Please remind me why it's supposedly not safe to use a secondhand mattress for the moses basket?

[JBrd]

If you wash the sheets and give the mattress a good wipe with an antiseptic (it's covered with a plasticy material, so I don't think I can wash it), why shouldn't that be safe?

[AitchTwoOh]

i thought that had been debunked? it was something to do with mould spores or something but if it's plastic?

[whomovedmychocolate]

It used to be that foam mattresses were covered in cotton - marvellous for culturing spore mould. But if it's covered in plastic then yes an antiseptic wipe should be fine. :)

[vajazzhands]

I can't remeber but no baby uses the moses basket for more than a couple of months anyway so the mattress surely haven't had much use

[MovingAndScared]

I have had a quick look around - a the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths have a leaflet here:

fsid.org.uk/document.doc?id=164
It says
It is very important that your baby?s mattress is clean, dry, firm, flat and well fitting. Ideally you should buy a new mattress for each new baby. If you are not able to do this, use the one you have as long as it was made with a completely waterproof cover and has no tears, cracks
or holes.
I don't think it is the most important factor in your babies health by a long way

[SecretNutellaFix]

I think it's down to the comfort element for a Moses basket mattress.

The mattress is made of foam which can sometimes stay depressed and so isn't necessarily supportive enough for a second baby.

They are only about an inch thick which is why it sometimes doesn't spring back to an even thickness.

If the mattress has already been used for 2 babies, I would replace anyway. Run your hand over it and if there are no depression/unevenness I would possibly use it.