Prince Lionheart + cloth wipes - bacteria concerns?

[egram]

We cloth diaper, and use cloth wipes - both dry and wet.

Wet go in a prince lionheart warmer ( grovia wipes ), and we use the default olive oil + baby soap formula, and have the microbial pad in the pad case in the bottom.

It doesn't take long until the pad starts to get orange spots around it, and originally I thought that was due to being close to the heating element, but then when I changed the pad, I smelled it, and it was really bad. So I researched and the orange is apparently NotGoodStuff (tm).

That said, I would expect the microbial pad to handle that, and the pad instructs a 2mo replacement, but after a few weeks I'm already into more orange.

Anyone else have this, and have advice - whether that advice be "don't worry about it" or actions I could take...

I sanitized all the pieces last time I changed the pad.

To preempt some questions:

• Olive oil is Terra Delyssa - what we cook with
• Soap was aveeno, but he was having issues with aveeno when bathing, so soap currently is J&J
• Water is filtered drinking water - I do have distilled on hand for the brezza, and I can realize changing to distilled may be a first step?
• We refill every other day, topping up to 15 wipes ( 6/5/4 stack of rolls ) - if we somehow are able to stretch to a third day, we wash anything left and put in all new.
  
• Baby is EBF, and we use flats ( unrelated to the wipe warmer, but sharing in case )

TIA

 

[graceadele]

@egram The mold you’re talking about via the orange spots is from the bacteria Serratia marcescens, it’s the same bacteria that grows the orange/pink scum in areas like the shower/tub or bathroom areas. It is essentially harmless as it lives on human skin, however I wouldn’t want to be willingly wiping my young baby with it especially where their diaper goes. The warmer is just a breeding ground for bacteria and the olive oil is probably fueling the fire. I would remove the food based option from the situation but if you’re dead set on it I would go with the spray bottle option I guess because it would be slightly more contained and keep the wipes dry until you’re ready to use them. Water works just fine too though but again keeping the wipes wet especially in a warmer is just asking for a bacteria problem, regardless of how clean your water is unless it’s sterile and your wipes are sterile, and even then it’s not fool proof esp if you’re opening it up to air and putting your non sterile hands in it to grab a wipe.

 

[iithebeardii]

@egram We use the same set up for warmer, I use coconut oil and baby soap. We get browning, but it doesn't smell. We boil the water before mixing up the oil and soap. We just rinse them out every 2 three days when we refill. I do not have a pad case, I just throw that baby in the bottom.

Def try distilled or boiled. Most filters just filter for taste and are not removing bacteria or most other contaminates. Boiling will be sure to kill most everything, and distilled will be a step above just boiled.

We love our wet cloth wipes with the warmer but I would be bugging out if my pads smelled.

 

[jean100]

@egram We always used water only. Just kept a dry stack of wipes and wet as we needed them.

 

[ladywalsh]

@jean100 We too. Also we don't bother with warming the water, unless it's a blowout size type of poo (but then we more or less dunk his lower half into the wash basin, filled with warm water)

But I'd say a thermos with warm water would Work?

 

[leseera]

@egram Hmmm, I assumed the pad was discolored due to the heating element as well. I'll be honest I've only changed the pad once (daughter is 10 months old now). I have rinsed it/soaked it in water with a few drops of tea tree oil which is antimicrobial. My pad hasn't had a weird smell, though, and we've only had a few spots of discoloration, not much.

 

[markiplier]

@egram I don’t store wipes wet for this reason, I’d have mildew and mold in a day. I just have a spray bottle of plain water and spray when needed.

 

[buckeye_momof4]

@egram Are you absolutely set on using the oo+soap formula? I only ask because it’s not necessary; you can just use water. We keep warm water in a pump pot like for coffee and wet wipes as we use them, which leaves no room for mold and could be an option if this really isn’t working for you.

 

[egram]

@buckeye_momof4 As of right now, I'd say for the baby, this is working fine, but I'm not set on it for any other reason. It was the main/default wipe solution PH suggested so we went with it. Baby is 4mo and so far no rashes or anything related to the diaper area, be that due to the wipe formula, or just good luck, so I'd say we "like" the wipe formula for the baby, but clearly there are other possible concerns.

Obviously a stint of "water only" could very well be an option. I would hate to regress anything with baby's experience, but we wouldn't know without trying.

I'm _hoping_ someone here has this issue and maybe has a more specific fix, but pending that not happening, I think a sanitize and water-only step could be our next go.

 

[lifeword]

@egram I have never used any kind of solution with my wipes, just good old water. I suggest trying just water and seeing if that solves the problem and if baby continues to have no issues, you have just solved a problem and saved yourself some unnecessary steps all at the same time!