How To Make Homemade Disposable Baby Wipes
You only need four items to make homemade disposable baby wipes which makes them a great natural and cost-effective option! These non-toxic homemade baby wipes help clean and soothe. Likewise, they're perfect for sensitive skin! Learn how to make both DIY wipes either as disposable wipes or reusable ones!
Learning how to make your own disposable baby wipes is one of the best things (outside of cloth diapers!) I think you can do for your babe. And unlike cloth diapers, DIY baby wipes are crazy simple. Plus:
- homemade baby wipes save a ton of money
- they help keep the babes bum soft and have a less chance of rash and sensitivities
- there are a few hacks so you can find a system that works for YOU
Now, when it comes to diaper rashes, I truly believe it was a combo of things that kept my girls' skin soft: cloth diapers, airing out, and homemade soothing baby lotion. However, the DIY baby wipes definitely helped.
Don't want to read? JUMP to the recipe!
Why Homemade Disposable Baby Wipes?
Traditional baby wipes have some pretty random and potentially harmful ingredients in them. And sometimes these ingredients can:
- cause skin irritations
- dry out babes skin
- can be endocrine disruptors
For me, babes’ skin is the purest of things. I want to snuggle my babes and not coat them in sketchy ingredients.
Ingredients In The Wipe Solution
Whether or not you are making homemade disposable baby wipes or DIY reusable ones, the ingredients for the diaper wipe solution are the same.
Aloe Vera Gel: Using this gel helps soothe the babes’ bottom as it’s anti-inflammatory. We all know how bad diaper rash can be and the aloe helps reduce a burn. Thus, it’s nice, cooling, and good for the skin.
Sweet Almond Oil: I use a bit of this to keep the babes bum silky and soft. Obviously, you don’t want that precious skin to dry out so the oil in the recipe helps prevent that. Naturally, for babies, I do like to infuse the oil with lavender to help with any irritation. Learn more about this from my calming baby butter.
Dr. Bronners Castille Soap: This soap is extremely mild and fragrance-free so perfect for babies. Adding a little bit of soap to the mix just helps clean it up.
I was once asked how homemade disposable baby wipes actually clean. The implication being that the solution wasn't strong enough and that I needed to use store-bought diaper wipes on my babes.
To anyone dealing with this my reply was simple: Do you sterilize your bum every time you go to the washroom?” I didn’t think so. Furthermore, I find, so long as you are properly cleaning your babe when changing you shouldn’t have any issues.
Folding The Paper Towels
The longest part of making disposable baby wipes is folding the paper towels! While I have seen many blog posts on cutting the paper towel roll in half and pulling from the center, I found that never worked. The paper towel jammed and once wet ripped. It was enraging.
If you want your wipes to work properly, spend some time folding paper towels in accordion style (video below). I used to fold a big bucket while I watched a show every month or so.
You can always use more paper towels if you plan on using disposable wipes. So when you have spare moments- fold! Simply store them and don't pour the mixture over them until you're ready to use them.
Storing Them
The diaper wipe solution can be made at any time and just stored in a glass jar. Having some on hand means that when you run out of wipes you can easily fill them up.
This diaper wipe solution works for both homemade disposable diaper wipes as well as DIY cloth wipes.
Hack: With my second babe I was much lazier in terms of making DIY baby wipes. Instead of making the actual homemade disposable baby wipes I simply had a spray bottle of diaper wipe spray on the changing table with cloth pads.
When the baby needed a change, I sprayed the cloth wipes with the spray, and voila. Lazy hack at it's finest.
How To Make The Wipes
To make the wipes, follow the steps below:
- Whip up a batch of the diaper wipe solution
- Place the folded paper towels into a baking pan or large mixing bowl
- Pour part of the wipe solution over the paper towels making sure to coat them all
- Let sit for a couple of minutes. Flip the paper towel stack over and pour more solution over the bottom
- TIP: I personally lift the middle of the wipes and pour in there too to make sure they're all wet
- Make sure that all the paper towels have come into contact with the solution
- Transfer the stack over to a reusable wipe container and pull the top wipe through the weighted opening
Cloth Wipes
If you're looking to go even further- use reusable wipes! We personally did this and loved it. Given we were already using cloth diapers it only made sense to use reusable wipes as well.
To make DIY cloth wipes you have a few options:
The Firth Option: cloth diaper wipes simply whip up a batch of homemade diaper wipe solution and spray onto as needed
The Second Option: place the cloth diaper wipes stacked, into a large container. Pour the wipe solution over top and place the lip on. Peel one up when you need one.
The Third Option: roll up or twist the cloth diaper wipes. Place the wipes into a large jar. Pour the solution over top and cover with a lid. With this option, the wipes are sometimes easier to get out.
How Long Do They Last?
While it can be tempting to make a bunch of DIY disposable baby wipes, I wouldn't advise it. Paper towels sitting in a liquid mixture will eventually go rancid. In my experience, the paper towels last, fully made for roughly one week in a sealed container.
That said, you normally go through a stack easily by then- especially with a newborn!
Essential Oils
When I first started making my own baby wipes I was adding in essential oils to make the mixture a bit more potent. Personally, I used tea tree to give it a bit more of a disinfection boost, lavender to help prevent any skin irritation, and chamomile because it’s calming.
However, five years later I’ve spent some significant time learning about the safety of essential oils from lea Jacobson. And while I most definitely do use essential oils with my kids (specifically the kid-safe ones from plant Therapy) using them under one year old is still a very debated subject.
Thus moving forward with my third babe, I will not be using essential oils for the first year (instead I’ll infuse herbs into oil and add a teaspoon or so of that) to feel a bit safer. You can learn about which herbs to infuse into an oil here.
Looking For Natural Baby Products But DIY Not Your Thing?
Sometimes, homemade is just not practical. In which case, check out the baby section at Primally Pure. Their products are one of my favorites because they're made with all-natural ingredients I can pronounce and purchase. Plus, save 10% off your entire first order with code mamabear10
I also have a list of the best natural, non-toxic baby products I used with my girls. Everything from shampoo to bubble bath and more.
Don't forget to pin these Easy Homemade Disposable Baby Wipes!
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How To Make Homemade Disposable Baby Wipes
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Natural Baby Wipe Options
Let's be honest, making your own anything will not always happen. For my house, we opted to have store-bought wipes when we were out of the house. Below are a few brands that I found half decent and used frequently. They rate low on The EWG app as well.
Learning how to make homemade baby wipes is an easy way to save money while protecting your babe's skin! Likewise, even if you go the disposable route you're still making a big difference for the environment.
Jarred Lawrence
Thank you for your fantastic ideas. I always have baby wipes in my home, ready and waiting for my grandchildren, as they are handy to have around to wipe mucky little fingers. I often prefer to use disinfectant wipes to wipe out the dirt. This makes our home clean and hygiene.
fitasamamabear
Yes. Baby wipes get used for EVERYTHING lol having some in the car is super handy too!
Oriana
I actually opened this link to see if you said how you made the top layer/weight that you have laying over the wipes to help you only get one out at a time. Do you have info on that anywhere?
fitasamamabear
Hey Oriana!
I didn't even think to include that information! I didn't actually make that container I bought it! So freaking helpful. It's called OXO Tot Perfect Pull Wipes Dispenser and you can get it at well (affiliate link: https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-8327278-12248918) or obviously on amazon (https://amzn.to/3i7o8hn) It definitely came in handy for my first! For my second I just used cloth wipes or paper towel on the roll and a diaper wipe spray instead. Hope that helps!
Jaxon
I am surprised at how I never really thought of making these at home, I usually take help from hand sanitiser wipes for these purposes. But I really love this idea, and how I can sort of see the moistness for myself. I only have one question though, how do I separate the sheets without tearing them while they are in use?
fitasamamabear
Yes! they're honestly so simple to make. I don't really measure any more but just keep a jar of the mix close so if I need to add more moisture it's right there. In terms of separating them it's all in how you fold them. You need to make sure you fold the accordion style and then "lock" them together like the wipes that come in a package. I think I go over it in this video (https://youtu.be/Dt3OSdTHAa4) if you need more of a demo though just let me know!