Interview with Kelly (inventor of Strucket)

If you’ve been with Clean Cloth Nappies for a while, you might remember the old days of ‘strip and sanitise’ washes. We’ve talked about how it was a messy, multi-step process, and while it can feel satisfying to see the gross strip wash water, it is also a sensory nightmare for some.

One Australian mum decided to do something to make that process easier on our hands and invented the world’s first interlocking strainer bucket: Strucket.

Kelly, the inventor and founder of Strucket, has been a longtime supporter of Clean Cloth Nappies since our soak-everything era. Even though we no longer recommend strip soaks, the Strucket is still a brilliant tool for handwashing a small amount of items, such as wool covers, and small-scale sanitising. The strainer part can help weigh down items and keep them submerged, preventing uneven bleaching and colour loss.

We interviewed Kelly on the reality of life with young kids, what it’s like to invent something, the environmental values behind her innovation, and much more.

The interview

🎙 Please introduce yourself and tell us how you began Strucket (what gave you the idea for the product).

My name is Kelly, and I’m the inventor and founder of Strucket.

The idea for Strucket came about after I had my third child. Like so many families with a new baby, we were constantly soaking things – baby clothes, bibs and all those messy little items that come with having young children.

My husband actually did most of the soaking. He would put everything into Tupperware containers to soak, and that was usually as far as the process went! Putting things in to soak was the easy part; getting them back out again was messy and time-consuming. You’d have to put your hands into dirty soaking water, drain everything, and then deal with wet items dripping across the laundry.

I remember thinking, “I just don’t hang out in the laundry.” I wanted to be able to walk in, quickly lift the items out of the soaking water, leave them to drain, and walk away. Then, when I came back, they would be drip-free and ready to go straight into the washing machine.

So I went looking for a bucket with a strainer built into it. I assumed something like that must already exist, but I couldn’t find anything on the market.

That was really the lightbulb moment for Strucket. I realised that if I had this everyday problem, there must be plenty of other busy households experiencing exactly the same thing. So I decided to create the solution myself.

🎙 What did your daily life and household routine look like right around the time you found yourself dealing with the messy reality of soaking clothes and raising three kids?

At the time, life was incredibly full. I had two children at school, my middle child had just started Prep, and I had a newborn at home. I was also helping my husband with his chiropractic business, so there was always plenty going on.

I’ve always loved being a homemaker and took a lot of pride in creating a happy, healthy home for our family. I did a lot of cooking from scratch and food preparation, and we tried to eat as organically and cleanly as possible. My days were filled with all the things that come with raising a busy family – school runs, afternoon sport, cooking, washing, keeping the house running smoothly and, of course, caring for a newborn.

But I was also very conscious of wanting to enjoy that stage of my life. I knew my third child would be my last baby, so it was really important to me to soak up that time with him and be present for those little moments that pass so quickly.

🎙 You’re not only a business owner, but also an inventor. Share with us briefly how you first designed and built a prototype for the Strucket. How did you transition from an initial idea to developing a physical, market-ready product?

Strucket started with some very basic sketches of the product I had in my head. I knew what I wanted it to do and how I wanted it to work, but I had absolutely no experience in product development or manufacturing, so I really had no idea where to begin.

I remember reaching out to another business I had seen on Shark Tank and asking if they could give me some guidance on how you actually take an idea and turn it into a product. With a little advice from them – and while being very careful to keep my idea confidential – I began researching industrial designers who could help take my concept from those initial sketches and turn it into something real.

That was really the beginning of a huge learning curve. I quickly realised that developing a physical product was going to be far more complex, and far more expensive, than I had ever imagined.

It ultimately took three years to take Strucket from an idea on a piece of paper to a market-ready product. There were so many stages along the way: research, industrial design, product development, prototyping, tooling, testing, grant applications, manufacturing and, of course, finding the funding to make it all possible.

Financially, it was a huge commitment for our family. We would put money aside every week to keep the project moving forward, and there were times when we went without things ourselves because we believed so strongly in what we were creating.

Looking back, it was an enormous challenge, particularly because I was learning everything as I went. But I think that is also one of the things I’m most proud of. I started with a very simple idea to solve an everyday problem, and through persistence, a lot of learning and quite a few sacrifices, that idea eventually became a physical product that we could take to market.

🎙 What is one feature of the Strucket that you’re the most proud of? How did it come about?

The feature I’m most proud of would have to be Strucket’s unique interlocking strainer and bucket system. The strainer locks securely into the bucket in two positions, allowing you to lift the contents out of the soaking water and leave them to strain without having to stand there holding it. The Strucket is also weighted through the base, so it remains stable and doesn’t tip over while it’s draining.

That interlocking mechanism is so unique that it is protected by an industrial patent. It was incredibly rewarding to know that we had created something genuinely innovative.

Another feature that really elevates the design is the external plug system, and I have to give my husband credit for that one! During the development process, he said to me, “If you’re going to go to all the trouble of creating an interlocking strainer bucket, you need to put a plug on the outside so people don’t have to put their hands into chemicals or dirty water to drain it.”

It was such a simple observation, but it made complete sense. The external plug means you don’t need to lift and tip a heavy bucket full of water, and you don’t need to put your hands back into dirty or chemical-filled soaking water.

Over the years, we’ve realised just how important that feature can be. It makes Strucket particularly useful for people with back or mobility issues, older people who may struggle to lift a heavy bucket, and people recovering from surgery or a C-section who need to avoid unnecessary lifting and strain.

🎙 We love that you offer spare parts for sale so that customers can fix up their Strucket to extend its lifespan. What made you decide to do that? And how did that inform your design of the Strucket?

It was important to us that we weren’t bringing another short-lived product into the world that would have an unnecessary environmental footprint.

Before Strucket, plastic was almost a “no-no” in our household. Wherever possible, we used glass for storing food and other household items. So when we began developing Strucket, the choice of material was something we considered very carefully. We actually explored producing it in stainless steel, but ultimately found that it wasn’t fit for purpose. It was heavier, less practical for everyday use and, with ongoing exposure to water and soaking agents, corrosion could also become an issue.

It’s somewhat ironic that I then went on to invent a product made from polypropylene! But if we were going to use plastic, I wanted to make sure we used it responsibly by creating a high-quality, durable product that was designed to have a very long life.

That philosophy influenced our decision to make spare parts available. If a plug or another replaceable component is lost or damaged, we don’t want someone to have to throw away an otherwise perfectly good Strucket. We want them to be able to replace that individual part and continue using the product for years to come.

🎙 What have been the most creative or surprising ways people have used a Strucket?

One of my all-time favourite and most surprising uses has to be people using their Strucket with broody chickens! Because of its rectangular shape and size, it happens to be incredibly well suited to gently soaking or cooling a broody hen. It’s certainly not something I ever imagined when I was standing in my laundry designing a better way to soak clothes!

Another really popular use has emerged within the fibre arts community. Knitters, crocheters and other makers use Strucket for blocking the beautiful garments and pieces they’ve spent hours creating. They can soak their work, lift the strainer to separate and drain it without unnecessary handling, and also use the Strucket to gently hand wash those special pieces.

We’re also seeing Strucket used extensively by people who collect and restore vintage clothing. They’re using it to carefully soak, clean and bring treasured garments back to life, which I absolutely love.

When I first invented Strucket, I was solving a very specific problem in my own laundry. I never imagined all the different ways people would eventually use it.

🎙 Strucket is an Australian innovation and proudly Australian Made. You also expanded into the North American market not too long ago. What are some similarities and differences you have found between these two markets?

There are definitely differences between the Australian and North American markets, although I think there are probably more similarities than people initially realise.

One of the obvious differences for us as an Australian business is the opposite seasons. When we’re in the middle of summer here, much of North America is experiencing winter, so climate and seasonal conditions can influence things like drying routines and how people manage their laundry.

But one of the biggest differences I’ve noticed is actually the terminology. In Australia, we talk about cloth nappies; in North America, they’re cloth diapers. We might use terms like “dry pailing” that aren’t necessarily used in exactly the same way there. Once you get past the different language, though, many of the underlying laundry principles and routines are actually very similar.

For example, both markets have moved away from the traditional idea of leaving cloth nappies or diapers soaking for long periods. There is much more emphasis now on appropriate storage before washing, good washing routines and caring for reusable products properly.

From a Strucket perspective, that has meant the way we educate customers and demonstrate the product is actually quite similar across both markets. We may need to change the language or explain a particular use slightly differently, but ultimately people are looking for the same thing: practical solutions that make their laundry routines easier and help them care for reusable items effectively.

🎙 We are big fans of bar soap as a stain removal tool. Tell us about your line of bar soap.

Our Strucket Stain Bar is something we’re incredibly proud of. It’s handcrafted in Tasmania using a beautifully simple combination of coconut oil, rice bran oil, sodium hydroxide, water and essential oils.

Most importantly, it works! We’ve had such wonderful feedback from customers about its ability to tackle stubborn stains on fabrics and cloth nappies.

We also wanted it to be lovely to use. Because stain removal often means working the soap into fabric by hand, the formulation was created with that experience in mind, rather than feeling like you’re using a harsh cleaning product.

🎙 Laundry and household care can often feel overwhelming for busy families. How do you see your products helping to simplify these everyday tasks?

I didn’t create Strucket because I was particularly good at household chores; I created it because I was overwhelmed by them! For me, Strucket was about taking one of those time-consuming, messy household tasks and finding a way to make it simpler, quicker and less stressful.

For example, you might have your Strucket filled with cloth nappy inserts that you are sanitising. When you’re ready, you simply lift the strainer out of the water and lock it securely into place. It sits there hands-free while you open the external plug and allow the water to drain away. In a matter of moments, you’ve soaked, separated and drained everything without having to lift and tip a heavy bucket or put your hands into the soaking water. You can also recycle the water onto the garden if you wish.

What I love about Strucket is that it can become a real little workhorse in the home. Families can use it to collect dirty items, soak and care for clothing, use it as a dry pail, or even use the removable strainer as a washing basket. Its versatility means it can adapt to whatever stage of family life you’re in and however you choose to manage your laundry.

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