20 most worthless pieces of junk: #2 -- Wipe warmers
Filed under: Home, Consumer Complaints
I have no idea if Brad Pitt has a wipe warmer in his house to keep his childrens' bums clean and warm, but he does support using baby wipes for underarm hygiene.While that's a heck of a tip, if Pitt or anyone else has a wipe warmer to keep their baby's backside warm while being wiped clean, then it's a waste of electricity, space, money, time and a bad attempt at cleanliness. In short, it's a useless piece of junk.
If the point of a wipe warmer is to prevent the baby from screaming because a cold wipe is being used and is uncomfortable, consider that one of the most common complaints about the product is that the wipe isn't warm enough and that it turns cold seconds after taking it out.And even if it does work and is warm, it's still junk. I'll get to those reasons in a minute, but first let's get past the warm and fuzzy people who say they want a wipe warmer for their eco-friendly reusable baby wipes. An eco-friendly warmer may sound nice with its bamboo cloth and promise to inhibit the growth of bacteria, but anytime you combine water and heat, you're creating the chance for microbes to grow.
Unfortunately, one of the most common complaints about wipe warmers is that the wipe is not warm enough when is comes out of the warmer, and that in the seconds it takes to pull a wipe and move to wipe baby's bottom, the changer is left with a cold wipe in hand.
Here are some other reasons not to buy one, according to an AssociatedContent.com story:
- Space. They're bulky and take up too much space on a changing table. Beyond that, it's good to have something portable for when you take the baby out of the house, and plugging a wipe warmer into your car's lighter seems taking it a little too far.
- Waste. The heating element will dry out a significant number of wipes, so pulling out several wipes to reach a damp one is a waste of wipes. The heating element has also been known to burn wipes yellow or brown. The last thing you want when using a wipe is grabbing one that's dry; dampness helps clean up the mess a lot more.
- Cost. Warmers run at least $20, and you're also burning money on electricity.
- Cleanliness. As I said above, a warm, wet and dark place is an invitation for bacterial growth. That should be enough to throw your wipe warmer out the window.
Aaron Crowe is an unemployed journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read about his job search at www.AaronCrowe.net.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-09-2009 @ 12:13PM
Dawne said...
In addition to the aforementioned reasons NOT to use a baby wipe warmer, I discovered that if it does work, that baby's reaction to the warm wipe may be similar to being in warm bath water...it makes them go pee-pee. This, in essence, causes a need for many more "warm wipes." We stopped using ours after the first few "accidents" and never turned back.
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7-11-2009 @ 12:46AM
tep said...
I enjoyed my wipe warmer. I can't stand to see people use cold wipes on a little baby's behind. They indeed do mess up plenty of wipes near the bottom by turning them brown and drying them out but if i were to have another baby I will indeed purchase one. The first one I received as a baby shower gift. Please mothers don't torture your baby with a cold wipe (smile).
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7-13-2009 @ 9:25AM
KTSmommy said...
If you only use cold wipes, babies don't know the difference. I used cold wipes w/ all 3 of my babies & didn't have any problems to them reacting to the wipes. However, I have a couple of friends that used wipes warmers at home. When they were out & about with their babies & had to change a diaper, the babies would scream when the cold wipes touch them. Believe me, it's not torture if they don't know the difference. But, I think it is torture if they're expecting a warm wipe & get a cold one instead.
7-14-2009 @ 10:44PM
Jeff said...
Or you could just hold the cold wipes between your hands for a few seconds and warm them to body temperature.
I have done that many times to thaw out frozen wipes that were left in the trunk of my car in winter.
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7-20-2009 @ 10:15AM
Terri said...
The real waste isn't the warmer; it's the wipes. What's wrong with a washcloth or when on the road put the cloth in a plastic sandwich bag or small reusable bag? I did this with my baby years ago before there were wipes. Worked just fine. Easier on the wallet, too. Always carry two - the other works great for grubby hands and faces - including those of the grownups.
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7-20-2009 @ 12:21PM
Ahmie said...
I'm with the "warm between your hands" comment above. Never bothered with a wipe warmer (or a changing table for that matter - what a useless piece of furniture, much safer to just sit on the floor and change the diaper - no risk of baby wiggling off & getting injured, especially if you're distracted by an older sibling at the same time). We've also stuck them in our armpits (warms them faster and keeps hands free.
And we use cloth wipes at home. With two little ones to corral into the house after outings, I don't trust myself with wet cloth in plastic bags outside the house (ruined some cloth diapers that way when I only had *one* child). We're big fans of gDiapers (www.gdiapers.com) here, using them as all-cloth at home, hybrid cloth/disposable when out of the house (the absorbent part is flushable or compostable, I bring the wet ones home in a reused plastic baggy and toss them into the compost bin when I get a chance, not a big deal if it takes a few days) - and we use flushable wipes while out and about.
If your kids need to have a special appliance to warm their butt wipe, they're way too pampered before they're out of Pampers to be well prepared for reality. How the heck do you expect the kid to toilet train and use public restrooms after setting up these unrealistic expectations???
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8-03-2009 @ 12:31PM
RGB said...
Maybe it's because I don't have kids, but the entire concept seems a waste of space and energy to me, like bicycles for fish. If you NEED warm wipes, why not zap a few in the microwave?
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