Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Homemade Wipes

A friend of mine gave me a recipe for making homemade baby wipes last month. *Thanks Debrah* I've been telling everyone I know about them. I haven't used store bought wipes since. It's SO SIMPLE! My girls have such sensitive skin. Did you know most baby wipes have alcohol in them? Read the ingredients....I can't even pronounce most of it.



We go through so many wipes in our house. We use them to wipe dirty faces, clean grubby hands, and of course wipe bottoms. We are saving over $20 a month making our own wipes...hey, every penny counts! For those of you with more than one child in diapers this is a must!


OK, here's how I do it.



  1. Cut a roll of paper towels in half. (This can be tough if you don't have a sharp knife!)
  2. Take the cardboard center out. You will pull the wipes from the center when using them.
  3. Place in a tall Tupperware container.
  4. In a separate bowl mix 2 1/4 cups of HOT tap water, 1 tbsp of baby oil, and 2 tbsp of your favorite baby soap.
  5. Mix and pour on top of wipes.
  6. Place lid on wipes and let the paper towels absorb all the water.
Viola! It's that easy!
Running into problems? Here's some FAQ
What soap works best? I prefer Aveno or California Baby wash, but any baby soap will work. If it's really "bubbly" soap it makes your wipes tooo soapy (is that even a word?).
Baby is allergic to mineral oil? I read that you can use a tsp of tea tree oil instead. This probably would not smell as nice, but would work just fine! I LOVE tea tree oil.
Why do I have a pool of water at the bottom of the bowl? Your paper towel absorbency is probably different then mine. Just adjust the water amount. If using off brand paper towel maybe only use 2 cups of water....don't be afraid to experiment!
Mold problems? We go through wipes so quickly in my house I've never run into this problem. But remember, your using all natural ingredients so there is no chemicals preventing mold to grow. Be sure to wash your Tupperware out between each use.

7 comments:

Martha said...

Thanks Dana, We will so have to try this.

Elisabeth said...

This is awesome! Hudson doesn't use many baby wipes any more, but we use TONS of wipes at my school. We'll have to try this out!

And, of course, if we have any more babies you can BET we'll use this. I look forward to my next baby experience being much more "green" with everything I do.

Mariel said...

My mom used to do this for us! I always thought it was a great idea but figured I must be too lazy. After I read over your post and saw how easy it is...I realized I'm REALLY lazy. I should totally do this. AND...this would be a great post for my blog....hmmm....maybe this and a couple other homemade baby tricks. Do you have any more up your sleeve?

suburban hippie mama said...

Oh Mariel! You know this! lol
I've been really into making my own cleaning supplies lately....one's that WORK but are gentle enough to spray on your baby! Have you done a post like that? LMK =)

free-range mama said...

what a COOL idea....
we have to try it...thanks!
xxx
k

Jen said...

Hey Dana, my friend has a daughter that has lots of allergies. She uses Cetaphil for washing her, do you know if that can be used as the "soap"?

suburban hippie mama said...

Jen~ I'm not sure. I would ask her doc 1st. Cetaphil has alcohol in it and not sure if it would irritate the diaper area...but then again there is alcohol IN WIPES! hmmm...maybe try it??