Cloth Wipes Storage and Solution

Rachel - posted on 08/03/2010

If you are using the common brand of baby oil, it is mineral oil. I have read that mineral oil is actually drying to the skin. Try olive oil or hempseed oil instead. Hempseed oil has natural antimicrobial properties that will help prevent diaper rash.

Gabriela - posted on 07/30/2010

I just use water in a plastic sauce bottle. It's much quicker than spraying. I usually fold the wipe (hemp) twice, wet it on one side, use that to wipe, then refold, wet and use another side if necessary, otherwise I use a clean side to dry her bum.

Charity - posted on 07/26/2010

BTW, Love the bamboo wipes, but they do NOT hold up in the wash. I bought cheap baby wash clothes and use them instead, same size and work really well. Just wash with diapers, no special steps needed

Charity - posted on 07/26/2010

I have the prince lionheart warmer, and during the winter months (especially for changes where you don't want to wake baby up too much) I love it. Now that the weather is warmer, and my boy sleeps through the night, I don't care about temperature of the wipe as much (he never has). I bought the warmer b/c my tap water takes too long to get warm. If you want to buy the antimicrobial pads, they are sold separatly, and will fit into any standard wipes container, but my wipes still get smelly if in warmer longer than 2 days before used, not sure if it helps or if I am doing something wrong. I like the other suggestions here, I will have to try some of them. Right now I am using distilled water, baby wash and olive oil as a wipes solution. Will get Tea Tree oil to try (Prince Lionheart cautions to get essential oils only, no other additives) for antibacterial properties. Does anyone else use a warmer with a different solution that they like better?

Nicole - posted on 07/24/2010

Molding was an issue for me. So I started using the spray bottle, but then I went to the disposables because it was taking too much time for me to make it. I think I'm going to go back to them. Make a large bottle of the solution and store it. I started using some of my old pin cloth diapers as my wipes, so that once I used them. I could rinse them and then pop them in my washing machine. The really thin ones! It worked great! I like the baby wash/oil recipe better than the essential oil ones - my babies have really sensitive skin. I then discovered that I could add my Dreft clothing detergent and that worked a lot better on both of them!

Heidi - posted on 07/22/2010

I use baby wash clothes, fold in half and they fit in the wipe box. If you stand them on end (all the folds up) they are eaiser to grab. If you are really patient you can inerfold them in thirds and they will feed out the pop top. I use the peri bottle from the hospital with a cap full of baby oil and a cap full of baby wash, (the baby wash cap is bigger). I clean the case with lysol every week The temperature of a warmer will increase growth of not only mold (that you can see) but yeast that you can not.

You can get a small case (babies-R-us) $2 or less that fits about 3 washclothes. It is the same size as the wipe box, but only a half an inch thick.

Alana - posted on 07/20/2010

I doubt that they will mould. I make home-made wipes from viva paper towel, water, oil and baby wash and they last untill I have used them (almost two weeks) without moulding.

Katie - posted on 07/19/2010

We have the same warmer and wipes. Firstly, the wipes didn't hold up well in the wash. Half of them are tattered, so I am happy to hear that you made your own.
I bought 2 travel size spray bottles to put into our diaper bags. In the diaper bag I use dry wipes and the spray bottle. They do soak up alot, so I spray my daughter off and wipe her dry. This seems to work better.

If you use the warmer at home, I would recommend using the anti-microbial stuff, if you are using a solution. The oils might go rancid or something. We use the pad thingy, and it lasts about 3 months. At home we don't use solution on the wipes, just warm water. That's because I use them to wipe her face and hands off all the time as well. I didn't want to get soapy/oily water in her eyes.

Do you NEED the pad thingy...prolly not. We go through the wipes so fast that I doubt they'd have much time to grow bacteria between washes, but we use it just to be on the safe side.

Tanya - posted on 07/17/2010

If you want to save money and be kind to your baby, do this (which is what I do): use old wipe containers, go to the dollar store and buy their really soft wipes in the baby section (4 for $1) and put water in the container. That's it!
I gauged how many wipes I used in 2 days and that's how many wipes I put in each container (to prevent mold, etc, even though it has never been an issue).
Believe me, water works great and those wipes are so gentle, you can even clean a baby's face with them. Oils simply add chemicals, etc to your baby and the cloth diapers and it's not really necessary.
When we go out, I keep a couple of zip lock bags in the diaper bag with washcloths and a bit of water in one and dry wipes in the other. Each zip lock bag has enough wipes for 2 diaper changes plus one extra (just in case). This prevents mold from forming. Once the first set of wipes is used up, I add water to the second bag.

Rebecca - posted on 07/15/2010

You know, I used my peri bottle because I thought it would go faster than a spray bottle, but my problem is that the cap was so hard to open and close. When I finally got it opened and wet the wipes, I would go to close it and the bottle would bend in half under the pressure of me pushing the cap down, but the cap wouldn't close! I don't know if I just got a crappy bottle, or what. The only two I ever got were at the hospital after each of my children were born, and I threw away the first one, and of course the one I have now isn't working. Is there any place to purchase another one? Or do I have to wait to have another baby?!

Elizabeth - posted on 07/12/2010

You can't store them premoistened without some sort of solution to keep them from molding. What I did was put some water in a huggies box and kept my wipes outside the box until I needed to dunk them and squeeze them out. This seemed to work pretty good for me.

Kimberly - posted on 07/10/2010

Wow. I use wash cloths. I have a ceramic container inside the wipe warmer filled with water. I just drop in a washcloth when I am ready to use it, squeeze out excess water and clean. Works for me...

Gabrielle - posted on 07/10/2010

Thanks for the blog encouragement, Rebecca! Aren't homemade wipes great? So customizable!

I don't make my own diapers. I think it's a great idea, but when I first switched to cloth, I hadn't sewn very much and was too nervous about messing them up. I didn't want to have leaky diapers because I'd done a shoddy job sewing them. But now I've sewn enough to be comfortable making my own if I felt I needed more diapers.

Elizabeth - posted on 07/10/2010

I leave ours wet in a plastic container of water and just top it up when it starts to dry out - we've never had an issue with mould or stale smelling wipes. I do add a splash of an anti-bacterial/fungal washing solution when I put them in the machine, though, so maybe that helps.

You can also use chamomile tea to soak your wipes in to help treat nappy rash.

Rebecca - posted on 07/09/2010

Gabrielle, LOVE your blog! Your wipes are almost identical to mine...except I did spend $4.99 on a yard each of flannel and terry to make my double sided wipes. After reading everyone's advice, I have been doing the following and have found it very convenient for me:

I fill a quart mason jar almost full, put in a squirt of baby wash (about 2 tsp) and a squirt of baby oil (about a tbsp), put on lid and shake. I pour about half of it over my wipes in an empty disposable wipe box and save the other half for the next batch. I've tried dry wipes and just water like other moms have suggested, but I've found this to be my favorite method!

I haven't had a chance to go through all your blog archives, but do you sew your own diapers? I'd love to see more of your stuff when I have some time.

Gabrielle - posted on 07/09/2010

Rebecca,

There are lots of ways of doing it, so you just need to figure out what works best for you. Here are a number of solution recipes: http://www.zany-zebra.com/cloth-wipe-sol...

What works for me is to keep everything as simple as possible. I use an old wipes box. If you use the wipes within a couple of days, then you won't have to worry about mold. For a solution, I've switched from a fancy recipe to using baby bath wash and water. All I do is run a bit of water into the wipes container, squirt a bit of baby bath soap into it, swish it around, and dunk my wipes. Squeeze out the excess, and you're good to go. Then pull them out just like disposable wipes. You can also keep an extra container of dry wipes handy. Here's my blog for info. on making wipes, storing them, how to fold them like disposable wipes, etc. http://mamagab.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-...

Jennifer - posted on 07/09/2010

We have our changing table in the bathroom so before I even put my daughter on the changing table I wet a few wopes with warm water and then change her. No wipe warmer or wipe solution needed. I have tried wipe warmers, wipe boxes, wipe solutions and spray bottles they were all a big pain in the butt.

Rowena - posted on 07/08/2010

oh and for the diaper bag I have a set of wipes I got by planet wise, it was 10 wipes and a wet bag so I just make the wipe solution and wet the wipes just like I would do to put in the wipe warmer, but instead I put them in the wet bag. It works great I recommend it highly, it is so much easier than my previous method of spraying a wipe when I needed on.

Rowena - posted on 07/08/2010

I use a disposable wipe warmer, I only make 10 wipes at a time so they are not in the warmer long enough to mold. You can use a disposable wipe case too (one that doesn't warm them) that is what I was going to use until I got this one as a gift.

Kim - posted on 07/07/2010

I just keep an old disposable wipes container full of water (with a drop of baby shampoo) next to the changing table, with the wipes (washcloths, actually) dry. When I need to wipe, I just dip the dry washcloth into the water and squeeze out excess water.

Amy - posted on 07/07/2010

just wet the wipes with water..........my daughter is 2-1/2 and that's all I've ever done with her cotton flannel wipes. I mix up the "diaper lotion potion" concentrate with witch hazel and keep it in a squirt bottle (available lots of places - google the name) to soothe her little bottom - she has literally only had diaper rash a handful of times, and all after spending time in disposables.........

Amylouise 'Lou' - posted on 07/04/2010

I have the Prince LionHeart warmer. My mom bought it for us and the all that seems special about it is that it came with this foam type thing to sit in the bottom under the wipes. We use cloth wipes and I didn't want them to get funky so... I leave the cloth wipes dry and stacked next to the warmer. I put water (no foam thing) in the warmer and it is ready to go warm water. (my bathroom tap takes WAY too long to warm up). When we -ahem- need a wipe for baby's tush, I open the warmer, dunk a wipe, squeeze it in one hand, pump a bit of foamed soap on the wipe and wipe the bottom. On the go I just take dry wipes and a small peri bottle of soapy water.
@Jennifer: I like the idea of getting them wet ahead of time and putting them in a travel box for the diaper bag. Thanks!

Jan - posted on 07/04/2010

Oh forgot to mention I love the monkey doodles wipe cubes, I cut them in half to make a smaller batch and they last forever, We are still on our first bag of them and I bought it over a year ago

Kirsten Veronica - posted on 07/04/2010

I've never used solution. Baby girl is almost 11-months-old and I just run her cloth wipe under the water for at home dipes. When we are going out I pre-dampen (just water) a bunch and put them in a travel wipe case that came with a changing pad.

Jan - posted on 07/04/2010

If you want to keep you wipes dry and don't want to use a spray bottle, the peri bottle you got from the hospital when baby was born (or any squirt bottle) works great to wet wipes with and it's a lot faster then using a spray bottle

Jennifer - posted on 07/04/2010

We use baby washcloths for our wipes. We just wet them, squeeze out the excess water, then roll them up and put them in the wipe warmer. For wipes on the go, I just pull out a few wipes, fold them flat, and put them in a flat travel wipes container. If we're going to be gone all day, I'll use a larger wipes tub and if they get cold, they get cold. My son has never had a diaper rash and he's 9 months old.

Gen - posted on 07/03/2010

I keep my wipes in a basket next to my wipe warmer. as i'm grabbing the diaper, i grab a wipe and wet it in the warmer. hth.

Rebecca - posted on 07/01/2010

There are contradicting reports on tea tree oil, and after she posted that, I just decided to leave it out of my solution, since I use baby oil anyway. But I use it on my scalp to manage psoriasis, and I called my OB/GYN about it because I have read reports that it is/isn't safe for pregnant and breast feeding women. He said there is nothing definitive suggesting that it's harmful in small quantities, and with the conflicting reports and nothing definitive, he says it's okay to use. Obviously don't drink it, and don't use it around the nipple if you are breast feeding, as it tastes bad for the baby, but in my shampoo or on my scalp is fine, according to him. That's just some FYI, since we were talking about it!

Sheree - posted on 07/01/2010

thanks for that article on tea tree! very helpful. I just moisten with tap water before use and carry a water bottle when out, seems to work fine.

Rebecca - posted on 07/01/2010

Julie, this is pretty much EXACTLY what I do! I have left out the tea tree oil the last few batches, and I'm liking that better. I also found it easier to squeeze out the wipes instead of spraying because it takes forever to get them wet. However, I personally don't like them soaking wet, and the last two times I poured the solution in the box, I got it just right...wet wipes that aren't dripping wet, but not too dry either!

Lisa - posted on 07/01/2010

I just use water on my wipes, no solution at all. I just moisten a handful of wipes under the faucet, wring slightly, and toss them in the box (no need to fold). I've never had a problem with mold or not smelling fresh. I use them up and replace every day or so, but even if I forget a box they just dry out. Very, very quick and easy! Hope that helps.

Julie - posted on 07/01/2010

http://bowerfamilyhappenings.blogspot.co...

Jennifer - posted on 07/01/2010

I keep a little sandwich Tupperware full of solution near the dry wipes. Whenever I need one, I just quick dip the wipe in the solution and use it...it's fast and I don't have to worry about my wipes "going bad." Hope that helps!

Lauren - posted on 07/01/2010

I use a similar solution to the one Rebecca mentioned that she found online. I add that solution to a glass container (like a rubbermaid/tupperware food container, but glass) and then I add the wipes- I use a cut-up flannel receiving blanket. Just a note to you ladies who store any oil, essential or otherwise, in a plastic container- oils cause leaching of various plastics into your solution. Glass is safer!

Tammy - posted on 06/30/2010

I just use my solution mixed up in a small spray bottle and spray it directly onto my sons bum, doesnt seem to bother him. For wipes I use face cloths and I cut up a few terry flat nappies that we had into wipe size. I just pop the cloth wipes into the dryer for a few minutes to soften them if they have been line dried.

Nicola - posted on 06/29/2010

i used flannels run under the warm tap to clean my littles ones bums i don't see why you need any special solution on them i creamed or powdered after and if they had a really messy nappy i gave them a very quick bath. That way the cloths are dry until you use them so no chance of mould or bacterial growth and very quick to wet them also. on the go a bottle of water and some dry wipes are very easy to take along.

Morgan - posted on 06/29/2010

Just be mindful that you're not going to give him/her a rash. Moisture is the enemy! If it's just urine you can dab them down gently with some toilet paper. After I use a wash cloth I run the hair dryer on low to get him nice and dry :)

Anna - posted on 06/29/2010

So i got a wipe warmer at a second hand store, cost 5 to 10 dollars, cant remember.. And i just use all the wash cloths he got as gifts to go in it! I only use warm water as a solution, is that bad? He's 2 1/2 months old, will i need to use something in the future? Right now it seems to work just fine! Oh and I use a zip lock bag for on the go.. And molding? I never have the cloths in there long enough to mold.. 10 at a time? usually a days worth?

Morgan - posted on 06/28/2010

The thing that you need in the warmer to prevent molding is a little squishy pad. I bought a warmer at WalMart and it had one in it. Or they're sold individually @ SimpleCloth. I use warm water and ACV....seems to work great. It totally killed off my son's yeast rash too :)

Heather, I have found so many uses for that peri-bottle! I wish I had a dozen, haha.

Heather - posted on 06/27/2010

I add a little apple cider vinegar to water, it is antibacterial. Sometimes I add a little lavender essential oil.

As for storing the solution, I've found that the peri-bottle from the hospital works great.

Erica - posted on 06/27/2010

I use an old disposable wipes container, stick the wipes in and then pour my solution over them. As long as you're using up your batch every couple days, I wouldn't worry about mold. I have a couple containers so every time I empty one I throw it in the dishwasher to sanitize it. The ziploc baggie thing works good for outings.

Misty - posted on 06/26/2010

I put the two cups worth of solution in the container and then fill it with wipes. All of the wipes stay wet. I actually run out of wipes before solution and add more throughout the day. I have never heard of tea tree causing problems, I'll have to look about that.

Majaliwa - posted on 06/26/2010

couple of thoughts:

1. tea tree oil has been linked to hormone issues in babies so i recommend researching that a little more before you continue use of it. a good alternative is olive oil. here's an article to get you started: http://www.pootersdiapers.com/tea-tree-o...

2. i actually never moisten my wipes. i fill a spray bottle with my wipes solution and spray it directly on my little guy's bottom and then use the wipes to wipe off poop and the solution. it just seems to work better that way. you can then use that same method when you're on the go - or at times i use nature baby care biodegradable wipes when i'm on the go.

Jennifer - posted on 06/26/2010

you could try using a water bottle that has a squirt top

Rebecca - posted on 06/26/2010

Misty, I use tea tree oil, too. I found a lot of recipes online, and the one I use is 2 1/2 cups water, 1 tbsp baby oil, 2 tsp baby shampoo/wash, and a few drops of Essential Oil...I just happened to have tea tree oil in the house because I use it in my shampoo. I didn't have to buy anything at all to make my solution, which is kind of the point. I didn't want to go buy a $30 wipes warmer!

So, you just roll up the stack of wipes and stick them in the container...and then how much solution do you pour in? Just a little in the bottom? Do the wipes wick the solution from the bottom all the way up so the whole wipe gets moist? (Does that make sense???) Sorry, I'm just trying to imagine that working and how you do it! It's a great solution, though, I will have to go buy some yogurt now!

Misty - posted on 06/26/2010

Also, you can get the oil at a Whole Foods or any natural store. It is a small vial but we're only on our third one since you use such a small amount.

Misty - posted on 06/26/2010

My daughter is 5 1/2 months old and we've used cloth wipes and diapers from day one. We mix two cups water with 8-9 drops of tea tree and lavendar essential oil. As for storage, we use an old 32oz yogurt plastic container with the lid with the wipes and solution in there. When we go out, we put her wipes in a ziploc bag with solution. We usually only have to refill the wipes once a day, you can fit at least 10 wipes in the 32oz container. I have never had any problems with molding of the wipes or container. They always smell fresh.