Comments on Crunchy Chicken: Cloth wipes - doin' it on the cheap

For the smell factor, you would treat it the same ...

2009-09-08T07:18:47.448-07:00

For the smell factor, you would treat it the same as with cloth diapers. You have a small container (preferably with a well fitted lid) add a smal amount of water with vinegar to that container and toss your used wipes in. Then at the end of the day take them into the laundry room, drain the container and rinse it (preferably with grey water) and then start again. I then rinse in a bucket of grey water all my wipes and leave them for the next wash load, or since I usually have one wash load every other day, I throw them in.
I am not a #2 cloth person, I just can't do it, but I use them for #1 as does DD#1, but DD#2 isn't quite ready for that.
DH will never be ready for this, despite the fact he has to have Charmin Butt wipes to feel fresh. I keep telling him, after using TP just take a cotton wipe out o the box (I repurposed an old tissue box) and wet it down.

Oh I hate flannel wipes. I mean I do use cloth wip...

2008-10-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

Oh I hate flannel wipes. I mean I do use cloth wipes and they're flannel on one side and knit terry on the other. The flannel is great for #1 but #2? Forget it. Oddly enough, in my internet searches, 1-ply flannel seems to be the standard. It's sad. If people use those, they may never stick with cloth wipes at all. I know my friend tried it and went back to TP due to the "smear factor" of flannel.

The only ones I'll buy or sell have terry on the flip side :-)

Believe it or not, Crunchy is NOT the only blogger on the Web blogging about butt wipes made from flannel remnants at Jo-Ann!

Two months in, I like the system a lot and our bathroom does not smell like pee. My wipes are about 4x4" and they are fine.

This is super fantastic! We love new ways to reduc...

2007-09-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

This is super fantastic! We love new ways to reduce our impact. Heard about you through Jen, who boldly accepted your challenge.

Hygiene, shmygiene. I stopped being squeamish about, oh, pretty much everything after my first labor and delivery! Lol.

How many yards of fabric did you use for your project? I don't want to buy too much.

Teehee, this quote made me giggle: "Or, if you wan...

2007-09-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

Teehee, this quote made me giggle: "Or, if you want to use a color system for #1 versus #2, that would be fun."

Re the challenge, I somehow feel that being the daughter of an infectious disease consultant, and a 1st year med student, this is somehow going again some ingrained hygiene of mine... My other concern - wouldn't your bathroom start to smell like pee? Ugh!

Anyways, good luck to you guys out there who participate in the challenge!

Just catching up on your blog and man oh man...I d...

2007-09-09T23:55:00.000-07:00

Just catching up on your blog and man oh man...I don't know about this. My first thought is how the heck would I break the reflex of throwing the cloth in the toilette? I know we would be calling in the septic guy within a week if we tried this.

Anyway, you are a much braver woman than I. For some reason this bit of information is just.....just.....just I don't know.

I'm in temporary living quarters that do not allow...

2007-09-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

I'm in temporary living quarters that do not allow for the materials or space to make these myself right now, so ordering unbleached certified organic cotton flannel wipes was right up my alley. I just rec'd my Imse Vimse cloth wipes (link on isledance.blogspot.com) and I'm pleasantly surprised. They are soft, not too thin, not too thick and so elegantly cute (originally intended for a Swedish baby bum). Fold in half or quarters for bathroom wiping. Keep fully open for handi-wiping. I am now embarrassed that I'd not already started using these for handi-wipes. Thanks again for this jump start.

Well Crunchy - I give you the unique blog award of...

2007-09-08T10:55:00.000-07:00

Well Crunchy - I give you the unique blog award of the day. Surely you are the only person on the planet blogging about flannel fabric remnant butt wipes from JoAnns. Congratulations.

qt - I have found that, since I just huck the #1's...

2007-09-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

qt - I have found that, since I just huck the #1's in the wash with everything else, it doesn't require any extra time. If you use a mesh bag, you can hang it on the TP roll holder next to the roll and, if you want, you can just throw the whole bag with wipes in the washer.

I take them out to maximize cleaning action, but I've read about people who just leave them in the bag (kind of like a lingerie bag).

Sorry about the deletion- I used a different login...

2007-09-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the deletion- I used a different login that is just for my family blogs!

Anyway, thanks for researching this and for all the info. I am still on the fence about #1, not from a grossness perspective, but from a time perspective.

2007-09-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

This comment has been removed by the author.

For #1, I have been using cut-up squares of an old...

2007-09-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

For #1, I have been using cut-up squares of an old worn (but not threadbare!) hand towel. I just picked up another couple of worn bath towels in the same color to add to my wipe collection.

Pros: cheap, soft, absorbent
Cons: edges fray

With this new batch, I'm going to try zigzagging the edges quickly to see if it helps. I don't own pinking shears and keep forgetting to check when I'm at thrift stores.

Thanks for all the info, Crunchy, you may still co...

2007-09-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the info, Crunchy, you may still convince me to at least try cloth wipes for #1 anyway. I'm mulling it over. Not sure why I'm having such a tissue issue.

PS - I have nominated you for an award - feel free to drop my my blog to check it out :)