We know that sometimes the thought of switching to reusable nappies can be overwhelming, but if there’s one thing that helps ease you into reusable nappy life, it’s trying reusable wipes. They’re like the younger cousin of nappies - a little less intimidating, a smaller investment and (as you’ll soon find out!) totally wonderful.
Here are five reasons why you should switch to reusable wipes.
1. Reusable baby wipes are easier than you think
The thought of washing lots of wipes might seem a little overwhelming to begin with, but it’s a lot more manageable than you might think. Here’s how to use your reusable baby wipes:
- Store clean wipes in a jar or container soaked in cooled boiled water. Or just wet them as you go from a bottle or nearby sink if you’d prefer.
- Wipe!
- Store dirty wipes in a waterproof wet bag ready for wash day. If any wipes are really dirty, rinse or knock off the worst of the solids into the toilet before putting the wipe into the wet bag.
- Empty your wet bag into the washing machine, run a rinse cycle and then follow with your longest wash at 40 or 60 degrees with a full dose of detergent.
- Line dry or tumble dry if you store your wipes dry. Otherwise they can go straight back into the container ready for the next use.
If you recently had a baby you’ll know that babies come with a pretty hefty amount of washing! Adding wipes into the mix is a drop in the ocean, especially once you’ve got into a good routine. If you’re still not sure whether to give it a go, why not use reusable wipes for wiping faces and hands to begin with. You’ll probably be surprised at how easy it turns out to be!
2. Reusable wipes are better for the environment
Reusable baby wipes are one of the biggest contributors to global plastic waste. In the UK alone, we use around 11 billion disposable wipes each year, the majority of which end up on sea beds, river banks, or in landfill. Even wipes that are sold as biodegradable are likely to sit in landfill for hundreds of years, since they are often bagged in plastic.
Disposable wipes also cause huge environmental health problems when used incorrectly. They made up more than 90% of the material causing sewer blockages that Water UK investigated in 2017.
On top of this, it’s worth knowing that it takes a huge amount of water and energy to produce disposable wipes. So if you’re worried about the water and energy consumption required to wash your reusable baby wipes, you’ll be surprised to know that the lifetime water and energy cost of your reusable wipes is very likely to be lower than if you’d used disposables.
By switching to reusable wipes, you can take a simple step that has a big impact. We think it’s a no brainer.
3. Reusable baby wipes are (a lot) cheaper
Babies are very mucky, so it’s possible to get through a huge number of wipes each week. If you’re using disposable wipes, the cost can really add up.
The average child is likely to need around 15,000 disposable wipes just for nappy changes. The cheapest brands available cost around 1p per wipe, so over the child’s time in nappies the cost works out to around £150. Not to mention extra wipes you use for hands and faces!
By comparison, a set of 30 of our reusable wipes will only cost around £36. Plus you’ll be able to use them for future children, saving you even more money.
4. Reusable wipes work better
Let’s face it, disposable wipes just don’t work very well! Every parent has found themselves using wipe after wipe on a particularly grim nappy change, or been caught out by the frustration of trying to remove a single wipe from the pack without bringing the next five with it.
Thankfully reusable baby wipes don’t have these issues! They are so much more effective at cleaning, even with just water on them. You might need 5 wipes for the average change with disposable wipes, where one reusable wipe will do the job for you.
5. Reusable baby wipes are gentler
One of the wonderful things about reusable wipes is that you know exactly what is going into them, and onto your baby. While disposable wipes are packed with chemicals to keep them fresh and to help them to do a good job, all you really need to put on your reusable wipes is some clean water.
This is particularly important for the newborn stage. Midwives will often recommend using only cooled, boiled water on baby, and while there are brands of disposable wipes that cater for tiny babies’ sensitive skin, they are expensive. Nothing beats a soft bamboo wipe with just warm water.
If you’d like to, you can jazz up your wipe solution with some chamomile tea or properly diluted essential oils, but one of the joys of reusable wipes is that you really don’t need to!
Convinced? Take a look at our reusable wipes and other accessories to get started.
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