Part-time vs full-time cloth nappy hire: how many nappies do I need?

How many nappies are in published part-time and full-time kits?

Hire menus split tester / part-time / full-time / night / newborn. The count is what sets the fee. These figures are kit sizes, not a retail “how many newborn nappies to buy” chart.

When is a 4- or 8-nappy tester enough?

A tester answers fit and folding, not “can I quit disposables this month”. Four nappies give you a day’s rotation if you wash every night and dry on a radiator-free airer. They do not cover two wet days plus a Sunday without a machine.

• Enough: you still buy disposables for nursery, nights or travel, and you want to try two or three styles on your baby before a bigger fee.
• Enough: a friend already loaned you a bucket and you only need the nappies.
• Not enough: you want to drop the disposable bin this fortnight. Real Nappies for London’s full-time planning number is 18–24 owned nappies; a 4-nappy hire cannot stand in for that.
• Not enough: you wash every third day and have no tumble dryer. Wet nappies sitting in a tiny kit force a mid-week disposable run, which hides whether cloth works.

Clean Cloth Nappies’ hire page lists part-time and full-time bundles for both newborn and one-size kits as the usual menu. The jump from “part-time” to “full-time” on UK postal sites is roughly 15 changes versus 25+, not 4 versus 8. Treat 4 and 8 as testers, even when a page says “hire kit”.

What extras do I still buy with a small kit?

Cloth Bums’ small and medium testers list nappies and wraps only. The infant and rolling kits add wet bags; the bucket is an extra £3 on those larger kits. A 4-nappy hire therefore assumes you already have somewhere dry to store used nappies and a bag for the changing bag.

Real Nappies for London’s get-started list still applies: a lidded bucket or home wet bag, an out-and-about wet bag, liners, and wraps if you hired flats or fitteds without enough covers. Those extras are a separate spend on top of a cheap tester fee.

A full-time kit that already contains wet bags and a bucket can be cheaper overall than a £5 tester plus a pail, two bags and liners bought in a rush. Add those accessory prices before you call the small kit the bargain.

How hire fees change with kit size

On Cloth Bums’ page, four weeks of the small tester is £9 + £15 deposit; four weeks of the infant full-time kit is £25 + £40 deposit. My Mini Hippo’s part-time BTP hire is £30; full-time is £45, both plus the same £40 deposit. The extra money buys night nappies and enough changes to wash every two to three days.

Deposits also step up with kit value: Cloth Bums £15 / £25 / £40 / £45 across tester to newborn. Central Bedfordshire uses one £60 deposit on an around-30-nappy kit. A missing booster from a 25-nappy kit is the same RRP problem as from a 4-nappy kit — there are just more pieces to lose.

How do I match kit size to my wash day?

1. 1
   Count disposable changes in a normal 48 hours Include nights and any childcare bag. That number is the minimum hire changes you need if you want those hours in cloth.
2. 2
   Add a drying day If nappies take 24 hours to dry, you need a second set on the line. A 15-change part-time kit can cover home days; it will not cover home days plus a slow airer unless you still use disposables.
3. 3
   Pick tester, part-time or full-time from the menu Tester (4–10) = learn the folds. Part-time (about 15) = days at home. Full-time (20–30, with nights) = drop most disposables for the hire window.
4. 4
   Only then look at the fee A cheap 4-nappy kit that forces daily washing is not cheaper if you cannot run the machine. Book the count that matches the 48-hour note.

Why newborn hire kits use a different number

Newborn kits are sized for tiny nappies that birth-to-potty kits do not replace. Cloth Bums lists a minimum of 30 newborn nappies for six weeks from birth (£30 + £45 deposit). Liverpool’s newborn kit is about 40 changes plus extras (£25 + £100 deposit, six weeks). Central Bedfordshire’s newborn kit runs for three months at the same £15 + £60 as its four-week BTP kit.

Real Nappies for London notes that babies under six months need more changes and that 24 owned nappies may be needed for full-time use. A 6-nappy Mini Hippo mini kit labelled 10–35 lb is not a newborn full-time kit, even if the page says “day and night”.

In shortIn short: 4–8 nappies test the idea; about 15 changes cover part-time home days; 20–30 with nights cover full-time for the hire window. Match the count to your 48-hour disposable diary, then read the fee.