How Many Reusable Baby Wipes Do I Need?

You'll need at least 25 reusable baby wipes for your baby, however that number depends on:

• how often you change your baby's nappy
• whether you're cleaning your baby's face too during weaning
• how often you'll wash your reusable wipes
• how often does your baby poo
• if you've got more than one child in nappies

One of the good things about washable wipes is that you'll use less for a nappy change than ordinary disposable wipes. That's because Cheeky Wipes are made from bamboo or cotton terry which grip the poo and swipe it away quickly, unlike disposable wipes which have a tendency to just smear it around.

In addition you can wipe, then fold, wipe and fold again and wipe once more - so one Cheeky Wipe is more like 3 disposable wipes.

'I love my cheeky wipes. I have bought about 5 packs now and we use them on our toddler and our newborn. I couldn't imagine how many thousands of baby wipes we have saved from landfill using these. They are also so much better on my children's skin. I also use cheeky pants as well which are so comfy'  Vikki, Trustpilot

Here are the questions I ask which can impact your wipe usage:

How often does your baby poo?

How often your baby poo's depends on a lot on how old they are and what their diet is. For example some breast-fed babies only poo once every two to three weeks because the milk is so well nutritionally balanced. However in the early days, a newborn baby can poo 10 times a day. Both are completely normal!  y

Most wet nappy changes will just use one Cheeky Wipe per nappy (wipe, fold, wipe fold gives a good all round freshen up). Even the worst dirty disposable or cloth nappy changes will use three (or four if it's an 'up the back' one).

But obviously 10 poos a day requires more wipes than 1 poo a day, so if your baby poos a lot, you'll need more wipes.

'I bought plush bamboo wipes for baby’s face and hands, intimate wipes, and a llama design double wet bag for cloth nappies. I absolutely love all of them! Not only how they look but how they feel, staying perfect after washing too.

The wet bag looks adorable, would love more designs for baby wipes, the more colourful the better.' Tuuli, Trustpilot

How often to change your baby's nappy?

How often to change your baby's nappy varies from person to person. Some people might change a nappy every two - three hours religiously, others might only change their nappy after meals or a poo.

You must ALWAYS change your baby as soon as they have done a poo however, because sitting in a dirty nappy will give them nappy rash. Obviously, the more nappy changes, the more wipes you'll use.

'I got the grey bamboo wipes for hands and faces and the colourful cotton ones for baby’s bum. They all are great. I actually prefer the cotton ones as they are slightly thicker - so for bums they are perfect.

Save using so many disposable wipes. Really love them.' Fiona, Trustpilot

How to clean your baby's face when weaning?

Once you start weaning you'll probably find you use more Cheeky Wipes for weaning as they're great for cleaning mucky faces, hands and eating areas. This continues right up until they're at school when they gradually can eat a little more cleanly, but my 6  year old still often needs a Cheeky Wipe post mealtimes.

Many parents find that one pack of Cheeky Wipes is fine for changing nappies from newborn.   However when their baby reaches 6 months or so and starts weaning, they need an extra 25 for hands & faces.

How often will you wash your reusable wipes?

We work on the assumption that you'll wash your eco friendly reusable wipes every other day. That's because in most family households, your washing machine will be on at least every other day and you can pop your wipes in the wash at the same time. If you're going to wash your wipes less frequently (with nappies for example) you'll obviously need a few more wipes, so this is something to consider.

To give you an indication of wipe usage from personal experience, I made up 50 organic cotton clean wipes last Friday morning as we were going to visit friends in the Cotswolds. They were used in the car en-route for the 6 year old, 3 year old and 18 month old to clean up after snacks. Plus they then cleaned up my little girl when she was sick all over herself just before we got there (and boy, wasn't I glad that I'd made up all those wipes!)

The wipes lasted through nappy changes for my little girl all weekend and as face and hand wipes for the two boys post mealtimes and candyfloss on our day out. I finally ran out of my initial batch just as we got home on Sunday which I though was pretty good going.

If you've got more than one child

If you've got two children in nappies (or one in nappies and one just using wipes for hands & faces) you'll need more wipes.  We'd recommend 50 of bamboo or white cotton wipes for nappy changing for two children, plus an extra 25 coloured wipes for hands & faces if that's your situation.  You can NEVER have too many wipes!

In summary, if this is your first child just buy our all-in-one reusable wipes kit which will make using wipes easy at home and when out and about. See how you get on with them as you can always buy some extra later. If you've got more than one child, buy an extra set as they'll be invaluable as hands and face wipes too, even if they aren't in nappies.

We hope you've enjoyed this article, you might also find these interesting:

5 Top tips for making reusable wipes easy

5 ways to save thousands of pounds when expecting a baby

Guide to reusable makeup pads

About the author: Helen Rankin is a Mum of 4 and founded Cheeky Wipes, with her the most-trusted reusable wipes kit back in 2008 after disposable wipes caused her eczema to flare up. She went on to develop their range of 'Simple Reusables' to include period pants, reusable sanitary pads, reusable makeup removing pads & reusable nappies. The team pride themselves on providing relatable friendly advice and just LOVE to chat pee, poo and periods all day long! The Company was recognised for their hard work in developing environmentally friendly products with the Queens Award in Enterprise for Sustainable Development in 2021.