Carseat cleaning question

[Anonymous]

Im in a mom's group on Facebook and someone posted about pulling out an old carseat that had mold on it (old just like, had been in the basement from previous kid but not expired or anything).

Everyone told her to chuck the seat! That strong cleaners could degrade the seat and any cleaner strong enough to kill mold would fit that bill.

I literally couldn't believe it. My kids have puked and pooped and spilled all kinds of crap in their seats!

They deleted my comments and told me I was spreading unsafe carseat advice but seriously do people really replace carseats instead of cleaning them? I was incredulous. I'd be on my 20th carseat.

[Anonymous]

There are rules and you cannot wash straps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are rules and you cannot wash straps.

So you trash carseats that get puke or poop or milk on the straps?

[Anonymous]

Spot cleaning fresh vomit, poop, or milk/ food is very different then trying to eradicate mold and prevent inhaling mold spores. To fully get rid of mold you would need strong chemicals and to do multiple applications and strong scrubbing. That is different than wiping down old milk or using bleach wipes on the shell after washing the cover. I think mold is the issue not cleaning

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are rules and you cannot wash straps.

So you trash carseats that get puke or poop or milk on the straps?

No, I swish them in water and sometimes add some mild soap to it. But that wouldn't get mold out of them, so cleaning off a moldy carseat is another order of magnitude entirely. Replace!

[Anonymous]

You are spreading bad advice. Do you not understand the difference between the two situations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are rules and you cannot wash straps.

So you trash carseats that get puke or poop or milk on the straps?

No, I swish them in water and sometimes add some mild soap to it. But that wouldn't get mold out of them, so cleaning off a moldy carseat is another order of magnitude entirely. Replace!

+1

I followed the instructions on mine which says I can machine wash on gentle and air dry the seat cover but I would absolutely buy a new car seat before trying to treat a moldy one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are rules and you cannot wash straps.

So you trash carseats that get puke or poop or milk on the straps?

No, I clean those soon after they get dirty. If my seat sat long enough to MOLD, yes I would replace it.

[Anonymous]

yeah, mold is terrible, and mold exposure causes mold allergies, among other terrible health consequences--I cannot imagine risking exposing a newborn to that over not wanting to get a new carseat.

[Anonymous]

If the issue was mold, I'd throw it out. It's not safe to have a kid sitting in a seat with mold.

For the typical milk/other snacks/vomit/etc. that kids get on those seats, I just follow the instruction manual for how to clean the fabric. Our straps won't come off, so we spot treat them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yeah, mold is terrible, and mold exposure causes mold allergies, among other terrible health consequences--I cannot imagine risking exposing a newborn to that over not wanting to get a new carseat.

The woman has, according to her own testimony, not a penny to her name. It seems insane to me that using some bleach on the straps to kill the mold would be worse than possibly not being able to eat because they had to shell out for a new seat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yeah, mold is terrible, and mold exposure causes mold allergies, among other terrible health consequences--I cannot imagine risking exposing a newborn to that over not wanting to get a new carseat.

The woman has, according to her own testimony, not a penny to her name. It seems insane to me that using some bleach on the straps to kill the mold would be worse than possibly not being able to eat because they had to shell out for a new seat.

If she legitimately has no money then she'll qualify for a free carseat through one of the many programs that have them. My point was not that bleach would be bad for the carseat straps (it might be, I dunno) but that she's unlikely to get all the mold out of a carseat based on how they are shaped and how hard it is to get to the various surfaces. Mold is terrible. Increasing your new baby's likelihood of getting asthma is not a trivial thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yeah, mold is terrible, and mold exposure causes mold allergies, among other terrible health consequences--I cannot imagine risking exposing a newborn to that over not wanting to get a new carseat.

The woman has, according to her own testimony, not a penny to her name. It seems insane to me that using some bleach on the straps to kill the mold would be worse than possibly not being able to eat because they had to shell out for a new seat.

She doesn't have $40 for a Cosco but can afford to own/operate a car (or take cab/ride-share)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yeah, mold is terrible, and mold exposure causes mold allergies, among other terrible health consequences--I cannot imagine risking exposing a newborn to that over not wanting to get a new carseat.

The woman has, according to her own testimony, not a penny to her name. It seems insane to me that using some bleach on the straps to kill the mold would be worse than possibly not being able to eat because they had to shell out for a new seat.

She doesn't have $40 for a Cosco but can afford to own/operate a car (or take cab/ride-share)?

Most of the counties have low cost to free car seats. You have to replace straps as it may weaken them if you use bleach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are rules and you cannot wash straps.

So you trash carseats that get puke or poop or milk on the straps?

No, I swish them in water and sometimes add some mild soap to it. But that wouldn't get mold out of them, so cleaning off a moldy carseat is another order of magnitude entirely. Replace!

Yeah, getting mold out of something is definitely harder than getting puke out. I’m not sure I would go straight to chucking it, but I do think the options are probably limited if it’s at that point.