While more parents are choosing the environmentally sustainable option of reusable cloth nappies, this doesn’t have to stop when you return to work. Here are our 7 top tips for how to successfully use them at daycare too.

Reusable cloth nappies are the environmentally sustainable choice for parents instead of disposable nappies.

Almost 4 million disposable nappies are used every day in Australia and New Zealand, and these take 500 years to decompose in landfill as they are largely made of plastic.

One child alone gets through an average of 6,000 disposable nappies before they are ready for toilet training.

This is why many parents are making the choice to use machine washable modern cloth nappies at home, to reduce their environmental impact.

Those who are already well in the swing of using cloth nappies may be wondering how things might change upon returning to work.

Going back to the office and having your precious baby start daycare can be daunting, but there are a few strategies you can set in place to ensure the ease of using cloth nappies continues.

This is why we’ve written our 7 top tips to use cloth nappies at daycare.

By following these tips, you can be confident in the knowledge that while your precious baby is being well looked after, your commitment to the environment can also continue while you’re working.

Here are 7 top tips to get you started using cloth nappies at daycare:

1. Speak to your daycare centre about your intentions to use cloth nappies

We’ve put this one first as it really does need to be the first thing you do.

Have a chat with your daycare centre manager about your intentions to use cloth nappies and gain an understanding from them about how they can best support you.

Most daycare centres include environmental sustainability within their set of values and are more than happy to support this.

If you haven’t selected a daycare centre yet, this may be one of your questions you raise as you tour various centres.

Their attitude on the subject may even inform which centre you select, as it’s a good indicator of whether their values align with your own.

If you’ve selected a centre where you’re needing to provide nappies, then the good news is that you’ll continue your excellent financial savings (see our cloth nappies vs disposable nappy cost comparison for more info).

If your centre provides disposable nappies, there’s no reason why you can’t remain committed to environmental sustainability and still bring your own cloth nappies.

2. Do a cloth nappy fit demo for the lead educator

After chatting with the centre manager, we always recommend speaking directly to the lead educator of your baby’s room, as they’ll be the one actually changing the nappies.

They will no doubt have used cloth nappies before, but it’s always helpful to do a demo to show how you usually fit the nappies on your baby, as all babies vary in shape and size.

This also helps to show how loose you fit them, and where to put the dirties.

They may have a preference that you provide a sealed bin to ensure the multiple sets of little hands can’t get hold of the contents.

Whilst we don’t recommend this method of storing nappies in our cloth nappy wash guide, it should be fine if you’re removing them at the end of the day to either go straight in the wash or into your dry pail basket.

3. Buy a bundle of modern cloth nappies

Using cloth nappies at daycare and being back at work might mean you aren’t able to wash your nappies as frequently as you usually do.

In this instance, you’ll find you need more nappies to supplement your stash to ensure you don’t run out in between washes.

Find out more in our blog: how many cloth nappies do you really need?

Customers can get up to 25% off NappyLuxe premium cloth nappy bundles all year round, which is the ideal way to bulk up your stash.

4. Label your cloth nappies

Making sure your baby’s nappies are easy to identify will help ensure they don’t go astray.

With more and more parents turning to cloth, it’s unlikely you’ll be the only cloth nappy family at daycare.

Finding you’ve returned home with another baby’s dirty nappy is no fun at all - take it form someone who knows.

You can buy snap on labels on Etsy which are compatible with the nappy snaps, or you can use a name stamp.

You can even just use a sharpie to initial the care label.

5. Use wet bags to store clean and dirty cloth nappies

Wet bags are essentially a reusable bag, but they are made with the same water-resistant material the nappies themselves are made with and are therefore perfect for keeping wetness and smells contained.

Using one wet bag for clean nappies and another for dirties is a system that many find works well.

A standard sized wet bags fits around 6 nappies in, which is ideal for a day at daycare.

6. Prepare your cloth nappies for daycare

Have the nappies washed, dried, assembled and placed in the wet bag by your door ready to grab and go in the morning.

Ensure the rise snaps (snaps on the front which set the nappy size) are pre-set to the correct size for your baby.

This helps you avoid any last-minute rushes while you’re juggling the already difficult morning mission to leave the house for the day.

7. Have your cloth nappy wash routine down pat.

Making sure you’re washing your modern cloth nappies correctly is important to keep away stains and smells, and helps to prevent nappy rash.

As mentioned earlier in this post, you may need to adapt your routine based on your new work/daycare schedule.

Modern washing machines have a timer function, enabling you to schedule washes for while you’re at work or asleep.

This allows even the busiest of families to stick to a good wash routine while using cloth nappies at daycare and at home.

Those are our 7 top tips to help you get started using your cloth nappies at daycare. For more cloth nappy tips and tricks, read our ultimate guide to using cloth nappies.

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Meet the Author

Natalie Lassen

Natalie, Founder of NappyLuxe, is an eco-conscious mother and entrepreneur who discovered the benefits of cloth nappies for her family and the environment. With a mission to create the ultimate cloth nappy, she spent years researching and testing various designs before launching NappyLuxe - a range of high-quality, easy-to-use, and ultra-absorbent cloth nappies. Natalie is passionate about sharing her experience and expertise, helping parents make informed decisions and embark on their own sustainable parenting journey.