Making Baby Wipes Out of (Recycled) Paper Towels

I needed baby wipes and was still really set on making this work. I finally got the paper towels I planned to try to use instead of napkins.

We needed wipes fast so I had my husband cut the roll in half while I mixed up some more solution.

We were going to need a container that could be quickly and easily opened and closed - a container we were using to hold snacks (that we weren't even eating) was sacrificed to our cause.

In the paper towels went and the solution was poured over top. My husband thought we would need more solution but it's always easier to add than to take away so I suggested we just wait a little while and see.

The towels all seemed sufficiently moist.

I removed the cardboard bit in the center.

Now you're ready to pull a bit of paper towel from the center.

It wasn't long until someone with a stinky tushy plopped down into my lap. While I ran to the laundry room to grab the freshly laundered cloth diapers my husband tended to the mess.

Once the diaper was changed I asked him how the wipes worked. He said that they were useable but they still fell apart a bit. When I asked him if they fell apart more or less than the ones you buy at the store he said more.

Remember Those Reusable Baby Wipes?

I did the solution for this pin the same day that I did it for yesterdays. So the mix is the same.

Once I had the solution together I turned the wipes on their side and poured the solution over it.

I also poured it over the top.

Flipping the container over and waiting didn't do much to get the solution to saturate the rest of the wipes. I tried rearranging the wetter ones closer to the ones that were bone dry.

The wipes had a difficult time staying moist. When my husband tried to use them he said they were pretty much dry. The next day he was asking me to buy some wipes because she seemed to be developing a rash.

Making Baby Wipes Out of (Recycled) Paper Napkins

We are out of baby wipes and I'd already decided that once we were out of store bought baby wipes we wouldn't be buying any more.

Permanent lifestyle changes work out best by introducing them gradually. After dealing with three days off poop and cloth diaper fails I wasn't feeling ready to jump into the deep end of cloth wipes. I decided to start a little smaller to begin my habit.

I sent the hubs into a Kroger that regularly seems not to have the natural items I want with the instructions to buy recycled paper towels or none at all. He brought me these.

I hoped I could make them work. The nice thing about them was that after you take some out the bag comes with 2 pull ties to re-close the bag.

 I put 1 teaspoon of Doctor Bonners mild baby soap

 5 drops of tea tree oil

 and then filled this glass of water most of the way.

Stirred gently.

I put a handfull of the napkins into the now empty wipes container and poured a bit over the nappkins. It did not seem to be seeping in at all - just ruining the top napkins.

I flipped them over and added some more. More of the same disappointing result so I took the ones I just poured on top of, grabbed about half of the stack of napkins, and put the wet ones in the center. Then I shook the container. Turning the container over wasn't an option because the little lamb had stolen the top.

I waited 5 - 10 minutes and then went back in and checked on them. There didn't seem to be much change. I decided to leave them as is and then just try them as soon as they were needed.

My husband was the first to try these out He needed them the next morning and I'd call it a fail - he said the napkin ripped (shocker).

A pinspired Post - Cloth Baby Wipes

I mentioned in the recent past that a couple of my friends (a couple has now grown to a few) are also pregnant. They've chosen to go the rout of cloth diapering and in addition to that they plan to use cloth baby wipes. The image of mountains of dirty diapers in landfills isn't unknown to those who consider themselves even remotely green. But what about those chemically treated and bleached baby wipes? They're doing the same thing I assure you.

Pintrest is full of the pins picturing cloth wipes but when you click them you rarely seem to get a very detailed description of how to make your own. I'm going to do my best to help you with that.

Today's post was inspired by this specific pin and the info found here.

Buying fabric can be so exciting for me. Having an excuse to do so only makes the experience that much sweeter. I picked up these fabrics for baby wipes.

I'm going to tell you two ways to go about this:

Place an actual baby wipe on top of some uncut fabric (I bought 1/2 yards). Cut out one piece that was the size you now want and then get to work.

I cut two long strips.

Then placed one on top of the other and began cutting the strips intended to become baby wipes. I used the first piece I cut as my template to cut the rest of the pieces.

Another way to go about all of this is to first lay out your piece of fabric.

Fold it over.

It's really your call if you want right side touching right side or wrong side touching wrong side.

Then place your template onto the fabric.

Then cut your strips following the line of your chosen measuring instrument.

I now had three strips, two I intended to use for cloth wipes and one of excess fabric.

Once you have all of your pieces cut the fun part can really begin.

On to the sewing machine!

Place two sheets of your fabric together backside touching backside. Your print should be on the top and the bottom. You should not see the plain white back.

Then use whatever stitch you most prefer to sew the two pieces together.

 This is a great time to test out different stitches on your machine.

Et viola you have a baby wipe.

In case you're wondering how my wipes looked after a trip through the washing machine with their un-serged edges.

I just snipped off the loose edges and put them into a baby wipes container.

Now to make some wipe solution. But that's another blog post ;p