Hands off our wet wipes… my life would be impossible without them

WIPING down my kitchen counters with my favourite lemon scented antibacterial wipes, I froze in horror.

“Wet wipes could be banned, as part of the Government’s plan to tackle plastic pollution,” said the radio newsreader solemnly.

It’s a prospect that will strike fear into the heart of practically every mum I know.

And it’s the worst news for me because I’m ashamed to admit that I’m a wet wipe addict.

I know they’re terrible for the environment, taking years to degrade and clogging up pipes and river banks.

But when it comes to keeping on top of domestic life, they are a lifesaver and an essential part of any busy mum’s survival kit.

When I do my weekly supermarket shop, I buy at least 10 packs of different types.

From germ-busting kitchen and bathroom wipes, to sensitive baby ones for changing my eight-month-old son’s nappy, and the facial wipes I use morning and evening to take my make-up off, I use them all day every day.

They are perfect for cleaning sticky toddler hands, for giving my bathroom a quick once-over when I don’t have time (or can’t be bothered) to deep clean it, and nothing is more effective at getting baby puke off the brand new top my son has just projectile-vomited over.

I stash packets of them everywhere including my handbag, my car and my office because you just never know when you’re going to need to mop up a Petit Filous spillage, sanitise a surface or deal with a poonami.

They’re amazing for taking stains out of carpets – as I learned when my three-year-old son decided to do some colouring in on my cream bedroom carpet with a piece of coal – and I’ve even been known to give our dog Ruby, a six-year-old Westie, a quick pat down with some baby wipes after a muddy walk rather than wrestle her into the bath.

They were the first thing I packed in my hospital bag before having both my children, knowing they’d be invaluable for freshening up my sweaty face while in labour and then cleaning all the yucky stuff out of the baby’s hair after birth.

I honestly don’t know how I would function without them.

Sure, there are other ways to keep things clean, after all people have survived for hundreds of years without wet wipes.

I could use reusable cloths in the kitchen and bathroom but after reading they can harbour millions of germs, which are then spread all around the home, I’ve become quite phobic about them.

Who wants to clean their child’s high chair with a germ-infested rag when I can use a fresh wipe?

Mums know that we’re already fighting a constant battle against bugs so why put our kids at any more risk?

And have you ever tried to deal with an up-the-back-and-down-the-legs baby poo explosion using cotton wool and water?

I don’t recommend it. It really doesn’t cut the mustard (-coloured poo).

In all other areas of my life I try to care for the environment.

I recycle religiously, I try not to waste food, I have a ‘green’ day once a week when I avoid meat and dairy as I know industrial farming is destroying the planet, I get my Costa fix in a reusable cup, and I reuse plastic bags.

I love an Attenborough documentary and donate monthly to an animal charity.

I’m hopeful that wipes manufacturers will find a way around the ban, and make their products less environmentally unfriendly so mums like me can still get our fix.

Already there’s a skincare range on the market called Yes To, which are biodegradable.

I know it’s ridiculously hypocritical of me to want my sons to grow up on a healthy planet when I’m cleaning up their mess with something which is polluting it.

But please, please don’t take away my precious wipes. I’ll try to cut down but don’t make me go cold turkey!

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