Reusable Wipes - What do you do with them after wiping!

[NellyE]

Hi,

I'm planning on using reusable wipes for when the baby is born - got some fleece and terry toweling I'm going to chop up.

I was wondering though, after you've used them, what do you do with them to get rid of the poo? You can't just put them in the washing machine all pooey - can you??? And cleaning them off in the sink seems v. unhygenic. Do you just soak them in something?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

We use cut up muslin cloths. Wipe as much of the poo off with the nappy liner (or disposable nappy) and flush or throw. Then use the wipe. If you are washing your own nappies put the wipes in with the nappies to soak and wash.

We no longer wash the nappies but put the wipes in a bin (one of those tall silver ones, cost a tenner from tesco), about every third day put napisan and hot water in the inner bit of the bin with the cloths and soak for a couple of hours then wash at 40 degrees. Make sure the bin or bucket has a lid that shuts properly or you'll get a smell.

There is not much poo to be wiped off from a tiny newborn at first. Also it is quite liquidy so most goes into the cloth so can't be scraped off or otherwise removed. We did lazy part-time EC so held babe over potty when changing at home from 2 weeks & got to know when poos were coming so got most of them in a receptacle to be emptied in toilet. Worth doing if you are on board with the philosophy of it.

I dry pail my nappies and my wipes. I've got DD2 in cloth nappies and I'm potty training DD1 so lots and lots of wipes are being used right now. I have an XL wetbag that the nappies go in and then a nappy pail with a mesh bag in it. The wipes go in the net bag/pail dry and I'm washing every 2-3 days. I do a rinse first then a 60 degree wash with wipes and nappies.
If you are going out and about then a small wetbag is good for keeping your wipes in. I like monkey foot design some here

Dry pail nappies and wipes.
BF baby poo on wipe just went in bucket with nappy ready for when washed but now bigger the 'dollop' goes in the loo, wipe bottie and again put in bucket.

Bung 'em in the washing machine. I too was horrified by the idea - now I merrily sling in a load of pooey nappies (and wipes) every morning

My DD is almost 4 mths and we are still just putting them straight into the machine and they come out clean. TBH fleece comes clean quite easy anyway so you should be ok. I just put mine in bucket with nappies until its time to wash.

Modern washing machines are very efficient and will just clean it all off. The water goes into the sewage system the same as toilet water so is fine in that sense. The wash at 40 or 60 will kill anything. Works just fine!

I use cheeky wipes www.cheekywipes.co.uk after wiping babies bums put dirty wipes in tupperware box filled with water and some teatree and lemon grass oil to soak. the box also has a mesh drawstring bag to make it easier for washing you just bung the drawstring bag with dirty wipes in the washer its dead easy!