Indispensable Travel Gadgets – Wet Wipes

When traveling, it’s a good idea to keep a supply of wet wipes on hand. Parents who travel with babies or toddlers already know this. Those with older kids may remember it but have since forgotten or think it’s no longer necessary.

When needing to clean sticky hands, a dirty seat in the departure gate waiting area or many other things, wet wipes can prove quite valuable. If you have alcohol-based wipes, they can also double as instant stain removers for most types of clothing.

I prefer individually wrapped wipes because they are more compact than a single, larger package and can even be distributed to various pockets of my luggage. There is also less danger of them drying out once the package has been opened, as can happen with a larger pack of wipes that isn’t used within a few days.

Other benefits of individually-wrapped wipes are no risk of contamination if something is spilled on the package, reduced risk of forgetting or losing them if you’ve distributed packets in several assorted pockets across several different bags, and easier ability to share them with others.

Naturally there are a couple of downsides. Individually-wrapped wipes tend to be more expensive than a bulk pack. All that packaging is also less environmentally friendly.

That said, I found my wipes at, of all places, my local full-service car wash. They were on the counter with the pine-scented air fresheners and fuzzy dice.