21 uses for baby wipes

*We’ve partnered with WaterWipes to clean up your mom act.

Many people don’t start buying baby wipes until they are parents. But we say, don’t wait until you have to change diapers to add this secret weapon to your arsenal of household items. That’s right — baby wipes aren’t just for baby’s tush! They have magical, mystical powers, and we have them with us all. of. the. time! 

To prove to you that baby wipes are the Holy Grail of life, we’ve partnered with the world’s purest baby wipes, WaterWipes, which are made from 99.9% water and a drop of fruit extract, to share 21 great uses for baby wipes (some of which have absolutely nothing to do with baby).

1. Diaper changes. For about 5 minutes during pregnancy, we swore we’d use cotton wool and water for every diaper change. Which is basically what WaterWipes are, minus the work.
2. Wiping your kid’s face. Stop the spitting on a napkin trick. Um, ew.
3. Makeup remover. There’s nothing like a baby wipe to remove that perfect smoky eye after date night, or just, ya know, wipe off after a particularly grueling yoga class.
4. Washing hands. You haven’t really seen dirt till you’ve held the curiously sticky and profoundly germy hand of a two-year-old. Pass the wipes, please.
5. Cleaning pacifiers. Because if you let your baby have a paci that’s been on the floor of the subway, they might grow a third eye.
6. Washing dog paws. When you don’t want them tracking mud in the house, but you also don’t want that mud on your hand towels.
7. Tables at restaurants. We could do without having coffee over someone else’s croissant crumbs, no?
8. Craft cleanup. We are total team #NoGlitter, but when our kids do use it for craft time, baby wipes make the cleanup such a breeze — the soft fabric grabs every little speck.
9. Getting syrup out of baby hair. Not that we’re speaking from experience or anything, but sometimes when you’re brunching with a newborn wrapped to your chest, spills happen.
10. Stain remover. When you have a spill but you’re not near a tap, baby wipes to the rescue! Give it a little wipe to make sure that stain doesn’t set.
11. Little cuts and scratches. Baby wipes are great for all those tiny booboos our kids get at the playground.
12. Cooling off. After running around the playground, an intense sesh at SoulCycle, or just walking up the stairs with a giant stroller and a baby in tow, placing a cool, damp wipe on your forehead or the back of your neck is almost spa-like.
13. Feminine care. Let’s just say once a month, or for about 3 months after you have a baby, these things come in really handy.
14. Impromptu dashboard cleaning. When you’re driving carpool and you realize there’s an inch of dust, um, everywhere, baby wipes can do the job without leaving any greasy residue behind.
15. On-the-go oil diffuser. Need to relax on your way back home after work? Add a drop of your favorite essential oil to a wipe and hang it on an air vent in your car. Instant aromatherapy.
16. Dusting your plants. One of the easiest ways to kill your plants, other than, ya know, forgetting to water them, is forgetting to dust them! That big pretty fiddle leaf fig you paid a fortune for needs its leaves wiped with water pretty regularly to stay green.
17. On your Swiffer. Who remembers to buy new Swiffer pads? No one. But who always has baby wipes on hand? Every mom.
18. Taming static hair. Do you have crazy flyaway hair from static electricity? You can swipe a baby wipe to quickly keep your hair smooth and static free.
19. Blowing snotty noses. Blowing a toddler’s nose is the worst. Baby wipes make it softer, less irritating, somehow possible to get off that stubborn dried snot.
20. Keeping herbs fresh. Wrap your fresh herbs in a damp wipe and store them in a plastic baggie and they will stay fresh longer. Total game changer.
21. Shoe shines. Baby wipes are soft enough to use as a shoe shining cloth so you don’t have to ruin a towel, and if they are naturally made, you won’t have to worry about damaging the leather.