Washable wipes (or reusable wipes) are incredibly useful for all kinds of baby and household purposes – bottom cleaning, face cleaning, table wiping, whatever takes your fancy. Washable wipes are a great way to have control what goes on your baby’s skin when cleaning them up. They also save you a fortune.
Potential Cost Saving
Assuming you were to use one packet of disposable wipes per week over a period of three years for one child, the calculations would be as follows:
Terry Wipes:
40 Terry/Fleece Wipes (One off initial purchase) = £22.00
Ongoing replacement costs = £0.00
Cost per year = £7.33
Total cost over three years = £22.00
Disposable Wipes:
1 x Pack of 64 disposable wipes @ £2.49 per week = £2.49
Cost per year = £129.48
Total cost over three years = £388.44
As you can see from the above calculations, simply by using terry wipes instead of one packet of disposable wipes a week you can save £122.15 per year, or £366.44 over a period of three years. This is a significant amount of money saved for very little initial outlay. In fact, these savings will more than cover a complete cloth nappy system!
How To Use Washable Wipes
You can store the washable wipes in a Tupperware box so they are wet and ready to go. As they are used you can put them in the nappy bucket and wash with the nappies (up to 60degrees). There is no need to dry them when they come out of the wash. Just put them back in the Tupperware box, add some more water to make them damp and they’re ready again. They won’t go stale or stagnant as you’ll go through them too quickly. A full time set of 35-40 wipes will last approx 15-20 nappy changes.
Many people who do not use cloth nappies still use washable wipes, as they are so much kinder on the skin and the pocket!
Recipes for Washable Wipes Solution
Pour all ingredients into a screw-top jar/bottle, shake and add to your clean wipes either by pouring over or using in a spray bottle. The wash solution should be changed every few days, to prevent it from going off.
Basic Recipe
1 or 2 cups of warm water 2 tbsp of baby or olive oil 2 tbsp of baby wash (e.g. liquid baby wash)
Even More Basic Recipe!
Plain water
Alternative Wash Recipe
1 camomile tea bag 1 cup of hot water 1 tsp of baby or almond oil 1 tsp of baby bath or shampoo 1 drop of lavender oil
Easy Wash Recipe
Brew a Camomile and honey tea bag in Hot water and allow to cool This is very good for teething rash/caustic poo as camomile is very soothing and honey is a natural antiseptic which doesn’t sting and aids healing. For nappy rash you can soak a flannel in this mixture (slightly warm) and lay on the night nappy.
Our washable wipes by Nature Babies are fantastic quality. The washable wipes have a soft fluffy terry cotton on one side and a smooth fleece layer on the other. This fabric combination make for a very versatile wipe offering a suitable surface whatever the clean up needed. For a pooey nappy the terry side is ideal, as the fabric loops grip the poo for a quick and thorough clean up. The fleece side is ideal for finishing up or wet only nappies as it’s so smooth and soft. The fleece side is also perfect to use during teething when skin can become more sensitive. The edges are fully bound making them long lasting.
The wipes are approx 15cm x20cm which is a perfect size for clean ups and fully covers your hands. They come in packs of 10 @ £5.99 or for full time use there is a multibuy of 40 wipes @ £22.
Click the links below to see video demonstrations of all cloth nappy accessories.
Cloth Nappy accessories part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXK_SBZ4_cE
Cloth nappy accessories part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVLJOEEt9HY