Wet wipes ban

[Eire12]

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/plastic-wet-wipes-ban

I've only heard about this now although it has a date of Dec 25. From May 2027, non- recyclable single-use wipes will be banned. It includes baby wipes & face wipes. It may be difficult for low income families as I'm sure there may be a shortage of recyclable ones which will push prices up. Good for the environment though. Although if people didn't flush them this wouldn't be an issue.

You weren’t supposed to bath them every day back when I had mine?

I agree but I’m always drawn in by how cheap they are sometimes from Amazon. I got 18 packs for £8.55 recently. Any recommendations?

Oh dear...

I used to make some chamomile tea and use that with a bit of baby wash and some olive oil. It was lovely!

When? What year/decade? I know my mum would have bathed us every day. Hot weather, terry cloth nappies, and she’s pretty fastidious about cleanliness. Nothing better than a clean, freshly bathed baby.

I’ve always used Pampers Harmonie for mine. They’re always on sale in either Boots or Amazon. Full price is quite expensive.

We used cheeky wipes. Much more effective at cleaning and better for the environment. We had a set for bum and a set for face/hands (which are still in perfect condition and still used daily 6 plus years on).

But I think disposable wipes will continue, they'll just be plastic free.

my eldest is 25 and the advice was not to bathe every day unless really mucky.
obviously we washed babies, but tiny babies have a lot of natural oils in their skin which is beneficial.

Thank goodness. We've always used washable clothes from Cheeky Wipes. So easy to have them in a plastic bag and throw in washing machine when home. Now out of nappies, they do for faces and hands all the time.
I feel sick when I see the clutches of disposable wipes I see some mums using on babies at baby sensory class etc, honestly I was gobsmacked the first time I saw 5 being used for the tiniest poo ever. I would've used 1 cloth! Absolutely zero awareness or care of the impact.

If you are low income either buy a pack of washcloths before baby is born eg

https://amzn.eu/d/03GB7kIO

or cut up old towels into suitable sized cloths, get a plastic tub put water and a little baby wash in there, submerge a few clothes and hey presto wipes. I washed with the cloth nappies myself. 24 cloths, 24 prefold nappies and 4 wrap covers per size lasted me for 2 children including overlapping (more frequent washing then!) saves a fortune and the planet.

disposable wipes are convenient for out and about I grant you but for in the house really not necessary

wetwipes irritated my DDs skin, even the fragrance free ones, so I just used warm water with a squirt of fragrance free baby wash. It was fine, cotton wool balls for poo then a face cloth to finish off. Much nicer than cold baby wipes anyway.
Face cloths for washing faces and hands after eating too, much nicer.

I never bothered with the oils as was concerned about this too. Also my babies much preferred freshly warm water (who would like a sudden cold surprise on their bottom?!) so I kept dry and wet as I went, just with warm tap water.

It’s not as tricky with babies but wipes thankfully will still be available (just plastic free) as carers need to use them. Flannels aren’t a practical solution

Is this a serious question?? You do know that wet wipes are a relatively new concept don’t you?? 🤦‍♀️🤯 Ask your grandma how she changed her babies 👌🏻

I used chamomile tea with a few drops of baby oil - which you do put directly on baby's skin so no issues there!

Even if you have no interest in using cloth nappies, try cloth wipes.
Disposable wipes are useless in comparison.

Think of the worst nappy you've ever changed - how many Disposable wipes did it take? (Or did you give up and just bath them?) 1 cloth wipes would have been enough to sort it, with maybe a second clean wipe just to make sure.

Plenty of people use period pants now, so hopefully it won't be long till cloth nappies/wipes are the norm again.

Well we managed for thousands of years without wipes so we will just have to revert back. You buy a whole stack of cloth's in 2 different colours,one colour for wet nappies the other for dirty you buy a "top & toe" bowl, when baby has a wet nappy you use one half of the bowl and fill it with warm water and use the cloth, if baby has a dirty nappy you fill both halves with water use the "poo" cloths.
The cloths go in a lidded bucket with Napisan in it and twice a week you wash them on a hot wash.

I never used wipes, just cotton wool and warm water with some sudocrem after.

Use different products.

It's almost a decade since I regularly used baby wipes and even then the options for recycle-able and plastic free were plentiful and not particularly expensive. This ban is well overdue.

Poor person over here, dont worry we will be fine.
I use aldi mamia wet wipes they are plastic free and have been since 2022
I cant believe the amount of replies here from people wondering what plastic free wipes will be like and if they will disintegrate when trying to use them, when nearly all are already plastic free and have been for a while now

Cotton wool.

They've been plastic free in Ireland for quite some time now. Some are ok some are absolutely rubbish. You definitely use more due to them easily ripping. Anyone with disabled children in nappies really depend on them like myself, imagine trying to wash you nearly 20 year old poo nappy with cotton wool or a flannel 😂

No one said they couldn’t be bathed. But I often washed mine using cotton wool and warm water, wouldn’t put them in the bath each time.

@newmummy2006yay water and towels.

This is a complete non-issue. It’s only plastic-based wipes that will no longer be available, and IMHO a long overdue move.