FAQs

Cloth nappies are better for the environment, your baby’s skin, your bank account and are also pretty cute! But how do you start with so many brands, styles and different opinions out there! That’s where we come in, we’ll hold your hand (digitally) before, during and after the hire period so you can start successfully and stress free! Brand new cloth nappies retail for about $30 each and you’ll be needing at least 25-30! To save spending money on nappies that may not work for you and your baby, renting nappies makes sense before you make a commitment, or just keep on hiring throughout your baby’s nappy years!

We currently have 4 different nappy bundles available for hire:

1. Full-time nappy bundles for Newborn or One-Size-Fits-Most.
2. Part-time for Newborn or One-Size-Fits-Most
3. Introduction to Cloth Nappies Bundle in Newborn or One-Size-Fits-Most, which comes with everything you need to get started!
4. Night Nappy Bundle (or we can include some night nappies when hiring other bundles, just let us know!)

When hiring One-Size-Fits-Most (OSFM) bundles the hire period will start the day after you receive the nappies, so please let us know when they arrive in the post! 

When hiring newborn nappies, the nappies will be sent so they arrive when you are 39 weeks. The hire period will start when your baby is born (if your baby is born earlier than anticipated just get in touch and we can send the nappies via express post at your cost or via standard $15 flat rate postage). We can deliver them deliver them to you earlier if you are in Geelong or Ballarat (depending on nappy availability). You will need to let us know when your baby is born.

If you have hired a newborn pack but don’t want to start straight away, we can post the nappies to you so they arrive 2 weeks after your baby has been born. We suggest you don’t wait any longer than two weeks as the newborn specific sized nappies may not fit past 2 months of age. You also risk overthinking using cloth nappies, so sometimes it’s better just to dive in straight away!

At the end of the six week hire period you can either extend the hire, exchange for different cloth nappy types, purchase the nappies you loved at -20% off RRP or just send them back.

All our nappies are in either excellent used condition or brand new. EUC (excellent used condition) nappies have no stains or smells, tight elastic and intact PUL. They may have minor cosmetic issues like small marks or slight pilling.

Pricing varies depending on how many nappies you hire and for how long. As an example, the Introduction to Cloth Nappies Newborn Bundle provides 20 cloth nappies for 6 weeks.

To secure your hire bundle we include a $100 refundable bond/deposit in the price.  This will be returned to you once we receive the nappies back in acceptable condition. 

We currently use Australia Post and offer free delivery for all orders over $200. Our flat rate postage is $20 for all orders under $200 Australia wide when sending nappies to you. Postage of the nappies back to us is at your cost or you can drop them back to our Geelong and Ballarat HQ’s.

Usual price range for return of nappies using Australia Post;

• 15 – 20 nappies = $20
• 20 – 30 nappies = $20 – $29

Yes, 6 weeks is the minimum. There is no minimum for hire extensions.

Yes, just get in contact with us! We offer $1 per nappy hire extensions, including if you extend hire from a Newborn Bundle to a One-Size-Fits-Most Bundle or move on to our Night Nappy Bundle.

A newborn baby will require, on average, 12 nappy changes per day. If you are considering using cloth nappies full-time, our recommendation would be to have at least 25 nappies in your collection. If you’re not super keen on daily laundry or live somewhere cold and rainy we recommend adding more nappies to your stash. Wash routines, drying times, number of nappy changes required each day and whether your baby is a heavy-wetter can influence the number of nappies you need. If you’re considering going part-time, just halve the number of nappies you need in your stash. As your baby grows you won’t require as many nappies as they will soil and wet them less frequently.

Here is a rough guide of how many nappies you’d need per day:

• Newborn to 3 months: 10- 12 nappies
• 3 – 6 months: 8 – 10 nappies
• 6 – 9 months: 6-8 nappies
• 9 – 12 months: 6 – 8 nappies
• 12 months onwards: 6 – 8 nappies

Please see our washing guide. We encourage you to join the Clean Cloth Nappies facebook group and check out their website for washing help.

If your child has started solids we require you to use reusable microfleece or disposable bamboo liners. Liners are placed inside the nappy and sit against baby’s skin. These protect the nappies from stains and they also make cleaning up poo easier. Simply tip the poo into the loo and rinse the microfleece liner prior to the pre-wash. You can purchase microfleece liners from us for $10 (10pk) which are yours to keep for the remainder of your cloth journey.

If you receive brand new nappies in your bundle (we will let you know) you need to wash them at least 5 times to build up absorbency. This can be in a nappy pre-wash, main wash or just your normal clothes washing, they don’t need to dry in between washes. Alternatively you can soak the inserts in water overnight, then put them through a wash. Peak absorbency will be reached after approximately 8 washes.

It can be hard to anticipate what will work for your child if you have never used cloth nappies before. We can’t guarantee that all the nappies will fit/suit your baby or child, which is why hiring a variety of brands to try is such a good idea! Please contact us for fitting advice or refer to our fitting guide , most cloth nappy brand websites also have specific fitting guides.

If you have been provided with sized nappies (newborn, small, medium, large), sizing will be based off the weight you have provided us. If these nappies do not fit and you would like to swap them with another size postage will be at your cost.

We strip and sanitise the nappies with bleach in between clients to ensure they are completely clean! We follow Clean Cloth Nappies guidelines and Australian Laundering Standards (AS/NZS 4146-2000)

We are here to help and support you in your hire period, so just email or DM us and we will get back to you as soon as we can (pending toddler and baby wrangling – just like you!). There are no stupid questions! We want you to feel empowered to start and continue using cloth nappies without all the overwhelm that can come with it.

We can’t offer any refunds for early returns but if you have a major problem please get in contact with us.

If you cancel your order within 7 days of the date your hire bundle is due to be sent/delivered we will retain the $100 bond/deposit, if you cancel the order outside of this time you will be refunded in full.

Yes, you can purchase any nappies you loved from your hire bundle for 20% off RRP. If you would like to purchase any nappies or items from your hire bundle we have a secret End Of Hire Shop for our customers. You will be sent the password for access before your hire period finishes, or email and ask us for the password if you’d like to take a look sooner.

We recommend changing cloth nappies every 2-3 hours during the day. At night, you may require a little extra absorption to keep bubs dry and happy right through. You can either add additional boosters to your favourite nappy for extra absorption or try a dedicated night nappy or night nappy bundle.

Nappies often leak when the fit isn’t quite right. Cloth nappies sit differently to disposable nappies, it’s a good idea to re-visit our fitting guide if you’re unsure. If it’s not a fit issue, nappies can leak when they haven’t been changed often enough, or if the absorption isn’t quite right. We love to help customers overcome any issues they’re having so please contact us for support!

Stains are a pain….. see what we did there. The main reason why you might be getting stains on your cloth nappies is usually due to not using enough detergent, washing in cold water, over or under loading your washing machine, using eco detergents without the addition of a laundry booster such as napisan to assist with stain removal, leaving soiled nappies for greater than 48 hours prior to a pre wash, and some foods such as banana, watermelon, carrot, strawberry and tomato are more likely to stain nappies.

By following our washing template which has been sent to you, you should achieve stain and smell free nappies! However it’s important that if stains start to form, follow the guide below or contact us if stains persist, as any stain which can not be removed following hire will incur an amount to be deducted from your bond.

Usually with adequate agitation and loading, enough quality detergent, some laundry booster/stain remover (such as vanish or home brand napisan – it’s 1/3 of the price!) and washing in 40-60 degree temperature water, your nappies should be sparkly clean every time!

How to remove stains?

How to remove stains?Apply soap stain remover such as Sard Wonder Soap, or create a napisan paste, or use a spray stain remover prior to the pre wash.

Follow the pre wash with a main wash on 60 degrees with adequate detergent amount and the addition of a laundry booster (such as napisan/vanish, please follow the instructions on the label). Dry nappies in the sun if possible.

If you are getting stains on your nappies, please utilise the checklist below.

• Are poo nappies (once baby has started solid foods) being rinsed within 24 hours?
• Are you doing a daily or second daily pre wash cycle?
• Is the machine loaded correctly? (There should be just enough room for you to be able to slide your hand above the dry load or pause the main wash cycle half through and check if the load sits at ¾ full when wet). Remember loading doesn’t matter for the pre wash.
• Is enough detergent being used in both the pre and main wash?
• Is the detergent strong enough to remove poo? Or if you’re using an eco detergent are you using the addition of a laundry booster in the main wash?
• Is the water temperature at least warm-hot (40-60 degrees) for the pre and main wash?
• Are their excess suds in the front loader?  If so, it’s likely you’re under loading the main wash
• Have you joined Clean Cloth Nappies (www.cleanclothnappies.com) for extensive cloth nappy washing information?  They’re the gurus!