# how to wash a carseat cover?



## SimonMom

I have two carseats that really need washed. What's the best way to do this? Do I just wash the covers and line dry them, and just wipe down the harnesses? Do I have do be worried about damaging them somehow? TIA


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## calpurnia

my carseat cover says to cold water wash only. so i put it in the machine on a delicates cold wash. it came out fine









edit: we don't have a drier so that didn't arise. i would be wary about drying them. they are a pretty funny material.


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## an_aurora

I've washed them two ways: in the bathtub with cold water, and in the washer on gentle/delicate wash, cold water. I've also done both line dry and air fluff in the dryer.


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## Mom2M

I washed ours in the washer and then line dried because of the material. I took the entire carseat apart to clean all the straps and crevices at the same time.
Wow! I had no idea how gross it was in there!
It came out great!
Deb


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## an_aurora

Just don't use anything but a cloth dampened with water to clean the straps


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## babymommy2

I wash the covers in the washer, line dry. I hose the plastic seat off with the garden hose. You are not supposed to wash the straps, it weakens them. I didn't know this and washed them, then read the manual and it says not to. You can order new ones from the company, about 20$ Ithink?


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## Ruthie's momma

I have washed DD's car seat cover in the washing machine in cool water w/ a touch of our regular laundry detergent (Country Save). Then, I tossed it in the the dryer on low heat.

I clean the base with a moistened sponge and my homemade AP spray.

The straps are wiped down with a moistend sponge.

HTH!


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## RunnerDuck

So I have to confess to washing straps and being skeptical of washing weakening them. They're tough THICK nylon webbing. Figure you have one of those old school lawn chairs with the THIN nylon webbing, out in the sun and rain, with adults sitting on them - they will last a good while before they start to fray, won't they? And even once they start to fray they will still hold an adults weight.

I can understand in theory how it might weaken them - like vaseline seems innocuous but will eat a hole in a condom - but it just doesn't seem to me like a few cold water washes and line dries, over the life of the seat, is really going to have an effect.

I just don't feel "spot treating" with water really gets them clean. If they're not dirty, they don't need cleaned, but if they are dirty, they really do need cleaned.

It seems to me like having sugars, bacteria, vomit, whatever embedded in the material over time is more likely to cause damage than giving it a thorough wash and dry and being done with it. Especially the vomit part. I guess I can see a strap that has never been washed as being better off than a strap that has been washed... but only of that never been washed strap has also never been dirty.

Is there any proof to washing them being harmful or is it really just "the manufacturer says..."? And if washing them is harmful, has this been compared against straps that have been barfed on and spot cleaned, or never barfed on, never spot cleaned?

The short answer would have been, I toss everything in the washer on cold and line dry it. I don't wash the straps if they don't need it, though.


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## maddycakes

We recently had to clean ours because DD got sick in the carseat, cover AND straps. Washed the cover on gentle cycle and line dried in the house (it was raining) with a fan on it We only have one car seat so we needed to dry fast in case we had to go somehwere--luckily it was dry within 8 hours.

As for the straps, given what was on them, I just used a paste of baking soda and water with a toothbrush and scrubbed gently. Rinsed with water. Used a little diluted vinegar on the really yucky parts and rinsed again. Air dried. The test came the next day when the car seat sat in my car for 9 hours in the hot sun. No smell so I think it worked.


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## an_aurora

Lawn chairs are not made to withstand crash forces.


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## KayleeZoo

Quote:

Lawn chairs are not made to withstand crash forces.
And the worst case scenario if lawn chair webbing fails is that you wind up on your rear on the ground. Worst case scenario for a harness failing during a collision is way worse. One of those, "What kinds of risks are you willing to take?" situations, I guess.


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