Cleaning the baby car seat is the bane of many parent’s lives and the least favourite thing on their To Do list.

 However, at Mother’s Choice, we know it’s essential but it’s still always surprising that even in a short time, the spills and messes that rack up can amount to being quite a mess!

 As our children can spend a lot of time traveling in their car seat, keeping it clean and safe is a must and it doesn’t need to take hours to get it done right.

 Messes that your little one makes from drinking and snacking on the go is a common culprit for a grubby car seat and every day, this can amount to quite a sticky - and stinky - combination. When you add the occasional vomit, poopsplosions, spit ups and numerous milk spills to that, it’s easy to understand how the little messes quickly add up to a lot.

 We recommend cleaning your baby’s car seat but we understand that it might not be realistic for many busy parents so we recommend a regular spot clean to stay on top of the mess.

 Additionally, whenever you’re cleaning the rest of your car, you can also pay extra attention to the car seat at that time too.

 We want to help you to ensure that your baby car seat is safe so we’re sharing some top tips on how to keep it thoroughly clean and neat:

 

Cleaning a Baby Car Seat Tips

 

1.     Empty the area

 The best place to start is to clear the decks.

 After removing the car seat from your car, then remove all toys, blankets, bottles, stray food and any other baby paraphernalia that has made its way into the baby seat area. Most of these probably need a good go in the dishwasher or washing machine by now too.

 Give the car seat a good shake outside to remove any bigger particles of dust and dirt, biscuit crumbs and other unidentified baby objects.

 Next, grab a vacuum cleaner and clean up the car floor and the whole surrounding seating area.

 

2.     Covers

 If your baby’s car seat has covers that can be removed, this is your next task.

 Check your car seat instruction manual to ensure that your car seat covers can be machine washed and if so carefully remove and wash. This will also give you access to clean whatever is lurking on the underside and beneath the cover.

 The Mother’s Choice seats,have removable and machine washable covers and infant inserts to make your life even easier when it’s time to clean.

 Simply remove the cover from the car seat, run it through a gentle machine wash and lay it flat to dry in the sun before replacing it back on the clean car seat.

 

3.     The seat

 With your vacuum cleaner, ensure to clean out all nooks and crannies of the car seat with a small vacuum nozzle - some smaller particles may have been pushed deep into the cracks so run your fingers inside of the creases to ensure that everything has been removed. We recommend wearing washing up gloves for this fun task!

 Then, wipe clean all plastic areas of the entire car seat with a gentle antibacterial cleanser until all stickiness is removed, paying particular attention to armrests and buckles.

 Straps and buckles can sometimes be tricky to clean thoroughly and if they can be removed, it can be much easier to give them a really clean.

 Make sure to turn the seat upside down too - you’ll might be surprised as to how much mess finds its way under there.

 

4.     Replace if needed

 If, while you’re cleaning the car seat, you discover any broken parts, contact Mother’s Choice on 1300-809-526 .

 

5.     Minimise future mess

 To help prevent further mess, try to keep drinking and snacking to a minimum in the car and keep a cloth or wipes handy to clean up messes on the go as they occur rather than let them build up.

 At the end of all car journeys with your child, remove any loose toys and blankets from the car back into the house at the same time. Give them a thorough clean before returning them to your vehicle.

 You can also remove and wash your car seat covers regularly and after you have correctly installed your car seat, you could try politely asking your baby to keep all mess to a minimum! It’s worth a try, right?

 Cleaning your baby’s car seat regularly will help to keep your baby comfortable and relaxed during journeys so whilst it might not be the most enjoyable task for many, it’s an essential step in safe car travel for babies. We hope our tips on how to clean a car seat have helped.

 

You can find out more about the Mother’s Choice range of car seats and car seat accessories here.