http://www.emibeans.com/item_924/Ult...pes-for-25.php
36 wipes for $25 or 54 for $40.50
They are GREAT! She has free shipping with a code (MDC I think).
There's a while thread here on wipes - people have VERY definite ideas! I had no idea!

But really cut up t-shirts (plain white ones that are old) are fabulous too!

With 2 kids in dipes you may want 50 + wipes - depending on how often you wash.

I just use plain water and wet them before use (changing table in bathroom) - others use a wipes warmer with a wipes solution (homemade or bought) and others use a thermos of warm water.......

I have a mini wet bag I use to put them in when traveling - get them damp and good to go!

They get washed with the diapers. Mine from emibeans have never stained - it's hard to tell with the cut up t-shirts as they were stained when I started!

[goin' green]

The only thing I don't like about her wipes (never ordered them, but she'll throw a few in for free with orders occasionally) is that they're REALLY small.

We always just did regular old washcloths. Bought a huge bundle of cheapie ones at Costco and that's it. We probably have about 30 as well.

Our changing system is pretty low-tech haha! I have a large rectangular basket that I keep on our sofa table of all places (DS's room is upstairs, and going up and down teh stairs for every diaper change just was silly!) so I put all the dipes and the wipes in that basket. As I need them (only for poopy ones) I'd first run to the sink and wet, then I'd just lat him down on the carpet to change (or on a towel first if he'd had a blowout). Then the wipes just get thrown into the dipe pail w/ the dirty dipes and washed together too. That's why they're a no brainer for me We used sposie wipes for the logest time, but once I realized how easy they were I was sold!

Since we're having a girl next, I'm going to cut up some of DS's old flannel receiving blankets and make some softer ones.

As for $$, you could look for cheapie deals online for washcloths, try places like marshalls, costco, sams club, and also thrift stores.

[chely7425]

I never thought about washclothes... they seem kind of rough? If I had a sewing machine I would try making my own but really? That won't happen... I am lazy when it comes to sewing things. What are some wipes that are soft but still grabby? Right now we wash diapers every other day, but it will probably be more of an everyday thing once the baby is born...

[Mrsboyko]

My favorite ones are those baby washcloths. Gerber brand I think. We have used cloth wipes since DD was probably 18 months. For just her I had maybe 25. Now that we have an infant I got another 40 or so. I think total we have close to 60? But we only wash every 3-4 days and there is always extra left over still. They get used for everything too, not just butts.

[mysticmomma]

I went to a fabric store and perused their "end of bolt" rack. You can get great deals there. I just cut them up and used them. I Didn't need to sew the sides. We've also cut up old tshirts.

[Llyra]

Originally Posted by chely7425

So, we have been doing cloth DS's whole life, but we have been using throw away wipes because cloth wipes freaked DH out. He is coming around to the idea more now though so I would like to give them a try but I have NO idea what to do!!

1. How many wipes do I need? We will soon have a newborn and a 14 month old in diapers...
2. Where do I buy them? I need something that will hold up but nothing fancy, we are on a tight budget.
3. What do I keep them in?
4. How do I wet them? What do I wet them with??

Any tips on the whole thing would be great... this is almost as overwhelming as trying to figure out cloth for the first time!!

I have about 100 wipes. I think probably more. But I also had three in diapers for awhile. I would think about 30 would be enough, unless you have a very frequent pooper. I have cotton terry Kissaluvs wipes, some Mother-ease wipes, and a bunch of cotton dishcloths that I bought at the supermarket to use as wipes. They all work fine; I like something a bit rough because it gets soft poop off better. I keep mine in two baskets, one in each bathroom. If I'm going out, I grab a handful and shove them in my bag. I wet them with plain warm water straight from the sink. If I'm going to be where there's no sink, I'll bring a sports bottle full of water in my bag and squirt them wet with that. I throw the used wipes straight in the pail with the diapers; if I'm out, they go in a wet bag.

[4Blessings]

I cut up old receiving blankets. They eventually stop fraying. I just cut them a little larger than I think I'll need.

I've also used left over fleece type fabric from projects, old tshirts, old towels cut into a reasonable size.

I use the peri bottle from the hospital to wet them with water when I need them.

[MittensKittens]

I sew my own dipes and use the leftover flannel, bamboo fleece or whatever, to make cloth wipes. I just wet them with water as needed. I find throw away wipes actually take up more time when you CD, because you have to put the dipe in a pail, and the wipe in the trash. With cloth, it all goes in the pail

[JMJ]

I wouldn't recommend the wipes warmers. They're a great way to grow stuff. I just wet them in the sink. For outings where you won't have a sink, bring a peri bottle to wet your wipes.

[surfamy]

Hi there,

I will second making your own wipes. I cut up old t-shirts and also made some out of lightweight flannel (these might fray a bit if you don't sew them). I use a "butt spray" recipe in a little spray bottle to wet the wipes (or spray directly onto little bottoms). I would say I have around 30 wipes (for my one in diapers) and I just chuck them in to wash with the diapers.

Here's my spray recipe (for a 4 oz. bottle):
water to fill
1 T Dr. Bronner's liquid soap (or whatever kind you like)
1 tsp witch hazel
4 drops lavender oil
2 drops tea tree oil (optional)

The lavender and tea tree oil are both anti microbial and smell good! Hope this helps.

[paxye]

I just had a bunch of those small newborn face cloths that I got when ds#1 was a baby... the cheap ones that are soft and come 20-30 in a package for 5-6$ but are too small for anything else....

we just wet them with warm water in the sink....

when dirty they just went straight in with the diapers...

[Juliacat]

I bought Kissaluvs wipes, although Gerber washcloths work okay too. I just keep them in a basket next to a spray bottle of distilled water. I have a few dozen.

[luv-my-boys]

I never bothered buying the fancy cloth wipes. I bought 12pks of washcloths in the towel dept of a big chain store they were probably $10 a pack. I literally bought over time probably 8pks (as we had 2 diapered children at one time) I foudn the terry material to be very good in wiping and cleaning a dirty diaper. Plus they washed up very well and even now, yrs from our diaper days, they are still be used as cleaning cloths. I also found the ones that were *resuable wipes* to be small in comparison to my wash cloths. Plus the other wipes all seemed to *curl* at the edges (from what I could tell from those who used them) we also used a spray bottle with a little tea tree oil and water. I would squirt, wipe,fold over ,squirt and wipe again

[applecider]

T-shirts.

Cut them up into 8x8 squares. They don't fray, so no sewing required. And best of all, they're FREE! (Well, provided you have some old t-shirts lying around )

Oh yeah, I just use water for wiping. As for quantity, I have a ton but probably only need 30 or so (60 for two kids).

[confustication]

I used either the baby washcloths that I never actually used for anything else, or other cheap washcloths (the kind that come all bundled together- cheap!) I was also known to use microfiber cloths on occasion... as i have about 80 of those handy in my diapering supplies, and when I moved away from pockets they got no love.

I rinse them under warm water when I need to, but I don't store them wet or in a wipe warmer, and I feel like spray bottles are an invitation to bacteria or disaster as I have a dog who loves to chew on all things plastic.

I also tend to find the 'cloth wipes' too small. I want a good sturdy material for certain jobs.

[neverdoingitagain]

I used flat diaper sheets. I got a pack of 12 for 12 dollars, and cut some of them up into wipes. Each cloth translated into 10? wipes. No, more than that. Its been awhile The rest I used for diapering.
I just run warm water and wet the cloth. I had a bucket in the bathroom I used to put the dirty wipes in.
I keep diapers and wipes in a basket together, so that when a change comes up I can grab both. I try to change poopy diapers in the bathroom so I can throw the poop in toilet. The cloth wipe just goes in the bucket afterward.
The wipes I'm using now are actually 5 years old now : my, how time flies!

[abigail_b]

I use the 2 sided wipes from Green Mountain Diapers. I have tried a lot of brands, including much more expensive ones, but these work the best for us. I love using the wipes warmer and probably wouldn't do cloth wipes any other way, I love the convenience of just taking out a premoistened wipe. I have the Prince Lionheart wipes warmer that has a "stay fresh" pillow in the bottom...I have never had a problem with mold or bacteria. I make my own wipes solution with distilled water and pure olive oil foaming liquid soap. I have really stuck with cloth wipes because once you start using them you'll see how much better they work than the disposable ones!

[Altair]

I use the Prince Lionheart wipes warmer, but not the ever fresh pillow and NOT with the wipes inside. I just fill it with water every other day and add a squirt of Burts Bees baby wash and either another squirt of northern essences wipe concentrate or make my own with witch hazel and a few drops of essential oils.

I keep the wipes dry folded next to the wipes warmer and I dip the wipes in for every change, wet or BM. I have not had any problems with mold or anything and the warmer keeps the water at the perfect temp.

I LOVE the swaddlebees wipes.

http://www.abbyslane.com/catalog.php...Fcategory%3D60

I actually sampled all the wipes on her site and these are by far the softest yet best at grabbing BMs.