One of the best gifts I received from a friend post-birth, was the recipe and supplies for homemade baby wipes.
I loved them!
How did I NOT know about homemade baby wipes before my 4th child?!
Not only are they cheap and easy to make…they are also way better for your chubby baby’s bottom than store-bought wipes.
Supplies
- 1 roll Bounty (this b
- A very sharp knife or an electric knife works best (*UPDATE* We found a much better way by using a Miter Saw)
- 1 T. baby wash
- 1 T. coconut oil (you can use other oils but coconut has lots of good benefits so it’s a good choice)
- 1 C. water (make sure it is hot if you’re using coconut oil so it’ll melt)
- 1 container the appropriate size to house the wipes (the one pictured came from Dollar Tree)
Directions
Remove the cardboard roll inside the paper towels and cut the remaining paper towels in half. (as noted below by Amber, you can leave the roll in there and remove it as the final step…whichever works best for you)
Mix the baby wash, oil, & hot water around to make sure the wash and oil are evenly distributed.
Pour the mixture into your wipes container.
Add the cut paper towels and let them sit for about an hour until all the liquid spreads throughout the paper towels.
Pull wipes from the center.
To make them more travel-friendly, I take a chunk out and put them in a quart-size Ziploc.
It’s unbelievably easy! And I simply love this particular brand of baby wash which I bought from Target.
The best part about these…they do not contain alcohol and they are super-soothing for those delicate areas, especially if you’re dealing with a diaper rash.
Just make sure you get the right size Bounty. I bought rolls that were too big once and I couldn’t fit them in my container.
I am wondering if the coconut oil solidifies after the water cools down? Or does it absorb before that happens so you don’t really notice? I just know coconut oil is solid below like 76 degrees and sometimes our house is cooler than that. Has anyone had any issues?
From my experience, the towels absorb the coconut oil. When our home is cooler, I just flip the freshly made container of wipes to get an even distribution of the mix. When it’s warmer, it doesn’t seem to make a difference. Best wishes!
I finally figured my solution out using your recommendations- thanks for the help!! I use Costco brand paper towels, cut them in half with an electric knife ( great suggestion on here), put in plastic lidded container with 3 C distilled water mixed with 1 tbsp Dr. Bronners Lavender Castile soap and 1 tbsp Organic Coconut Oil ( from Trader Joe’s). The half roll lasts a little over a week for my infant and 3 year old. Yes, can you believe my 3 yo still is in diapers! Not for long, we’re going gonzo-commando training this week! I love love love this and wish I would’ve been doing it longer. Thanks again!
Ha! Yes I can believe you have a 3 yo in diapers. Our 3rd child was the hardest to potty train. I was convinced that she would be wearing diapers at her wedding someday. But alas…she is finally potty trained. “Gonzo-commando” LOVE IT!!!
So glad you found a solution that worked. The water is a definite variable depending on how thick your roll of paper towels are. I wondered how castile would work and I’m so happy you shared your results! Thank you!!
I was so excited to try this I cut a partial roll of Bounty in half with some big metal scissors after removing the cardboard. I made up a partial batch of your solution, using baby oil instead of coconut oil until I can get some. Instead of pulling them up through the middle, you can pull them the normal way you pull paper towels and use them like that in an empty Huggies wipe container and they work beautifully. My partial roll fit fine, but once they are saturated, I assume a full small roll would also fit. I love how they come out the top connected and you can tear the wipe off in the size you need. Thanks!
I’m glad I saw your comment; I was just about to ask if using an empty plastic wipes container works well! Thanks!
How much money does this actually save? I would love to try and make a big batch of these since I have 2 littles in diapers still. Plus I use wipes for other things all the time too! And I have all the ingredients except the paper towels! I like the idea of tea tree oil, and the coconut oil has anti-bacterial properties as well. Excited to try this!
I’m sorry Sarah, but I’ve not worked out the cost comparison perfectly. The cost and size of Bounty rolls varies quite a bit.
In a very simplistic way, I look at it like this. For $14 I can buy an 8 roll package of paper towels which get’s me 16 batches of homemade wipes. Each batch is 77 sheets/wipes. So for $14 I have 1,232 wipes, or $0.01/wipe. Of course you’d still need to figure in your your soap and oil.
Cost for Bounty (and other good brands) varies so much as does the coconut oil, baby wash, & tea tree oil. But even with those added in, they are still less expensive (and healthier) than storebought wipes.
Hope this helps. My brain hurts. 🙂
There really is a huge price variance, depending on sales, but I make my wipes for next to nothing.
CVS typically runs 12 smaller rolls of Bounty for $7.00 (after rewards money). I buy mine when they are at their lowest price, which is around $4.50. There are 912 “wipes” in the bundle.
CVS and Rite Aid typically run two sales a year during which you can get baby wash / soap for free or less than a dollar. (I’m still working through bottles I bought years ago.) You will use approximately one bottle per bundle of (12) rolls.
I use vinegar instead of oil (to help with mold), at the cost of perhaps $0.50 per 12 rolls.
HIGH END:
($7.00 + $1.00 + $0.50) / 912 = $0.009 cent per wipe
LOW END:
($4.50 + $1.00 + $0.50) / 912 = $0.0065 cent per wipe
The lowest price per wipe at Wal-Mart is $0.02 cent per wipe, which means it’s almost a $10 difference between a box of 900 wipes and making 900 wipes. Since so little tea tree oil or coconut oil is used, you could buy some pretty expensive oil and still come out better off. I coupon all the time to keep the price of baby necessities low, and I have never regularly couponed a cheaper type of wipe.
Thank you Melissa! What a great breakdown, this is so helpful!
How long do your wipes last before they mould?
I just bought a new baby wash — Yes to Baby Carrots — and it’s a foaming wash (as in it foams when you push the pump). I’m thinking one or two pumps would do it for the solution, what do you think? I want to try this!
I think 2 pumps would be a good start Jennifer. Maybe up the soap if you find the wipes don’t wipe the dirty diapers well. Foaming soap is quite a bit diluted compared to regular baby wash. Also, there is leeway in making your wipe solution. Best wishes!
That’s what I was thinking, too, thank you!
I love the wipes solution, unfortunately I did not have coconut oil, only organic extra virgin olive oil, so I used that for my first batch. I already use the Kleenex brand disposable hand towels, and they are pre-folded to pop out of the dispenser. So I opened the container from the top, put them into my empty Huggies container, poured the solution over top and viola! pop-up baby wipes. So far they seem to be holding up quite well. Thanks again for the recipe!
You’re welcome Lisa! Glad to hear that the Kleenex are working for you. I’ve use olive oil in a pinch and it does work, but coconut oil is my preference. Thanks for stopping by!
Does it matter what sort of coconut oil I use? Virgin, extra virgin, regular? There are too many kinds online to choose from. Thanks!
It can be any one of them Chelsea. I like to order Extra Virgin because I use it in cooking as well.
I love this idea and although my baby just turned 7, we still use wipes. I keep them in the car and use for after pumping gas or when we eat or come in from a store, etc., to clean our hands. Since I leave a container in the car, and they aren’t used everyday, do you think that would be a problem in storing them? I’m reading the various posts about the mold, I would in fact add TTO because I do have it on hand, but i’m wondering about storage in a container in a vehicle. Thanks. so glad I found this. I can no longer find the brand I once used, and the prices you pay to get a good sized box of them is ridiculous!
I’m not sure about storing them in the car, Maryanne. I would think that adding the TTO would ward off any mold but vehicle temperature would be a variable. You may also want to use distilled water in your batch. Best wishes!
What wold the alternative of bounty be in australia ?
I’m sorry Vic but I’m unfamiliar with the brands available in Australia. I’d start with the most heavy-duty paper towel you can buy and go from there till you find one that does not fall apart when the wipes are prepared.