Review: Chopsy Baby puts Cheeky Wipes to the test
Chopsy Baby has taken on the challenge of going totally natural with the family product necessity – the wet wipe.
A new contender on the market looking for you to make the ethical and purse friendly choice when deciding how to clean your baby’s bottom is Cheeky Wipes. They are a reusable wet wipe kit meaning you never have to buy a packet of disposables wipes again.
Having a hectic kind of life style, where wet wipes are used from mopping up poo to removing finger paints from the walls would be an interesting test for the product. We decided to put our scepticism aside and Chopsy editor Jen, gave the Cheeky Wipes a try out.
The set up of two tubs with wipes, water and supplied essence was very easy. Once it was in place all we had to do was wait.
Luckily the first nappy change was of the poo variety. Straight in with the action, this will be a decider with almost the first test.
It can take a few nappy changes to get into the swing of using them. It is slightly more involved then having a packet of disposables lying around.
When using normal wet wipes it would probably take one for a wee, maybe two if the quality of them wasn’t that good. For a poo usually the minimum would be four until infinity.
I didn’t think it would be easy cleaning up poo with what is effectively a very nicely presented thick piece of terry towel.
I was very surprised to find out that I only needed one! One wipe to clean up a generous poo, and then I just dumped it in the wash bag and into the messy tub.
A few drops of oil go a long way. The wipe smelt beautifully fresh before, and the couple of drops of lemon in the messy tub were surprisingly strong enough to mask the smell.
When leaving the house you take out a special bag with clean wipes, and a separate bag to put the messy ones in. I thought it would be a real pain, but in actual fact it was easy and took up no extra space at all.
By the end of the day I had acquired four dirty Cheeky Wipes. Two with poo, one with food and one with wee. I chucked them all in the bag in the messy tub until I did washing, which was a dark wash with jeans and t-shits.
At the end of the 40 degrees wash cycle, the wipes still had some proper poo on. I think this was my fault as they were still folded up. I rinsed them out in the sink and popped them back in the messy tub for the next wash.
Our second 40 degree wash programme left us with perfect wipes all fresh and clean.
Through out the week-long test, no issues arose and the product really proved itself. It must have been designed by a mum because it really works and is so well thought out.
Conclusion
These wipes are fantastic and it’s great to finally have a real eco friendly wet wipe.
You may think that in the first days with your new baby, having to add washable wet wipes to your new, unfamiliar and growing list of things to do when you are tired is ridiculous. But, these wipes are perfect for your baby’s tiny bum. Water and cloth is the best thing to be cleaning it with.
If you are massively precious about dealing with poo then a nanny has probably looked after your kids. Baby poo is a fact, and dealing with it can get a bit messy even with disposable wet wipes.
The best thing to do is to swill out the mess in the sink before leaving it to soak in the messy tub. If you use cloth nappies you wouldn’t dump them in the wash with a great steaming pile of poo in, and you can’t do that with these either.
If you are going on holiday, then you would struggle with taking the tubs, but on a day-to-day basis around the town and home, these wipes are fine.
The Cheeky Wipe all in one kit cost £29.95. The oils should last you until kingdom come, but should you lose them they are replaceable.
The Cheeky Wipe claims to be better for your pocket. It assumes you will pay £2.49 for one pack of wet wipes per week until your child is two, thus by buying this product you save around £258.96.
The canny shopper will know how to buy a good quality pack of wet wipes for much, much less than this figure. There are high street stores that do some excellent fragrance free, sensitive skin wipes at around £1.00 per pack with bulk buy deals available.
This aside, if you buy the Cheeky Wipes when your baby is young you will have a fantastic product to be maintaining the rear end with. And, even if you have the occasional week or holiday where you lapse and buy a packet of disposables, this set is an investment that will help you save the pennies in the weeks when you really need to.
Cheeky Wipe Kit £29.95