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With this Homemade Baby Wipes recipe, you can make your own baby wipes at home for less than a dollar a box! This recipe makes the best baby wipes, and you can trust they are safe and have the best, most natural ingredients for your baby.
Homemade Baby Wipes
You know we love the idea of homemade food. Hello! It’s a food blog! But yummy desserts and tasty entrees are not the only things that are better when you make them at home. Baby products, like these homemade baby wipes are another great place to dip into your domestic side.
We have an amazing recipe for Homemade Window Cleaner too, and Homemade Lush Bath Bombs as well as a recipe for How to Make Your Own Produce Wash. There’s so much you can do right at home to save money!
Ingredients for DIY Baby Wipes
These homemade natural baby wipes smell so good, they are soft, and they don’t contain any harsh chemicals like a lot of the disposables you find at the store. They’re more sanitary than cloth wipes and are perfect for babies with sensitive skin to prevent diaper rash. Here’s all you need:
- Roll of paper towels, cloth-like (I used Bounty brand but you can use Viva paper towels or any other brand you like.)
- Two cups of water (you can use distilled water or tap water)
- Two tablespoons of liquid baby bath soap (any baby shampoo or baby wash will work)
- One tablespoon baby oil (try to avoid using coconut oil, olive oil, almond oil, lavender oil. It needs to be a mineral based oil, and baby oil is safest for your little one)
- For a yummy smell you could add a couple drops of tea tree oil, lavender essential oil, chamomile or aloe vera to your DIY baby wipes solution.
Make More, Spend Less
When it comes to babies, these little bundles of joy tend to be very expensive. All the gear required can leave your budget feeling like its expanding faster than a pregnant woman’s belly. But here is one way we can help. Homemade baby wipes cost less than a dollar a box to make. This is a big savings considering you can spend up to five dollars for a box of wipes, depending on the brand. These wipes are a perfect gift for a new mommy. Make sure you print the recipe and give her some extra supplies so she can continue to make her own.
How to Store Homemade Baby Wipes
You’ll need to find a 7 to 8 cup square or round container. The one I used is pictured below with the lid. It is a Better Homes and Gardens 7.5 cup flip-tite square plastic container. I’ve also seen some terrific Rubbermaid options. I simply cut a roll of paper towels in half with a sharp knife to get the size right for my plastic container and saved the other half for the next time I make wipes. I like to get a brand that has select-a-size sheets so I can get the right amount of wipe for the job. Once I found the container I liked, the whole project from start to finish took less than 10 minutes. And they look so pretty in a cute container on the changing table.
If you need some for the diaper bag, you can grab a few of the disposable wipes and place them in a smaller container with a lid for safe keeping. I like to refill a purchased travel size plastic baby wipe container for the diaper bag with my own homemade wipes.
What Readers are Saying About these Disposable Wipes
Still skeptical? Here’s what some of our readers have to say about these wipes:
“I love this recipe! We’ve recently switched to homemade cleaners as a way to save some money, and to be a bit more mindful of what we’re putting into the air. We used the Little Journey Baby Wash and Shampoo from Aldi’s (Hypoallergenic, Paraben free, Phthalate free, Quaternium-15 free, and SUPER AFFORADABLE)! I’ve been using these for the last few months now, and I honestly don’t think I’ll go back to buying wipes, EVER! It’s so much cheaper, and they clean the twins’ bottoms so, so well! THANK YOU for posting this!! <3” -Betty
“This is genius! Why did I never think about making homemade wipes with my son. Will save this for baby#2.” – Sam
“I did it and it works!. I ran out of baby wipes and was in need of some so I looked this to and made in with in 5 mins and it works amazingly! No more having to buy baby wipes.”– Ashley
How to Make Homemade Baby Wipes
Ingredients
- 1 roll of paper towels cloth-like (I used Bounty brand)
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons liquid baby bath soap
- 1 tablespoon baby oil
- 7 to 8 cup square or round container
Instructions
- Cut paper towel roll in half with a serrated knife, a bread knife works great. Place one of the halves in the round or square container. Save the other half for when you are ready to make another batch.
- Boil 2 cups of water for 2 minutes.
- Add liquid bath soap and baby oil to the boiled water.
- Pour mixture evenly over paper towels.
- Pull out the cardboard core of the paper towel roll. It comes out easily once it is wet.
- Place lid on container.
- Keep the lid securely on the container until ready to use, start by pulling the wipes from the center of the roll, and then replace lid after each use.
- The wipes should stay wet and fresh for up to a week. If you haven't used all of the wipes and they start to dry out, simply add some boiled water to refresh the roll. DO NOT FLUSH!
Made theses with one minor change; I added more essential Oils to counter the mediciny smell of the Tea Tree. That is one scent that I find offencive. I know of the medicinal values but it stinks. Recipe works fine but is I may suggest, don’t use the half sheet towels, they are too small in my opinion. I like making save money items like this since the Wife and I have retired. It is interesting to learn new things for when the people that live in our neighborhoods can’t plan for minor situations before they happen.
We discovered these homemade “butt-wipes” (as we call them) probably 35 years ago when my wife was selling Tupperware. They saved us SO much $$$ over the course of 4 boys that I shudder what other people comparatively $pend likewise. Such a simple recipe with only 4 ingredients. Our eldest son and his wife just gave us our 1st grand so I broke out the old Tupper box, bought some baby oil, shampoo, a roll of Bounty (and ONLY Bounty cuz everything else ends with poop on your fingers), and gave them this wonderful gift. I’ll bet my lineage will continue the “butt-wipe” legacy.
Thank you for sharing this amazing homemade baby wipes recipe! It’s always great to have safe and natural alternatives for our little ones.
I’m so happy you like It as much as we do! Thank you for your comment!
Hi. I was trying to find a recipe for cleansing wipes for adults. Due to medication, I have a rather permanent ongoing case of yeast infection which is really painful. I also don’t like using paper towels, and haven’t for decades, so I wanted to find another alternative.
My ‘Solution’ is 1.5 cups of any hydrosols. I have used rose, frankincense, peppermint, cucumber and other hydrosols
1 TBSP of my homemade Queen of Hungary’s Water (ACV base)(or witch hazel),
3 TBSP Aloe Vera gel
2 TBSP organic calendula infused oil (very soothing)
1 TBSP fractionated coconut oil
8 drops lavender essential oil
4 drops organic tea tree essential oil.
I started out using my “family cloth” and putting them into the solution. This didn’t work for the simple reason that there is just too much oil on the wipes.
So, I made a large batch, put it in a glass container, and using an 8 oz spray bottle, spray my family cloth and use it. This way, there is little waste of the solution and it cleans, soothes and washes up well.
Maybe this will help someone who, like me chooses not to use paper towels.
I just made a batch with Viva paper towels. There’re about 165 sheets and I’m wondering how quickly I need to use these so they don’t mold. I’m thinking I go through that many wipes within two weeks with my one baby right now.
The wipes should stay wet and fresh for up to a week. If you haven’t used all of the wipes and they start to dry out, simply add some boiled water to refresh the roll. They won’t mold since there isn’t any food particles in the wipes.
I got this Baby Wipe Recipe 24 yrs ago as a baby shower gift. I used it exclusively for both my children. Either one of them ever, and I mean EVER, got a diaper rash, or a rash of any kind. (Though my recipe didn’t boil the water – just premix in container – so I’m curious why water needs to be boiled for 2 minutes.)
I’ve now made my first batch for personal use. And though it’s an odd gift for a traditional Homemade Christmas Present Exchange – I know my 70+ yr old Mother will end up loving them!
Yeah…we never boiled the water either. And 4 very healthy and robust football players later… And now our 4 day old grandson is getting the same “treatment” on his butt!
Hi, I’m just wondering why the oil has to be mineral based?
It is odorless and tasteless which makes it less likely to irritate a baby’s skin! It is also highly refined and purified.