Baby wipes are out go-to when cleaning our baby or even ourselves and clearing stains or naturally disinfecting. But, just like any other cosmetics, can baby wipes expire? That is what we will discuss in this article and a lot more that you have to know about baby wipes. Baby wipes are the most used hygienic tools for moms and everyone, so we need to know the necessary details about baby wipes.
The Types of Baby Wipes
Before we discuss, “Can baby wipes expire?” we first have to explain the types of baby wipes available in the market for you to choose from and consider which one is the best for you to use.
Water Wipes
One of the healthiest types of baby wipes is water wipes. They are made only of water and some preservatives, and they are more absorbent and more sanitary than other types of wet wipes since they don’t contain anything else but water and chemicals.
Basic Baby Wipes
These are the first-ever baby wipes that were developed in the ’70s, and they are also known as mainstream wipes. They are a mixture of cotton, polyester, rayon, polyethylene, polypropylene, water, mild detergent, and preservatives.
Some wipes can also contain chemicals that make them fragrant. Now, these wipes have a high water content which makes them the perfect habitat for bacteria and molds.
Organic Wipes
The final type of baby wipes is organic wipes. They are the most eco-friendly type of wipes on this list.
They are green, unscented, biodegradable wipes composed of wood pulp or bamboo, pure cotton, and many other non-toxic components that make them one of the best options for your baby’s sanitation.
Can Baby Wipes Expire If Unopened?
Most baby wipes are labeled with “best before…” specifications that mark their supposed expiration date. But, baby wipes don’t expire when they are unopened.
They contain the same moisture that they have had before, especially when kept in a well-kept temperature.
So, it is easy to say that the expiration date written on the wet wipes packaging is not to be believed upon, and you won’t have to worry about your wet wipes packaging not having that best before the label.
Can Baby Wipes Expire?
Baby wipes do expire. They can dry up if they are left open, but you can quickly rehydrate them and use them again.
There are other issues that you can encounter when wet wipes are left open or when they are thought to be expiring, and that is how you can determine that it is already expiring.
Molds
Like I had said when we discussed necessary wipes, it is easy for wet wipes to have molds because they can be a perfect breeding ground for fungi and bacteria.
Natural wipes do not contain chemicals to quickly develop molds, which is one sign that the wet wipes have already “expired.”
Effectivity
Another sign that that package of baby wipes has already expired is when it already lost its effectivity to clean or sanitize. One sign could be the loss of scent as we all know that baby wipes are often scented.
However, this issue seldomly happens especially for natural wipes, those that do not contain any chemicals.
Safety of Using Expired Wipes
It is safe to use expired wipes, though you won’t be able to get much out of it because most expired wipes are already ineffective and dried, you can still use it for several purposes.
As I have said earlier, you will rehydrate dried wipes, and you can still use ineffective ones. However, you can’t use moldy wipes because that is gross, and it will surely do the opposite of its purpose, which is to help sanitize or clean. Know more about baby wipes.
Conclusion
One of the things that we tend to neglect when buying stuff for our sanitation is their expiry date, and the same goes for when we buy baby wipes. In this article, we discussed “Can baby wipes expire?” and the types of baby wipes and the indicators that they have already expired.
The expiry date and time of baby wipes can be neglected simply because they have been one of the most used sanitation tools and usually get consumed immediately. However, there are times when the wipes have already expired without your knowledge.
Some wipes can accumulate molds, some dry out, and some don’t work anymore. Now, some wipes can still be rehydrated, and some cannot be used again. All of this depends on the type of wet wipes you are using and the temperature they are exposed to.