Recipe for a Cloth Wipe Solution Concentrate

Since I cloth diaper I decided to use cloth wipes as well. I use cloth wipes to save money and we have. I have tons of disposable wipes we got at the shower and have yet to use. We do use them when out and about since we then use disposable diapers, but we have gone through about 3 packs of disposable wipes in 3 months. Thats a good chunk of money not spent on disposable wipes.

We wash and treat our cloth wipes just like our cloth diapers when it comes to cleaning them. When I ordered our Best Bottoms I ordered 2 packs of  GroVia Cloth Wipes and they are holding up very well. I use them every day and wash every other day with our diapers. There is some staining from poo, but I just sun them with my diapers and the stains disappear. After 3 months of constant use we have no fraying on the wipes. They are a great size and clean my daughter very well, overall I really like them.

When I first decided to use cloth wipes I went on a hunt for a wipe solution recipe. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a store bought wipe solution and while some people just use water, I wanted a bit more for cleaning the little one's bum. Most recipes I found made a solution you would need to make batches of frequently. I wanted more of a wipe solution concentrate that I could just add to water and be done. I found Cleaning Out the Clutter had some great wipe solution recipes and used this as a basis for my concentrate.

I started with a cup of Dr. Bronner's Baby Castile soap, a cup of olive oil*, and then 20 drops of tea tree and lavender oil (each), gently swirl the container of solution concentrate to mix the oil and soap (I do this each time I add it to water). I just store it in a mason jar in my cabinet. I started out adding 2 tbsp of that solution to a cup of filtered water, but thought it was too oily, so I cut it down to 1 tbsp. I store my wet wipes in a plastic container that used to hold disposable wipes. I just place my clean wipes in there, pour a solution over them, close the lid and shake. I made one batch of this concentrate and used it for a couple of months.

At first this worked great. It smelled good, was easy on my daughter's bum, and was easy to use. Wipes were washed with my cloth diapers and I had no problems. After about 2 months of use I found my Best Bottom stay dry inserts were repelling, but not my hemp ones. I am leading towards to wipe solution being my problem as you can feel the oil on your hands after using the wipes. Its not super oily, but its there. This lead me to believe the oil is building up on the microfiber.

I have since stripped my diaper inserts and revamped the recipe. I changed the recipe to 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 cups Dr. Bronners, and then 20 drops of lavender and tea tree oil (each). I will continue to use 1 tbsp in a cup of filtered water and pour over wipes in a plastic container. I'm now waiting to see if I have repelling issues with the new recipe. I'll keep you posted.

*According to Cleaning Out the Clutter you can use other oils. I do like coconut oil in general, but was concerned that since this will be sitting around the oil may not stay liquid. I had plenty of olive oil and so that is what I went with.