Cost of Cloth Wipes Solution. Is it worth it?

I had the opportunity to use Knickernappies’ Baby Bum Drops back in May. I had been making my own solution with water, baby shampoo and oil. I really thought I was saving some money and doing a good thing for my boy’s skin, however, after trying the Baby Bum Drops for two weeks I changed my story.

Now that I have two little ones I can honestly say that one of my favorite things about Baby Bum Drops is how easy they are to use. I really feel like I’m doing laundry 24/7. With cloth diapering, I’m washing diapers every other day now because my daughter is four months old and goodness does she know how to pee! The less work I have to do – like mixing my own wipes solution – the better. I didn’t understand the beauty in the Baby Bum Drops at the time I did my review because I only had my boy. Alas, apparently one little addition does make a huge difference in the amount of time you have during a day.

Let me submit an idea to you: you’re cloth diapering and using clothwipes. You have to wash and dry them. You need to put them together by stuffing them, folding them before you put them on your baby or adding an insert to a shell. Why do everything on your own? You don’t have to. Use Baby Bum Drops and take one more thing off of your “to do” list.

Still not convinced? Here’s the breakdown in price that my hubby figured out (he’s the brilliant numbers man in this household):

Avg. Retail Price of Baby Bum Drops: $13.95

Baby Bum Drops makes 50 8 oz spray bottles

Price of Baby Bum Drops per ounce: 3.5 cents

Avg. Cost of making solution made out of water, shampoo and oil: 2.1 cents per ounce

50 Spray Bottles of Own Solution: $8.40

Price Difference between Baby Bum Drops and the solution I made: $6 per year

If you’re making your own solution as a way of saving money like I was perhaps you should re-evaluate if it’s worth the time and effort. If it’s just one more thing to add on to your day, I think the extra $6 you’re going to spend by buying the Baby Bum Drops is worth it.

Elizabeth (aka Bert) Anderson married her college sweetheart in 2005, and started her journey into motherhood in 2008 with the birth of her son.  She started blogging in 2009 as a way to keep track of her thoughts on being a first time mom, especially her struggle with postpartum depression, and as a way of reaching out to other moms who are struggling with the same things.  This June, Bert had another first in her motherhood travels - a little girl!  Even though she's newly a mother of two, Bert maintains that no matter how many children you have you will always be a "first time mom" because there's a first time for everything!  Visit her blog, at FTM. Bert is a contributor for She Thinks Media.

How to use and store cloth wipes!

Guest Post by Laura

I made the choice to start using cloth wipes about 6 weeks after I started cloth diapering. I was sick of sorting the disposable wipes out from the diaper pail before throwing them into the wash, and I just didn’t want a small wastebasket sitting next to our diaper pail with dirty wipes in it.

When you’re choosing to start out using cloth wipes, you should consider buying a couple packs of baby washcloths at your local grocery store. They cost about $4-6 a dozen, and cloth wipes are usually around $2 a piece. It’s worth trying the washcloths because if you don’t like it in the end, you’re not out a lot of money. I purchased 20 washcloths. For us, that’s almost enough for 2 days with 2 of our girls wearing diapers.  *Some find that the cotton terry washcloths are too rough, in this case you can purchase cloth wipes made of flannel, cotton or velour from a cloth diaper retailer.

There are 2 methods of using cloth wipes: the dry method and the wet method. With the dry method, your wipe solution (or water) is placed inside a spray bottle and you spray your baby’s bottom and wipe it up with a dry wipe.

With the wet method, you mix your wipe solution in a bowl or pitcher, submerge your cloth wipes and wring them out and store them, wet, in a wipes container until use.

You can buy a pre-made cloth wipe solution, or you can make your own at home. I have tried several homemade wipes solutions and I will share with you my favorite. I don’t like to put any soaps in my wipe solutions because I am terrified that it will cause buildup on my cloth diapers and they will start to have leaking issues. So this one is my favorite:

~2 cups hot water

~1/4 cup Aloe Vera Gel

~2 Drops Tea tree oil

~1-2 drops lavender oil

To store my cloth wipes, I use a plastic Huggies brand wipes container. It holds about 16-18 of my cloth wipes.

I also use an accordion style fold. (see photos above) To achieve the accordion fold, place one wipe on top of a flat surface, place a second wipe on top of the first wipe, but only covering half of the first wipe. Next, fold the other half of the first wipe (that is not covered by the second wipe) over top of the first wipe. Place a wipe on top of the top portion of the first wipe and continue on until you’ve used up all of your wipes. Using this method ensures that when I pull one wipe out, another one pops up. It’s much easier to use that way. You can also store them folded or stored flat until use.

It takes a little bit of trial and error to find what works best for you, but once you start you’ll find using cloth wipes is much easier than disposable if you’re already cloth diapering!

Laura’s Bio:  Laura is a wife and stay-at-home mother to her 3 daughters. She enjoys cloth diapering, bike riding, reading, walking, and arts & crafts.  You can read more about Laura on her blog www.ChaloobyBaby.blogspot.com

The Yummiest Cloth Wipe Solution!

Do you use cloth wipes? Well you should! They make perfect sense when used with cloth diapers. No more having to separate your dirty wipes to throw in the grabage while your cloth diapers go in the laundry. With cloth wipes you simply toss them in with your diapers and voila! It's that simple.

Sammy's Wipe Beans are the perfect cloth wipe solution. Available in a ton of yummy scents you're sure to find some of your favorites. Each wipe bean yields 1 cup of wipe solution.

Directions: Simply dissolve 1 wipe bean in 1 cup of hot water, let cool and use!

Sammy's Wipe Beans are 100% natural, made with natural glycerin base, natural vegetable oils, purified water, and premium essential oils. No animal testing or animal products are used in the making of this product.

Each wipe bean order is custom made and ships within 1-3 days.

Available in Small or Large bags. To order Click here.

Wipe Out! A Cloth Wipes Tutorial

When I first began cloth diapering, one thing I never thought I’d do was use cloth wipes. For some reason, the thought was a little gross to me. But then, the sample pack of cloth diapers arrived, I began (loving) cloth diapering my son and I realized that I had to have a special trash can just for wipes in his bedroom.

I also began thinking about the money that I spend on wipes. I usually try to get mine on sale. Let’s say I spend about $1.50 a week on wipes, assuming I’m using one package a week. That adds up to $6.00 a month, and $72.00 a year. For me, those savings were worth trying cloth wipes, especially if I was doing diaper laundry anyway! You can buy great wipes at Earth Angels Diaper Company! They also have all kinds of wipes solutions you can use on your new, deliciously soft, wipes.

I decided to try making my own wipes. My mom is a quilter and she had all sorts of left over flannel material in cute baby patterns that she let me have. So here’s a step by step process of how I made my own flannel wipes. Please keep in mind that I am by no means a professional sewer!

1. I doubled up the fabric with the pattern side facing outward and cut out 6” squares.
2. Then I set my sewing machine to sew zig zags (later I experimented with other patterns like a square shaped zig zag and an intricate lace design).
3. I sewed around the four edges of the square.
4. When I was finished, I washed and dried all of the wipes. The edges had frayed a little and I had to cut the fray off.
You can either keep your wipes in a container with water and wipes solution or you can keep a small spray bottle in the wipes box and spray each wipe as you need it. I prefer the second method!

If you haven’t tried cloth wipes yet, give it a go! I think you’ll find, like me, that you (and your baby) prefer the softness and naturalness of cloth wipes (not to mention the savings!). Plus, think of how many extra cloth diapers you can buy with the money you spend using cloth wipes!

Reader Contributed Article by
Tamara Sz.

The Cloth Diaper Geek Explains it all!

Have you got a question? Don't forget you can either post your question as a comment or submit your question using our Reader Contribution Form.

Question: What are flushable liners and what are the benefits of using them?

The Geek's Answer: Biodegradable Flushable Liners are special dry-weave liners that are intended to catch the solid waste and help prevent the diaper from getting too soiled. When changing the diaper simply go into the bathroom and carefully place the soiled liner in the toilet and flush. The benefits are that your diapers will be easier to launder because you'll have less solid waste on the diaper.

Theses Flushable Liners come in 100 sheets per roll and often sheets can be cut in half before use allowing you to get twice as many uses out of a roll. They are very thin and soft, similar to tissue paper, and are comfortable for baby.

Question: Do I have to use cloth wipes if I use cloth diapers or can I still use disposable wipes?

The Geek's Answer: You do not have to use cloth wipes. However, using cloth wipes is more convenient, here's why...

Generally when you're changing a disposable you place the dirty wipes inside the dirty diaper, fold it up in a little package and toss in the garbage. When using cloth diapers you place the diapers into your laundry pail or wetbag and then are left with a handful of dirty disposable wipes to get rid of. If you're out, you'd need a special baggie to carry them home in until you can dispose of them.

If you were using cloth wipes you could simply put the dirty wipes in with your cloth diapers and wash all together. Simply dump the contents of your diaper pail, wet bag, or pail liner into the wash and tada! It's that simple. It's not recommended that you wash disposable wipes, they have a tendancy to break apart in the washer and can attach themselves in tiny pieces to your aplix and cause quite a hassle.