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Whether you are frugal, green, or just want the best for your kiddos, these baby wipes are amazing!!!
Before our first child was born, a couple of friends gave me a recipe to make homemade baby wipes. Now four children later and 14.2 billion diapers changes (or so it has seemed), homemade baby wipes are all that we use in our home. After you give them a try, see the savings, and realize how simple it is to make your own, I believe you will make the switch too!
I especially love these wipes on my babies’ sensitive skin. We have battled countless cases of diaper rash through the years. Using these wipes doesn’t burn their little bottoms. Also, I love knowing exactly what ingredients are in the wipes.
Diaper Wipe Supplies
– Tall, square 3-quart container with a lid. I use the second to largest container that comes in a 4-piece plastic canister set for dry baking ingredients.
– Good quality paper towels. Don’t be tempted to use the cheap paper towels as they don’t work well on a dirty bottom.
– Knife to cut the paper towel roll in two. A serrated knife works best.
– Baby shampoo
– Baby oil or Avon’s Skin So Soft
Making Your Own Diaper Wipes
1. Cut a paper towel roll in half so you have two short rolls. I like to precut several rolls at a time since the cutting process makes a mess and is the largest pain of the process. An electric knife is very helpful but not necessary. A husband to do this job is the best suggestion!
2. Set one roll inside the canister. Set the other half aside for next time.
3. Combine and stir together:
- 1 1/2 cup hot tap water
- 2 Tablespoon baby shampoo
- 2 Tablespoon baby oil
4. Pour the liquid mixture over the paper towel roll. As the liquid soaks through, the moisture will loosen the cardboard center making it easy to remove. If you get lucky, it will bring with it the end of the paper towel roll. If not, carefully pull on the wipes in the center to get the sequence going from the inside out..
5. Pull out the amount of paper towels (from the center) needed for each diaper cleaning. Reseal after each use.
6. If the wipes are not wet enough or the lid doesn’t get put back on, just add more water. Wipes too moist? Leave the lid off for a little while.
If you are out of the diaper stage, these work great for cleaning up messy hands and faces when you are on the go. You can also use this mixture to re-wet purchased baby wipes.
If you like our Homemade Baby Wipes, you may also enjoy our recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent.
This recipe, image, and the directions are copyright of Parenting to Impress and JLM Media, LLC.
We make our own wipes solution with olive oil instead of baby oil because our kids have super sensitive skin and it's super natural. I use baby washcloths folded together like wipes in a container or sometimes just pulled out of the drawer (ok, lets be honest – most of the time). I keep the solution in a spray bottle. Just wet the washcloth and you're done! I actually have used the Johnson's lavender bedtime bath instead of shampoo and it gives a nice fragrance. Plus lavender is supposedly a natural cure for diaper rash. :o)
May I ask about the amounts? I have no problem with understanding 1/2 of course – but what does T amount mean? How much of that olive or oil etc?
I have made the changes to the recipe but in cooking terms a "T" means tablespoon and "t" means teaspoon. Sorry for the confusion.
I am so making these tomorrow! Thanks!
I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Let us know!
Just made these tonight and I'm very excited! Thanks so much!
I just made these tonight and when I went to cut the paper towel it was shredding it. Did I do something wrong?
As you cut, the knife was shredding the paper towels? Depending on the kind of knife that you used and it's sharpness, you will make a mess with tiny pieces of paper towel. Serrated knives are easier to use in this job but make a bigger mess, I believe. A cook knife cuts cleaner. (This is the large knife in your knife block used for cutting large vegetables.) Make sure that you keep your knife cutting in the same path.
Not sure if I answered your question or not so please let me know!
Thanks for answering my question. I used Thea bread knife and little pieces were coming off at the bottom. My son has had terrible diaper rash and these work great on him, I love them. In fact I just made more, I was just trying to find away of reducing the shredding.
Use a sawzall (a reciprocating power saw – your husband will know what this is) with a very small tooth blade and hold it steady.
How long do these usually last??
Currently, I make a new batch every two months or so. (We are potty training and don't use wipes much anymore.) As long as the lid is tight on the wipes, they last at least this long. If the lid is left off, just add a little water to remoisten.
Is there a certain brand of paper towels that you use? I feel like stone of them would be too rough…
I suggest the more expensive brands – Brawny, Viva. The cheap paper towels are too rough and fall apart.
Does this work with quality toilet roll?
Toilet paper is made to fall apart when wet unlike quality paper towels which can be washed out and used again on the same spill. Since you are making the towels wet from the beginning I don't believe that toilet paper would work.
If you decide to try it, please let us know!
I tried toilet paper, just to satisfy my curiosity, and it was an EPIC FAIL!!!! Definitely stick to paper towel!!!! 🙂
Good to know!
Have you had any problems with the wipes molding? I made some and about a month later they started to mold :/
The only time that I had trouble with molding was when I added too much water and didn't use the wipes for several weeks. Otherwise, this was not a problem.
Add a drop or two of tea tree oil to cure the problem with mold.
Good to know! Thank you for sharing.
I made these for hands/face. But my daughter has been complaining that the regular wipes hurt. So now I use them on pee diaper changes. Its a little too gross for me to use on poop, because I refuse to buy paper towels and use cut up t shirts. She says she likes these wipes better. (Except they are cold). Thanks for this recipe.
You are welcome!
Great idea, thanks for sharing!
Hello! I've made these since my baby was born but now I guess we don't use as many wipes. I find they are getting moldy before I can use them all. Any suggestions to prevent mold?
The mold is caused by the moisture. I found if I made mine too wet they molded faster. If this happens, take off the lid for a little while and let some of the water dry. Not sure I answered your question but hope this helps.
1or 2 drops of tea tree oil prevents molding
Would it help to add a drop or two of tea tree oil to prevent mold?
I am not sure but it would worth a try! -Heidi
Someone just posted that this would help. Let us know!
I finally found a canister for this purpose today! Excited to give them a try! -julia in La
My kids all have sensitive skin would this cause breakouts since it has soap in mix?
Our kiddos have extremely sensitive skin as well. This is why I liked these wipes so much. I could control what ingredients were in the liquid. Fill free to substitute the soap for one that your child can use.
Baby wipes can be flushed…..I assume these cannot; can they be flushed ?
We are on septic so I don't flush baby wipes. It would depend on the paper towels chosen. If they paper towels are "flushable" then that would be an option.
Shouldn't you use boiled water to kill bacteria instead of just hot tap water?
I never have but it wouldn't hurt.
years ago, my friends made these wipes, except they used Bounty select-a-size……..tore each one off and stacked in a flat tupperware (any brand container works, just so that it seals)………then poured the mixture over the paper towels. I plan on making these to usse for myself……….cheaper than wet wipes………just don't flush.
I hear someone else say the Bounty Select-a-Size works well. Good to know it is true!
Has anyone made these with witch hazel to make adult wipes?
I am sorry. I haven't. Maybe someone else can respond on their experience?
I started making these 30 years ago when my first baby was born…and used them for all my kids. Now making them for my grandbabies.
TIP: Use the empty container from commercial pop-up baby wipes. Perhaps a friend would save one for you…or just go to $1 Store, throw out the wipes (if you don't care to use them) and reused the container.
Thanks for the tip!
can u use witch hazel instead of baby oil?
Samantha – I have never used witch hazel so I can't help you. Can someone else answer this?
Yay!!! thanks for this. My lo has sensitive type of skin, I hope this could help us.
These worked wonders on our babies. 🙂
I really do appreciate everyone's attempt at being natural however you should really do the research on how many chemicals are in your average household paper towel rolls…its a shocker!
Interesting. Thank you for sharing!
I'm trying to save money, not go spend more, and the Cloth Wipe Warmer says it has this anti-microbial stuff in it to keep your wipes from molding.
I am sorry for your frustration Sandra. I never used a Cloth Wipe Warmer and got along fine with the wipes.
What do you think the price per wipe would be if you make them this way? Trying to figure out if it is better to make then to buy with coupons. I spend about $.50-$1 on a regular sized pack of wipes. Any ideas?
Your biggest expense is the roll of paper towels. The rest would be the shampoo and oil. So, I guess it would depend on the price of paper towels.
But for me, it was the price so much as the fact that these didn't break out my babies' bottoms. Much gentler.
Well if u coupon then u know u can get free paper towel and pay nothing for baby soap and oil
That would be great to find that kind of coupons!
can you make these without the shampoo may have to find something thats not got chemicals in i do have some aveeno body wash coming may try that but am def going to have ago at making these for my little baby
I have used body wash as well.
Great post. It gives me a lot of useful information. Thanks for share !!!
-Laura-
Glad you like it!
I made these with Viva paper towels and used vegetable glycerine in place of baby oil. I love them! They do not give my baby's bum a rash like every other store-bought wipe does, no matter how much they say they're for sensitive skin. I pull them from an empty sanitizer wipes container.
Glad you like them!