Cloth wipes vs. homemade disposables

[Lemoncello]

Hey all you CDing mamas...I need some input on this!

I'm planning on CDing our LO when he/she arrives, so I'm working on planning my stash and all that good stuff. I know alot of you use cloth wipes as well, and I was thinking of trying that myself. It seems like it would make sense to be able to just wrap used wipes up in the diaper and toss them all in the same pail to be washed.

But a friend of mine (who is also planning to CD for the first time with her third child) makes her own disposable wipes from paper towels. She said she thought it would be counter-productive to use cloth wipes because "you use so many wipes" for each daiper change. The problem I see with disposable wipes is that I would need a separate container to dispose of them...and it would have to be tightly closing just like the diaper pail, esp. with 3 cats and a dog in the house! My friend fllushes hers sometimes, but I'm on a septic system and won't flush anything but TP.

Either way, I really would prefer not to buy disposable wipes. They are rather pricey, and I don't like the thought of all the soaps/fragrances that are in so many of the more affordable ones.

What do you all see as the pros/cons of cloth wipes and homemade disposables? Do you really use tons of cloth wipes with each change? I'm hoping to EBF, just in case that makes any difference.

[alfabetsoup]

Cloth wipes for me every time. Nothing gets poop off like cloth, the best ones have fleece or velour on one side and terry on the other. Wet them with warm water, even the biggest poops only need 2 wipes, 3 at most. Your friend has to use so many because disposable wipes suck when it comes to diaper changes.

[Ola_]

From what I have heard it takes a lot more disposables to do a thorough wipe job compared to a cloth wipe. That may be why your friend is using so many. Esp. as I'm not sure how durable wet paper towels would be on sticky poo...

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I can use one wipe with cloth while it would take 2-3 disposables to do the same job. They are so much more efficient! I can't imagine using paper towels as wipes. It just seems so wasteful and expensive to me.

[Katie T]

I used to use disposable wipes when I started cloth diapering and it was more of a pain to dig them out of the diaper or I would wash them and have a mess.

I find you don't have to use nearly as many wipes if the are cloth as you do if they are disposable. I was able to take some of my stash of cloth wet wipes and put them in with the family cloth when I didn't need so many when DS potty learned and I only had 1 in diapers.

I would never go back to disposable wipes.

[Juvysen]

Originally Posted by alfabetsoup

Cloth wipes for me every time. Nothing gets poop off like cloth, the best ones have fleece or velour on one side and terry on the other. Wet them with warm water, even the biggest poops only need 2 wipes, 3 at most. Your friend has to use so many because disposable wipes suck when it comes to diaper changes.

Besides why go with paper towels for wipes? Wouldn't it be cheaper to just buy regular wipes in bulk? I have both because we sometimes use disposable diapers, so i used disposable wipes with them because it's one stop (at the garbage can!) and it takes SO many more disposable wipes than it does cloth wipes. I have a stack of about 20-30 cloth wipes that we never get all the way through before wash day - usually not even half way through.

[crunchy_mommy]

No, I use one cloth wipe per diaper change (maybe 2 if it's a really messy poop). It's sooo easy to just throw everything in the laundry bin or wetbag, no hunting around for a trash can, and it's also convenient to have the wipes on hand for other things (wiping faces & hands & tables etc.) I don't really see the advantage of using paper towels for wipes, seems wasteful & expensive & messy (I hate paper towels though).

[4Blessings]

Cloth wipes are so easy to make and work so well that I will never use disposables again!

I've just cut up left over fabric from old projects (fleece) or used old hand towels/sweatpants/receiving blankets. Everything gets washed together.

I put water in a peri bottle a squirt plain water on a wipe, as needed.

[crunchy_mommy]

I should add that I liked using cloth wipes on DS so much that we also switched to family cloth!!

[Katie T]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy

I should add that I liked using cloth wipes on DS so much that we also switched to family cloth!!

Same here!

[Lemoncello]

Thanks so much for all your replies! Your comments just back up what I was already thinking...just needed to hear it from the "experts!" Cloth wipes it is!

[luv-my-boys]

i can see easily using 2-3 wipes per change of disp. wipes because frankly they arnt very good with cleaning especially poop. I personally love to use wash cloths the kind you find in large dozen packs in the towel aisle (NOT the baby wash clothes-too thin) they are wonderful and *grabbing* poop and cleaning. they are also slightly larger and relatively cheap and long lasting. I just bought 2 dozen for 6.99 each at a big box store and I still have cloths left over that are at least 5 yrs old!!

I simply toss with the diapers to wash. I use a simple spray bottle with water (changed daily) spritz and wipe. Its sooooo simple. I do usually have a pack of disp. on hand for outings or what not but at home its exclusively cloth.

[laurabfig]

Originally Posted by Katie T

Same here!

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy

I should add that I liked using cloth wipes on DS so much that we also switched to family cloth!!

You are amazing....my husband would never go for this...but I dream of attempting it at times!

When I was CDing, I just used all those baby washcloths that people gave me as gifts as cloth wipes instead. Those are actually the only thing we kept around the house that are being collected to be used again when we have a baby around again in the fall! They were great in the in-between-cloth-diapering-years to use as little napkins for the kids snacks or spills, for little clean up jobs in the kitchen, or as actual washcloths in the shower.

[Surfacing]

[St. Margaret]

Ugh, I am SO glad we used cloth wipes. When we switched to disposable as DD was potty learning, I realized how lousy the sposies are! We would use so many each time. Even with the cloth, I didn't care if I used two or three because hey, I was going to use them again, they weren't just used and done and gone, you know? They are so easy to buy on sale or make or just use baby wash cloths, buy in bulk on sale or something. We just washed them with our diapers.

ETA: oh yeah, baby wash cloths also make awesome baby/toddler napkins! Those terrible thin burp clothes that are just long rectangular wash clothes? Perfect for when they get bigger, too!