Is It Helpful?

Before I get into the best baby wipe warmer you can get your hands on, you should first figure out if it is helpful to you. If you search all over the internet, you will receive a lot of conflicting information. Some parents find it helpful, and some parents find it to be a total waste of money. You know what the funny thing is? They are both right.

Personally, I find a wipe warmer to be pretty helpful. It is certainly not necessary, but it really is a nice thing to have. You should only buy one if your baby is born in the winter months, or if your baby is born in the late summer months like my daughter for example.

My daughter hated cold wipes. This is why it is always a battle whenever I change her diapers. Another problem with cold wipes is that it interrupts your baby’s pooping. My daughter has constipation issues so it is very difficult for her to pass out her poop. There was this one time where I shocked her with a cold wipe, and she couldn’t completely finish pooping in one setting. What happened in the end is that I had to change her poopy diaper a second time half an hour later. She gets pretty upset too if she can’t pass her poop. It almost looks painful.

This could have been avoided if her wipes were not cold. Sure, you can certainly warm it up with your hands or under your knees if you are sitting cross legged with your pants rolled up. However, if your baby has a blowout, then you know that every second counts. This is where a wipe warmer comes in.

As I mentioned, if your baby isn’t afraid of cold wipes, or is born in the late spring/early summer months, then you probably don’t need a wipe warmer. Your baby would have adjusted to cold wipes by the time she is one year old.

To be real though, even though it would be nice to have a wipe warmer, I don’t feel that any wipe warmer are designed very well. It is not very popular so there aren’t many options available. This is why they are usually not too expensive.

If you really don’t want the hassle of making your wipe warmer, you can try the ones I recommend below. However, if you are adventurous I will tell you methods to warm your wipes later.

Prince Lionheart Wipe Warmer – The Popular Choice

Prices

Prince Lionheart has four variety of wipe warmers. It is unclear why they made four different units. Their prices and dimensions are slightly different. However, their function is basically the same with no real added features, except for the cloth wipes warmer. Here are their prices:

  1. EVO Wipes Warmer – $36
  2. Premium Wipes Warmer – $33
  3. Ultimate Wipes Warmer – $26
  4. Warmies Wipes Warmer – $35 for reusable cloth wipes

Advantage

Prince Lionheart used to be one of the more popular wipe warmers in the market. They work by heating the wipes from the bottom. The good thing about warming your wipes from the bottom is that your wipes can be warmed more evenly, as long you don’t put too many wipes in there all at once.

The reason this is better than the top heating unit is because you don’t need to stack your baby wipes sky high just to be able to reach the heating unit at the top.  If you stacked your wipe warmer with too many wipes, then the wipes on top will end up cold now. For this kind of unit, you should put less wipes in there for the best effect.

Disadvantage

Heating wipes from the bottom has its own problems. However, some of the problems can be avoided. As mentioned earlier having the heat source on the bottom warms the wipes more evenly, but it also dries out the wipe and turns them brown if they stay in the unit for too long.

The solution to prevent browning is to put less wipes into the wipe warmer. You are not supposed to put too many wipes in there anyway. Also unplug the warmer when you know you won’t be using them within twenty four hours, and remember to add water to soak the sponge pillow that comes with the unit.

The sponge pillow is the second problem. The purpose of the sponge pillow is to act like base for your baby wipes so that the wipes don’t come in contact with the heat source. It also soaks up the water to moisten to wipes. Even though that sounds cool and all, after using it for a while, you have to throw away the old sponge pillows. If you don’t, bacteria or mold might grow on it. In other words, you have to purchase additional sponge pillows for this unit. The sponges soak up the water you pour in and they emit steam when your unit is plugged into the wall.

Another problem is that wipe warmers in general don’t tend to last long. They do come with a one year limited warranty. However, this kind of warranty is kind of short because most wipe warmers “break” around a year later. If you are lucky, it might break around 9 months of normal use and you can still exchange for a new one.

The prince lionheart wipe warmer is also a big more expensive compared to other units. You also have to pay for your own shipping. Don’t worry,  you have other options.

Munchkin Wipe Warmer – The Cheapest

Price and Shipping

They are the economic type of wipe warmers. They cost $28 if you buy it from their website. The shipping is free unlike the prince lionheart wipe warmer.

Advantages

Their main advantage is that they warm your wipes from the top. Warming from the top has the advantage of not overcooking or browning out your wipes which happens pretty often with bottom heating units.

While I make that sound like some kind of barbecue, many parents have complained that other wipe warmers like Prince Lionheart dry and brown out their wipes due to the fact that they heat up the wipes from the bottom. Unlike the Prince Lionheart wipe warmer, the Munchkin wipe warmer will not brown out your wipes if you left them in there for too long.

I mentioned earlier that putting less wipes into your Prince Lionheart will solve the drying and browning problem. However, if your baby is randomly constipated like my daughter, then she might not have poop in her diapers for a day or two. You might accidentally overheated your wipes during that time. If this is your situation, the Munchkin wipe warmer would be better forryou.

Disadvantages

Warming your wipes from the top has its own problems too. The problem with that is that only the top wipes are warm so the warming effect is slightly uneven.

This usually happens because the wipes at the bottom can’t get as much heat as the wipes on the top. The only way to work around this problem is to keep the unit full of wipes. However, if your wipe warmer is too full, then you might have trouble pulling them out, so balance out the amount of wipes properly.

Another thing I don’t like about the Munchkin wipe warmer is that it only has a limited one year warranty also.

Hiccapop Wipe Warmer – Probably The Best

Price

They are sold for $30 on their website. Unlike the Munchkin, shipping is not included. However, it is still worth it. This is because the Hiccapop wipe warmer has a major advantage over other wipe warmers.  nlike any other wipe warmer you will ever find, the Hiccapop wipe warmer has a lifetime warranty.

Of course, if you abuse your unit in some weird way then the warranty is voided. However, if the machine doesn’t produce the results it claims even though you used it normally, they will exchange your malfunctioning one with a new one with no questions asked.

If you want to see what a Hiccapop wipe warmer looks like, check out the youtube video here:

Advantages and Disadvantages

It has pretty much the same advantages and disadvantages of Munchkin wipe warmer. The reason is because they both heat baby wipes from the top. Even though that is the case, I still recommend this unit over the Munchkin.

First of all, for a company to be confident enough to give you a lifetime warranty, they must be really confident that their product will work right. Second of all, there has been situations where parents’ wipe warmers stopped working for no reason. They will exchange your malfunctioning unit with a new one with no questions asked.

Like I mentioned earlier, prince lionheart and munchkin only has limited one year warranty. If they break or malfunction after one year, then you are on your own. However, Hiccapop is always there to help you. That is simply awesome.

Is It Mandatory To Always Keep Wipe Warmers On?

The answer is yes for any wipe warmers. Wipe warmers usually takes ten minutes to half an hour to get the wipes warm enough. If your baby is having a diaper blowout, then that is taking way too much time. How can you continue to let your baby spread poop all over the place while the unit is heating up? You can’t. That’s why you have to keep the wipe warmer on all day.

Is There A Travel Friendly Wipe Warmer?

I apologize to those looking for a wipe warmer that runs on batteries. I can’t find them anywhere. I heard that Walmart sells them. If you are adventurous, you will have to check it out yourself.

Does The Wipe Warmers Fit Every Type Of Wipes?

Theoretically, yes, it should fit all kinds of wipes. However, some wipes are bulkier. Simply split your stack into smaller stacks. Seal the rest back in the original packaging or ziploc bag to protect the moisture.

Can You Make your Own Wipe Warmer?

Yes, but they are technically not wipe warmers. You are simply using whatever you have in the house and improvising with techniques. Let me share some methods with you.

Direct Microwave Technique

Tools you need are:

  • A Microwave
  • Water (any kind of water)
  • A glass jar (or any glass container that can fit in a microwave)

If you are using reusable wipes or wipes that no chemical ingredients, then you can use this technique. Simply put your wipes in a glass jar and add a tiny bit of water. Next, put it on the microwave and heat it for five to ten seconds. Add more time if it is not warm enough.

However, if your wipes have other ingredients in there, then you will have to use my second technique.

Indirect Microwave Technique

Tools you need are:

  • Microwave
  • Water (again, any type of water)
  • A glass jar
  • Any kind of clean bowl or container that you don’t eat or drink with.

You can still use the microwave but you don’t heat your wipes directly. This time, add around half a cup of water in a glass jar and heat it in the microwave for one minute.

Next, add the amount of wipes you assume that you need in the clean bowl you prepared ahead of time.

Finally, pour the microwaved hot water over the wipes. There you go, your wipes are now warm. They are not going to be hot because the wipes themselves were originally unheated and cold to begin with, so they balance each other out. Heating the water in microwave for one minute is only a base guideline. Add or subtract time based on your situation.

Body Warming Technique

Tools you need are:

  • Your body heat

This technique is common among parents who don’t want to rely on a warmer. Generally, parents like you or me warm their wipes by holding it in their hands until it is warm. That is one method, but that is pretty inefficient. I have a better method, but it only works when you are changing your baby’s diapers while sitting down crossed legged.

Instead of holding your wipes in your hands to warm them up, you tuck the wipes under both of your fleshy knees (with pants rolled up of course). This method also allows you to free your hands while you take off your baby’s pants, unbutton her onesies and untape her diapers.

Conclusion

I hope this guide was helpful to you. If you are willing to sacrifice money for convenience then the prince lionheart wipe warmer is perfect for you, because it is a bottom heating unit that is best at heating your wipes evenly.

If you are willing to sacrifice convenience to save money then the Munchkin would be perfect since it is priced so low. However, if long term use and guarantee is what you are looking for then the Hiccapop unit is definitely your kind of wipe warmer.

Of course, using household items or your body heat to heat up your wipes is always a good option. I hope this article was helpful to you. If you any questions, please leave it in the comments section below.