I warn you now, this is a bit of a gushy post. I'm in love. Head over heels and 100% delighted with a new investment in our household. These little babies:
What are they? They are our fabric wet wipes. We (ok, Rachel) did some research and chose Cheeky Wipes, and I am extremely pleased with her choice. These fabric wet wipes have been really thought about. Every little detail has been planned to perfection. Let me take you through how they work.
There are two plastic tubs, with chirpily coloured lids (they even match our nursery - hurrah!). The smaller tub for "fresh wipes" fits conveniently into the larger "mucky wipes" box, so if you were transporting them somewhere, say on holiday, you could fit everything you needed into that lime-lidded tub. Literally, everything, because you could put all the wipes and the oil blends into the smaller tub first. See? They've thought it through!
These are the oils. Lavender and chamomile scented for your clean wipes, then lemon and tea tree for the grubby ones. I wish I could squeeze the scents down the broadband cables for you to enjoy, because they are LURVELY. And my pregnant nose is very fussy about what smells it can accept!
They're simple to prepare. You put a bit of water and a few drops of oil into your "fresh wipes" tub. Then you pop in some wet wipes and press them down so they get wet through. Flip them upside down and repeat, to be sure they've all got soaked. How many you put in will depend on how many you expect to get through in a day or so.
And there you have them: your deliciously fragrant, readily moistened wet wipes, ready to use. I cannot resist the urge to give them a good sniff before I use them. Our wipes themselves are a mixture or terry and bamboo, but various options are available. If you want patterned fabric or wild colours, they do them!
I'm finding ours lovely - we've used them on muddy hands, sticky faces and even pooey bottoms. Having some "friction", they clean muck off more efficiently, yet feel soft and gentle. They leave your skin free of that disposable wet wipe residue and smelling delightful.
So where do you put the wipes then? Straight into your "mucky" tub, which you'll have pre-loaded with water and that fresh smelling, naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal oil. Clever, no?
This tub, which I took down to empty into the laundry this morning, had all kinds of grim muck in it, but the only smell which wafted up to my nostrils was the lemon and tea tree. It smelt nummy.
But eek! Surely you don't have to TOUCH those grubby wipes? Nope! They've thought of that too. See how the mesh washing back hooks neatly inside the tub?
All you have to do is unhook it, pull the drawstring and lift the bag out. I drained the water down the sink, then held the tub underneath as I transfered the wet bag to the washing machine. No contact with any suspicious brown marks!
One of the best things is the fact that my entire load of laundry now emerges smelling sweetly of the various oils that have soaked into the wet wipes.
Now, you may be thinking that this is all very well, but the most important thing about disposable wet wipes is that you can take them anywhere with you. Nobody wants to be the Mama who has gone out for even a brief trip out WITHOUT wet wipes!
Not to fret! Here are my two out-and-about waterproof bags. Again, one for fresh, one for mucky. Before you head out, you just check you've got some damp wipes tucked into your fresh bag. Use, and place into the mucky bag. They are GREAT for out and about. They clean dodgy restaurant high chairs much better than your average disposable wet wipe! And you can clean MORE with one wipe.
Again, you don't have to touch anything grim when you get home. I haven't had anything disgusting enough yet to make use of this feature (I've just been tipping the wipes out into my mucky tub until washday), but the mesh bag within the mucky back ZIPS RIGHT OUT. That's the part that nearly made me squeal outloud with joy. Ok. I DID squeal with joy. I'm pregnant. I'm allowed to get excited about these things! It's just so well designed.
I'm completely sold on them. I'm devastated, frankly, that I hadn't heard about them before Little R was born. Thinking of all the wet wipes we've chucked into landfill makes me shudder. And I have a HUGE binliner in my garage, over-flowing with empty wet wipe packs that I collect (not just our own, half the village gives them to me!), to send onto charity to be melted down. Because I canNOT bear the idea of all that plastic being buried.
Cheeky Wipes have done a FANTASTIC job, taking the guilt out of wiping my toddler's face (and ears, and neck, and hair - why DOES he have to wipe his garlic bread there?!). Yes, I could have made some flannels myself, and I actually tried, but without the handy, well-designed bags and tubs and pre-blended oils, all I had was a stale-smelling flannel in a plastic bag. It was an epic fail. I am so grateful that a company out there has taken the responsibility of making them out of my hands. They're not even paying me to gush like this!
I just LOVE my wet wipes. THIS is the kind of stuff you should be told about in your Bounty pack - not disposable nappes and wet wipes and dodgy lotions to smear all over your children!