How to Make an Environmentally-Friendly Baby Wipe

Any new mother will tell you that a quality baby wipe can save lives. When you are on a revolving loop of diaper changing you need to have a material that will do the job effectively and quickly. One of the most difficult things about them is that they are disposable, making them costly and ecologically destructive. It is easy and cost effective to create reusable baby wipes at home out of environmentally-friendly materials and ingredients.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Water
• Shampoo
• Vinegar
• Aloe vera
• Calendula oil
• Lavender oil
• Menthol (optional)
• Tea tree oil

1. Take a very clean bowl and pour in a quarter cup of water. Add an all-natural or child-friendly shampoo, which will be easy on the baby and does not have a large amount of active chemicals. Do not use too much shampoo, keep it at about one teaspoon. Take a teaspoon of normal cooking vinegar and pour it quickly into the bowl.

2. You are going to need to use some essential oils and plant extracts in this item to help the skin on the infant you will be using the cloth on. Pour in a quarter cup of aloe gel into the bowl and stir up the ingredients. Next mix in one tablespoon of calendula oil. You will need to put in a tiny amount of lavender, tea tree and rosemary essential oils. Only use about two to three drops of the these oils, which should be easy to measure because they usually come in a dropper bottle when purchased from a naturopath or health food store.

3. Mix the solution well and then pour it into a jar, secure the cap and shake it vigorously. Put the solution in a cool, dry place. A refrigerator is a good idea, but make sure the temperature is not set too low otherwise you will get a certain amount of frost on the top of the container. The solution can be stored for a good amount of time, but no longer than three to four weeks.

4. You can use home towels for the wipes, but make sure they are not too coarse. Try using cloth napkins for this because they tend to be both soft and absorbent. Cut them into small squares and then put them in a separate, larger jar.

5. Take the solution you made and pour them into the jar containing the cloth squares. Try not to over-saturate them, but just enough so that all of the square will be very damp. Now the cloths are ready to be used as wipes during diaper changing.

6. When you are finished with using one simply wash it as you would with any of your clothes, but try and keep them separate from the rest of your linens. Once they are clean and dry return them to the jar and pour more of the solution over them. This can be a constant process, as long as you keep replenishing the solution.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not use this if the infant has a significant cut or rash in the diaper area as the vinegar with be painful.