Thursday, June 17, 2010

Make your own simple cloth wipes solution.

I have tried several brands of cloth wipe solution and never have really liked any of them. They either had too much of a certain fragrance (like too heavy on the tea tree oil smell) or not enough and just didn't do a good job cleaning. Finally I decided to mix up my own solution which is pretty simple and MUCH cheaper!

To make a cloth wipe solution you really only need 3 ingredients: soap, oil and natural essential oil/extract. My recipe is basic, so you can add more or less of each ingredient to make it to your preference.

First off I used Happily Domestic's method of making your own cloth pop up wipes and prepare my wipes box.  A genius idea! I also have a bottle of Dr. Bronner's Hemp Almond Pure Castile Soap, a bottle of Tea Tree Oil , a jar of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil and 2 cups of filtered water. All of these ingredients you can pick up at your local health food store (except for the Tropical Traditions brand of coconut oil).

Start off by microwaving your 2 cups of water for about 1 1/2 minutes to get really hot. Then add about a tablespoon of coconut oil to the water to melt.


I love the look of water and oil together! Or I guess I should say separated...

Next, add 1 tablespoon of your Dr. Bronner's Soap to the mix. Dr. Bronner's comes in a variety of scents other than the almond.


Last, add 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil. Tea Tree Oil is a natural disinfectant and great at not only cleaning your baby's bottom, but great to add to the wash of your cloth diapers as well. Feel free to add more or less drops of TTO to your wipes solution depending on your preference how strongly you want to smell the TTO.



Now do a quick stir to blend it all together and pour it over your wipes. Ready to use!



Recap of the recipe:
2 cups hot water
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon Dr. Bronner's Soap
10 drops Tea Tree Oil

Feel free to adjust the amount of soap or tea tree oil to your liking.



Comment on this post and you get 3 extra entries on the Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil Giveaway! After you comment here go to the Tropical Traditions giveaway and enter 3 separate comments such as "Earned extra entry #1," Earned extra entry #3," etc.

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The thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own and are not swayed by any monetary or product compensation. My personal health experiences may not be a typical result for others. The information I share on my blog may not be the views of the sponsors participating in my Healthy Living Event.

17 comments:

dannyscotland said...

I read somewhere, and I wish I knew who had this idea, because it was certainly not me, from another mom, that she puts the solution in an old water bottle, the squirty kind, and just squirts a little on the cloth when she needs it. That seems perfect for me. Just thought I'd share. Sorry to the mama whose idea it was and whose name I don't know!

Lyn said...

I like to use baby oil, lotion, and wash, as my non water ingredients. It lasts a long time and I use the lavender scents to sooth baby. I love reading how other moms make their solutions.

Unknown said...

Do the wipes get mildewy, sitting in the container damp all day?

Shana said...

I also like the squirt bottle idea, or leave the solution in a jar and dip the wipe at the time it's needed.

Anonymous said...

That looks so simple. I am bookmarking this post to refer to when I need it one day (don't have any children nor am married, but trying to pick up useful info on diapering). Thanks for sharing your method.

Katie S said...

I've never tried making my own wipe solution, and this is a great resource, so thanks for sharing!

katiekstewart@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Thanks for the new recipe- I never thought to add coconut oil! I have added Burt's Bees Baby Bee Apricot Oil in the past, but I stopped using it to simplify things so my husband could make the solution too.
We use Beth's method of pop-up wipes too... when I have time to prepare it that way. Same reason as above- simplicity for Daddy! :o)

Chari said...

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions :-)

To answer Little Miss Emmy Lou's question: Nope, they don't get mildewy at all with this solution. A box of wipes lasts me typically 4 days and I have not had any trouble with this solution smelling mildewy or old. I'm thinking the tea tree oil helps with that too. I have had issues of the mildew with other solution brands though.

Thanks for asking, I should have added that about this solution mixture :-)

B.A. Hunter said...

Thanks for sharing this. I will have to give it a try. I am almost out of my regular solution. One question though..does the coconut oil clump up once it gets cooled down?

Chari said...

No, the coconut oil dissolves completely in the hot water and mixes well with the other ingredients. Once cooled it does not have any weird residue or form any clumps. The solution soaks in completely into the wipes. Great question!

Andrea Kruse said...

How timely! I was about to make some wipes solution and have almost all the ingredients... including the yummy coconut oil. (I am hooked on that stuff!) I know you used liquid soap... I usually buy bar soap for making laundry detergent. Have you ever tried melting down the bar soap? I usually don't like to go out for special ingredients unless I must.

Andrea Kruse said...

Oh, speaking of squirty bottles.. I will be reusing the bottle I was given after I gave birth at the hospital. The peri wash bottle. It will work well and not cost me a penny!

Chari said...

I think you should be able to use regular bar soap. I know I've seen recipes using regular baby wash too for the soap part of the recipe. That may be even more convenient for you.

The peri bottle is a great idea!

IsaacsMommy said...

I will have to pass this on to my friend who cloth diapers her baby. My 3 year old just potty trained. Great tip though!

matt4melis said...

We just potty trained our youngest child two months ago, but we still buy wipes for sticky hands/faces. I'll have to try making this. Thanks for the recipe.

matt4melis at hotmail dot com

Kimberly said...

My sister is having her first baby, and I've been trying to convince her that it is cheaper/better to cloth diaper. I'm forwarding this to her so she can see that it's not super complicated either. Thank you. :)

cwendel said...

I have made my own solution all along - very similar recipe to this! I use a tsp of the soap, a squirt of sweet almond or any other kind of oil, 4 drops of any kind of essential oil(usually lavender) and 4 drops of the tea tree. Oh yeah, I made my own wipes too - I cut microfiber auto cloths in to size to fit the Pampers wipes container and sewed along the edges. Voila! About 90 wipes for @ $11!

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