Baby equipment hire for visiting family
Rentoodle team, updated 5 minute read
Hiring travel cots, high chairs and car seats when family visit with a baby: what to check on age and expiry labels, hygiene, and how to time the booking.
Why hiring usually beats buying or hauling
When family come to stay with a baby for a long weekend, someone has to solve the same problem: a house with no baby equipment in it, and a car that will not hold a travel cot, a high chair, a stair gate and everybody's luggage.
Buying means storing a cot you will use twice a year. Hauling means a car packed to the roof and a bad start to the visit. Hiring locally from someone whose own child has outgrown the kit solves both, and it means the equipment is in the house before the family arrive rather than being assembled at eleven at night.
Travel cots
The travel cot is the one item worth getting right first, because it is where the baby will spend the most hours. Ask the lender for the make and model, then look up the instructions before the hire so you are not learning the folding mechanism with a tired baby in the room.
Check the mattress that comes with it. It should be the one made for that cot, it should fit the base with no gap you can get a hand into, it should be firm and flat, and it should be clean and dry with no sagging. If the listing does not mention a mattress, ask. Set the cot up somewhere flat and away from blind cords, radiators and anything the baby could reach through the mesh. Put the baby down on their back, on a firm flat surface, with nothing loose in the cot.
High chairs
For a short visit, a clamp on or fold flat chair is often easier than a full sized wooden one, and it will fit around a table that was not designed for it. Whichever you hire, the checks are the same.
- A five point harness that fastens, holds and adjusts, with a crotch strap so the baby cannot slide down.
- A stable base that does not rock when you push the back of the chair.
- Locking mechanisms that click positively when the chair is opened out.
- A tray that latches properly, and a cover with no cracked or split plastic where food can hide.
- For a clamp on chair, a table that is solid and heavy enough, with no glass top and no pedestal that could tip.
Car seats: labels, age and expiry
A car seat is the item to be most careful with. Read the labels on the shell before you use it, not after.
Look for the approval label showing the standard it is built to, and check the height or weight range printed on it against the child who will sit in it. Many manufacturers also mould a date of manufacture or an expiry date into the plastic, usually on the underside or the back; plastics and foams degrade, so a seat that is past the manufacturer's stated life should not be used. Check the harness webbing for fraying, check the buckle fastens and releases cleanly, and make sure the instructions are with the seat.
Ask the lender directly whether the seat has ever been in a collision. Manufacturers generally say a seat involved in a crash should be replaced, even if it looks undamaged. Finally, check the seat is compatible with the car it will travel in and with the belt or ISOFIX fittings in it, and fit it in daylight before the journey rather than in a car park in the dark.
Hygiene and getting the house ready
Hired baby equipment should arrive clean, and you should still give it a wipe down before use, because that is what you would do with your own. Warm soapy water and a cloth is right for most hard surfaces; check the manufacturer's instructions before using anything stronger, particularly on fabric covers and harness webbing, which usually should not be machine washed or soaked.
Let anything damp dry fully before the baby uses it. Bring your own bedding for the cot: a fitted sheet for the mattress, and a sleeping bag rather than loose blankets. Take a good look for small detached parts, cracked plastic and missing screws while you are cleaning, and message the lender about anything you find.
Timing the booking
Book the hire to start a day or two before the family arrive. That gives you time to assemble everything, read the instructions, wash covers if they need it and raise a problem with the lender while it is still solvable.
The default minimum hire is two days, and a visit almost always runs longer than the days the family are actually in the house, so count from setting up to packing away. On a delivery hire, the equipment needs to be back with the lender by the end date, so add the return journey to your window rather than to the last day of the visit.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to hire a second hand car seat?
Only when you can check it properly. Read the approval label and the height or weight range, look for the manufacturer's date or expiry marking on the shell, check the harness and buckle, and ask the lender whether it has ever been in a collision.
Does a hired travel cot come with a mattress?
Often, but check the listing and ask. The mattress should be the one made for that cot, firm, flat, clean and a snug fit in the base with no gap around the edges.
How far ahead of the visit should I book?
Start the hire a day or two before the family arrive so you can set everything up, clean it and read the instructions calmly. Include the return journey in the window rather than ending the hire on the day they leave.