Joolz prams are Dutch, distinctive, and a common sight in London. The Day is the full-size classic, the Aer is the compact travel buggy, the Geo is the all-terrain option, and the Hub is the narrow city pram. Joolz offer a ten-year warranty to owners who register within six months of purchase, which tells you how long the brand expects them to last. How it is cleaned has a lot to do with whether yours does.
We clean Joolz prams every week at our specialist cleaning facility. Many of them arrive after a home clean that did not go to plan: a seat fabric that has changed colour, a frame with cloudy marks that will not wipe off, or a carrycot that smells of damp after a summer in the loft. This guide explains what Joolz themselves recommend, where owners go wrong, and how to avoid both.
Why Joolz prams need careful cleaning
Three things to know before you clean a Joolz:
- Joolz do not promise colourfastness. Their own support guidance for the Geo says, in plain words, that they "can not guarantee the colours after washing." That is unusually direct. It means the burden is on you to wash gently and dry correctly, because a colour change after washing is unlikely to be accepted as a defect.
- Soap and lukewarm water only. The Day+ and Aer manuals both give the same instruction: clean the fabric with lukewarm water and soap, rinse with fresh water, leave to dry, and "never use bleach or other chemical detergents." That rules out most stain removers, most upholstery sprays, and most of what is under the average kitchen sink.
- The aluminium stains. Joolz frames are coated or anodised aluminium. The manuals warn that the coating is "vulnerable to acidic cleaners or grease, which can cause stains and discoloration." Vinegar and citrus-based sprays are acidic. Sun cream and food residue count as grease. Both leave marks that often do not come out with a second wipe.
A fourth point catches out parents who have read our other guides. Joolz recommend treating the wheels and metal parts with "Teflon or silicon spray" roughly once a month. That is the opposite of the advice for a Nuna, where silicone is specifically warned against. Follow the guidance for the pram you own, not the one your friend owns.
Which model do you have?
| Model | Type | Price New (UK) | Cleaning Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day+ / Day5 | Full-size, height-adjustable | From £999 (Day+) | Large seat and carrycot fabrics, removable for cleaning, many fold joints to keep clean |
| Aer / Aer+ / Aer² | Compact travel buggy | £429 to £668 | Seat fabric is not described as removable; hand wash in place |
| Geo² / Geo³ | All-terrain, mono, duo or twin | From £1,079 (Geo³ Mono) | Fabric detaches by zip; large wheels collect grit; duo and twin set-ups double the work |
| Hub / Hub+ / Hub² | Narrow city pram | £649 to £899 | Compact seat unit; frame marks show easily on lighter colourways |
Prices are from the Joolz UK site at the time of writing and are for guidance only. The Day and Geo are the most involved to clean properly. If you own either and have never taken the fabrics off, read the rest of this guide first.
What goes wrong when parents clean a Joolz at home
The fabric changes colour. This is one of the most common complaints we hear. A parent puts the seat fabric through the washing machine with a normal detergent, dries it by a window, and finds it has come out a shade lighter, or patchy where the sun caught it. Joolz have said they cannot guarantee colours after washing, so a warranty claim is unlikely to succeed. It shows most on the darker and more saturated colourways.
Cloudy marks on the frame. A parent sprays a household cleaner on the frame to shift sun cream and biscuit residue, and the coating reacts. The result is a dull patch or a faint white bloom on the aluminium that a damp cloth will not remove. On a light frame it is visible from across the room.
Fabric that does not sit right afterwards. The Day seat fabric comes off for cleaning. Take it off without photographing each step, and it goes back on slightly wrong: bunched at one side, loose at the footrest, or with the harness routed through the wrong slot. The pram still works. It just never looks quite right again.
A warped sun hood. Like most pram hoods, the Joolz hood relies on internal stiffening to hold its shape. Machine washing it, or wringing it hard, can distort it. The hood then sits crooked or refuses to fold flat with the pram.
Mould in the carrycot. The Day carrycot is padded, lined and used for the first six months, then stored. If it goes into a loft, garage or cupboard while there is any moisture in the mattress or lining, it comes out with black spots and a smell. We see this every spring when second babies arrive. Our guide to mould on a pram covers what can and cannot be saved.
Flat-spotted tyres. This one comes straight from the Joolz manual. The Day+ manual warns that folding the pram without locking the front swivel wheels can obstruct the tyres and cause "deformation, especially in a hot environment." A pram folded wrong and left in a hot car boot or a sunny hallway can develop a flat spot on the tyre that does not recover.
Fabrics: what Joolz actually say
The official guidance is short and consistent across the Day+ and Aer manuals and the Geo support guidance:
- Clean the fabric with lukewarm water and soap.
- Rinse with fresh water and leave to dry.
- Never use bleach or other chemical detergents.
- On the Geo, if you use a small brush on stubborn marks, do so carefully.
Notice what is missing. There is no wash temperature, no machine cycle, and no tumble-dry setting, because Joolz are not recommending a machine wash. If you do choose to machine wash removable fabric, you are outside their guidance and taking on the colour risk yourself. If you go ahead, use a cold or 30°C delicate cycle, a small dose of a mild, non-biological liquid, no fabric conditioner, and a mesh bag to protect zips and studs. Joolz do allow a mild detergent for hand washing the Aer+, so a gentle liquid is within the spirit of their guidance. Bleach, stain removers and anything labelled heavy duty are not.
For a hand clean, mix a small amount of gentle soap into a bowl of lukewarm water, work it into the fabric with a soft cloth or sponge, then rinse with a clean damp cloth until no soap remains. Blot with a towel. Never scrub hard at one spot, because that is exactly how you create a lighter patch on a dark fabric.
The Aer is a special case. Joolz do not describe its seat fabric as removable, and the Aer+ product page says to hand wash with a mild detergent, rinse thoroughly and dry flat. Treat it as a clean-in-place seat. Work in sections with the soap and water method, keep the padding as dry as you can, and allow a full day to air before folding.
Frame and aluminium care
Joolz are specific here: clean the aluminium with warm water and a soft cloth. That is the whole instruction. No spray cleaners, no wipes with citrus or vinegar in them, no degreasers.
Sun cream is the enemy of a Joolz frame in a London summer. It is greasy, it transfers from small hands to the handlebar and bumper bar, and it sits on the coating. Wipe the touch points with a warm damp cloth at the end of any sunny day rather than letting it build up for a month.
After rain, dry the frame with a cloth, paying attention to the fold joints and the point where the handlebar telescopes on the Day. Water left in the joints leads to grit build-up and a fold that starts to feel stiff.
Wheels, tyres and lubricant
Joolz recommend treating the wheels and metal parts with a Teflon or silicone spray roughly once a month so the pram keeps running smoothly. Spray onto a cloth, not directly at the wheel, and wipe the axles and moving joints. Keep it off the fabric and off the brake surfaces.
Before you lubricate anything, clean the grit out. London parks and pavements load the wheel housings with sand and dust. Pop the wheels off if your model allows it, brush out the housings with a dry brush, wipe the axles, and then apply the spray. Lubricant over grit just makes an abrasive paste.
On the Geo, the larger wheels pick up more mud and need a proper rinse rather than a wipe. Dry them fully before storing, because a wet tyre against a wet housing is where corrosion starts.
Finally, the swivel lock. Always lock the front wheels before folding, exactly as the manual says, so the tyres are not obstructed while the pram is stored.
Carrycot and mattress
Use only the mattress supplied by Joolz, and never add a second mattress on top. That is a safety instruction from the Day+ manual, not a cleaning tip, but it matters because parents sometimes replace a stained mattress with a thicker aftermarket one.
To clean the carrycot, remove the mattress and any liner, and clean the lining with the same soap and lukewarm water method as the seat. Wipe the base and the ventilation areas, where dust and dropped milk collect. Let everything dry fully, and by fully we mean 24 to 48 hours in a warm room with air moving, not an afternoon on the radiator.
Before storing between babies, clean it, dry it completely, and keep it in a breathable bag somewhere dry inside the house. Sealing it in plastic traps whatever moisture is left and all but guarantees mould. Our pram storage guide goes through this in detail.
Harness and buckles
The five-point harness on a Joolz follows the rule that applies to most prams: it is a safety component, so never submerge it, never machine wash it, and never use anything stronger than a damp cloth with a little soap. Dried milk and crumbs in the buckle can be worked out with a soft brush.
When you remove the seat fabric, the shoulder straps come unthreaded. Photograph the routing before you start, note the slot height you were using, and re-thread through the same slots. A harness routed through the wrong slot or twisted behind the seat is one of the most common reassembly mistakes we correct, and it is not a cosmetic one.
Drying and storage
Given Joolz's own warning about colour, drying is where you protect the fabric. Dry indoors, flat or hung, away from windows in direct sun. No tumble dryer, no radiator, no airing cupboard next to the hot water tank. Press the padded sections with a clean towel to draw out moisture first.
Do not reassemble or fold the pram until every part is bone dry. A Day carrycot or seat put back together while damp is the start of the mould problem described above. If you are in a hurry, a fan in the room shortens drying time safely. Heat does not.
When to use a professional service
We clean Joolz prams every week. Day, Aer, Geo, Hub: we clean all of them, stripping the fabrics where the model allows it. Here is what a professional clean delivers that a home clean cannot:
- Colour protected. We use pH-neutral, baby-safe products with no bleach and no harsh detergents, applied evenly across the whole fabric so there are no lighter patches, and dried indoors away from sunlight.
- Frame cleaned without marking it. Sun cream, food grease and pavement grime removed from coated aluminium with the right products, not an acidic spray that blooms the finish.
- Correct disassembly for your model. Zips, press studs, hood panels and harness routing put back exactly as Joolz intended. We document every job at intake and check the fold, harness and clips before return.
- Wheels and joints done properly. Grit brushed out of the housings, axles cleaned, and the moving parts treated with the lubricant Joolz actually recommend.
- Carrycot deep clean. Lining, base and ventilation cleaned, mattress cover treated, everything dried through before it goes back together. If there is hidden mould, we find it and tell you honestly what can be saved.
Need your Joolz professionally cleaned?
Full strip-down where the model allows it, baby-safe deep clean, and collection and delivery across London. Every model: Day, Aer, Geo, Hub. From £85.
Book Joolz CleanFrequently asked questions
Can you machine wash Joolz pram fabrics?
Joolz do not recommend it. Their manuals say to clean the fabric with lukewarm water and soap, rinse with fresh water and leave to dry, and never to use bleach or chemical detergents. They also state they cannot guarantee colours after washing. If you machine wash removable fabric anyway, use a cold or 30°C delicate cycle, a mild non-biological liquid, and dry flat away from sunlight.
Can I use WD-40 or silicone spray on my Joolz wheels?
Joolz recommend a Teflon or silicone spray on the wheels and metal parts roughly once a month. Clean the grit out first, spray onto a cloth rather than the wheel, and keep it away from the fabric and brakes. WD-40 is not a Teflon or silicone spray and is not what Joolz recommend. This is different from some other brands, so follow the Joolz guidance for a Joolz.
Why has my Joolz frame got cloudy or white marks?
The coated aluminium reacts to acidic cleaners and to grease. Household sprays, vinegar, citrus wipes and built-up sun cream all cause it. Joolz advise warm water and a soft cloth only. Once the coating has marked, it usually cannot be polished back at home.
Why has my Joolz fabric faded after washing?
Joolz say they cannot guarantee colours after washing. Strong detergent, hot water, scrubbing at one spot and drying in sunlight all accelerate colour change, and it shows most on darker colourways. Gentle soap, lukewarm water, even application and indoor drying away from windows are how you limit it.
Do you clean the Joolz carrycot?
Yes. We clean the lining, base and ventilation areas, treat the mattress cover, and dry everything through before reassembly. If there is mould from storage, we assess it and tell you plainly what can be saved. The carrycot is included in a full clean.
How much does professional Joolz pram cleaning cost?
Our Joolz cleaning service starts from £85. This includes full fabric strip-down where the model allows it, baby-safe deep cleaning of all components, frame and wheel cleaning, harness sanitisation, complete drying, and reassembly. Collection and delivery across London. See our pram cleaning service for details, or message us on WhatsApp with your model and a photo.