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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Cloth Wipes-I Love Them

I had really never realized cloth wipes existed until I starting doing a lot of cloth diaper research while I was pregnant.  At first, I was a little surprised that such a thing existed, because I guess that's a little like reusable toilet paper.  But the more I thought about it, the more they made sense.  And, they made even more sense once we started using cloth diapers and were still using the disposable wipes that we were given as shower presents.  I personally think that it's a big hassle to use a cloth diaper, but then have to find a place to throw away a dirty wipe.  It's not like you can wad them up in the diaper like you do if you have a disposable diaper.  Really, what difference does it make to you to use a cloth wipe?  You're already doing the extra laundry and you're already putting poop in your washing machine, so it's not a big deal. 

My husband was pretty much on board with cloth diapering from the beginning, but I had a little harder time convincing him to use cloth wipes.  In fact, I just had to start using them to get him to do it.  Once we started using them, we loved them.  It only takes one wipe to clean up the mess (unless it's a blowout).  They're soft, durable, and it's another thing that we can do to help save the earth.  We just wet them in the tap and use to wipe her bottom.  I know that some people use a solution of water and baby soap or water and tea tree oil and lavender, but we've used only water thus far.  In our stash, we have 24 wipes and we've never run out of wipes by doing laundry every other day.  We have two types and I like both.

The first type, I bought while I was pregnant.  Unfortunately, I'm not really even sure what brand they are, because they don't have tags on them and my pregnant brain didn't pay attention!  Once we decided to switch to cloth wipes, I went back to the cloth diaper store where I purchased them and they weren't there anymore!! When I asked about the wipes, the clerk told me that she thinks that they are GoodMama brand.  The two sides of this wipe are distinctly different, one side is almost like velour and the other side is more fuzzy.  They are super soft and before we used them as wipes, they made great spit cloths.  These came in a pack of 12, but I honestly can't remember the price.  I remember that I bought them because I thought the price was reasonable.



I was really upset that these wipes were out of stock at the store, but I was in desperate need to get wipes (I basically went cold turkey on disposable wipes).  So I had to get a second kind.  I picked Thristies Fab Wipes, which came in a six pack for $10.95.  They are soft on both sides, almost like a terry cloth, but softer.  They come in cute colors and about the size of a baby wash cloth. 



Once you start using reusable things, I think that it gets a little addicting.  In fact, I love cloth wipes so much, I even briefly considered not buying anymore toilet paper and switching to cloth wipes myself.  But, that might be taking it a little too far, plus my husband immediately nixed the idea. 

The bottom line is that if you're going to cloth diaper, you might as well use cloth wipes.  You'll be doing one more thing to help the environment, you'll save money, and save yourself the hassle of having to dispose of wipes.  Cloth wipes aren't very expensive, and if you don't want to purchase them, I've seen lots of ideas for making your own on the internet.  

2 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you wrote this! I didn't even think about cloth wipes (I think I had the same "reusable cloth wipes are like reusable toilet paper" mentality. But it makes sense to use them. You're so wise.

    You'll have to tell me how your moms dealt with cloth. My mom isn't too keen on it, but I'm thinking once she sees what they're like, she'll be on board.

    Also, if you decide to use cloth feminine hygiene products, go ahead and don't tell me.

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  2. We didn't implement cloth wipes at the same time we started using cloth diapers. It was after I got tired of looking around for a garbage can for the disposable wipes after shoving the cloth diaper in the wetbag when we were out and about. When we'd get home, I hated digging the wipes out of the wetbag when I remembered, and I washed a handful of disposable wipes when I forgot.

    I bought four packs of Walmart babies washcloths at 4 for $1 (so 16 wipes total). Store them in an old wipe container with some type of solution recipe I find online. Water and tea tree oil when I'm lazy. Other stuff (vinegar, aloe, baby oil, etc) when I'm not.

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