Baby Wipes: They're Not Just for Wiping Butts

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I was so happy and proud of my son when he was potty-trained the week he turned 2 years old. I did a dance-of-joy, happy that I never had to change another diaper again. And even happier that I would never have to spend money on diapers and wipes again. I was right about the diapers, wrong about the baby wipes. Almost 4 years later, and I’m still buying baby wipes. Baby wipes are great to use for cleaning! They are versatile, and I continue to buy them and use them all around the house. We still wipe our son’s hands & face with them too. I am still the “paper towel queen,” but I do use fewer paper towels now that I do some of my cleaning with baby wipes. Now, trust me, I’m not thrilled that these products are probably not the best for the environment. I do try to be mindful, and reuse them when I can, and use the minimum amount that I can. When it comes to cleaning, that is the one area where my neat-freakness outweighs my tree-huggerness. Being the neat-freak that I am, I have never been able to use a rag, or reusable cloth, to clean with. It just grosses me out. Sorry 🙁

What kind of baby wipes should I use? — I recommend using unscented wipes. The scented wipes are going to leave a residue on surfaces. I like the BJ’s brand of unscented wipes, and they come in a large package. I used to use the Costco brand of unscented wipes, and I liked those too. I just stopped using them last year when I started shopping at BJs instead (Because I hate our Costco location with a passion and I love our BJs location so much more, but this is just a personal preference and a whole different topic 🙂 ).
What can I clean with baby wipes? — The two main things that I clean with wipes are my window blinds, and my baseboards. I do these fairly often. The wipes provide a damp, perfect sized cloth for going along the edges of your baseboards, and the surfaces of your blinds. I also use wipes to wipe down most of the light fixtures in the house. I use them to clean out the window wells. I use them on some parts of my car interior. Any surface that you can safely use them on, give them a try. If you are not sure if it’s safe, like with all cleaning products, try it out on a small, unnoticeable area first.
What can I NOT clean with baby wipes? — I don’t use wipes on any of my granite countertops. They will leave a residue, and you should only use products intended for granite. I don’t use wipes on any of my wood surfaces. You should only use products intended for wood surfaces. I don’t use wipes on any of the electronics in the house. I use special cleaners for the electronics. You don’t want to damage your expensive electronics, so you should only use products intended for electronics.
What are the draw backs to cleaning with baby wipes? — One draw back to cleaning with baby wipes, as I mentioned above, if you are trying to stay 100% environmentally friendly, this is not the way to go. Use the wipes minimally and thoroughly, and that will reduce the waste. Another draw back is that the wipes aren’t a dust-resistant cleaner. So, when I use them to wipe down my blinds, they are not going to repel any future dust. Dust is my nemesis, and there is no 100% perfect product on the market that repels dust. If I want to repel dust, on my blinds, for example, I go the good-old-fashioned Pledge plus rag route. One more draw back is that the wipes at the bottom of the package always end up too wet, because they absorb most of the liquid. I still use them, I just give them a good wring-out first. Lastly, wipes won’t provide a good “scrub.” They’re “wipes” and I use them mostly for “wiping.” For anything that needs a good scrub or serious cleaning, I bring out the heavy artillery 🙂