35 year old cot offer from my mother

[lizedmonds]

My husband and I are due our first child in April. My mother has kept the cot in which my two brothers and I were raised. We have accepted the cot however wish to check some safety issues and regulations:

1. Where can we find a list of the legal regulations relating to cots eg I have heard the bars need to have a maximum width to prevent choking etc.
2. The cot needs some tlc ala Kirsty's Home Made Homes. In short it needs a repaint and the screws and metal bits need a deep clean.

a. What is the best way to strip away the current paint. My local DIY shop says paint stipper is okay for cots is this true? It sounds iffy to me. b. What paints are suitable, again the same local DIY shop said that most paints were fine? Any help with the above would be great, we appreciate the need for a new cot mattress however feel it would be nice to make use of this cot.

I'd just buy a new cot.

It's a lovely idea but do you really want to be fannying about with pain stripper, new pain, screws etc. Not to mention the spacing of the bars.

Well most paint will be OK tbh - I'd paint it several weeks use & give it time to dry & lose it's smell

Plus as I'm a bit funny about paint I'd use low VOC paint but because of DH not babies.

Without using paint stripper I think you will be hard pressed to remove the paint & tbh if it is factory applied paint it will be hard to remove anyway

I'd give it a good sand & paint over the top

Can't help with regs sorry

"Safety Is The Most Important Factor
Well meaning friends and relatives are often willing to loan or give a baby cot that they have stored, but exercise caution before accepting their generosity. Safety standards have changed in recent years and no amount of money saved can make up for a tragedy caused by an outdated or recalled cot. A quick internet search will help you to determine whether or not a particular cot is part of a safety recall. Simply locate the brand name and model number on the cot and check to see that it safe before placing your baby in it. In addition to a possible recall, a safe cot must meet certain safety criteria, including:

* In the UK, the recommendation is that spaces between bars or slats must be 45-65 mm, and less than 60 mm wide in the mattress base.
* Corner posts are no higher than 1 1/2 mm.
* No sharp edges, exposed hardware, or splintered wood.
* Painted cribs must have no lead based paint.
* All screws and bolts are present and tightly secured.
* Mattress support is securely attached to the headboard and footboard.
* Mattress fits snugly into the cot frame.
* Drop-side latches are unreachable to children or are difficult to release, making them child-safe.

In addition to the safety of the cot itself, it is important to keep in mind that to minimise the risk of cot death (SIDS), you should never place pillows, comforters, soft blankets, or stuffed toys in the cot. The mattress should be firm (buy a new one, even if using a safe, but older cot) and the cot sheet must fit snugly. If you choose to use bumpers, be sure that they are tied on in a manner that allows for sufficient airflow."

So long as the paint has no lead in it and isn't chipped or peeling off I would say stuff you can get in homebase etc would be fine. An eggshell maybe?

Very fair point but we have made the decision to commit to this now. We just need to tie down the detail so that we are content from the safety perpective.

My mum and dad had my dh renovate the cot that my sisters, brother and I had when we were babies, for my baby when I was pregnant the first time. It's at their house for grandchildren - four have used it so far! Sadly dh is no longer with us, so I don't know the answers to your questions - but I think he went online and raked about t'interweb, and found all the answers, while I had my head in the loo with morning sickness.
I know this is of no help whatsoever, but it just reminded me of how lovely my dh was, and how handy too - and how excited our whole family were about the arrival of the first of the new generation

Very old cots may have lead paint so you would have to strip every inch of paint off it. Paint stripper would be fine, or a heat gun, but you should check the current regulations to avoid accidents due to the bars being too wide or narrow. You could use varnish or most wood paints, just make sure there is no lead in them.

I wouldn't use it.

I am sure that your old cot will be fine. You will need to get a new mattress, but you can get a made to measure mattress off ebay or here

A lot depends on how old your cot is. In the 1960s the paint used often contained lead. I am sure that normal paint stripper would be fine, but I think its questionable whether someone who is pregnant should be applying paint stripper.

Normal paint will be fine as lead based paints have been illegal for a long time.

Here is another useful link.

www.askbaby.com/nursery-safety.htm

But 35 years is not 'very old' lead paints had be obsolete for years by 1975

You can buy a hot air paint stripping gun - kind of like a very very hot hairdryer :)

You need to ensure that the paint you use is lead free (which I think paint is now anyway) or you can buy special toy paint from big DIY places.

see here

it says 40 years is the cut off generally

My son is in our family cot. My aunties, uncles, cousins, sister, me and my brother have all slept in it and my sister and me have now used it for our own children. I love the fact that it has been passed down through the family and will carrying on being passed down. No-one has yet got their head trapped in it or in fact suffered any form of injury. My uncle stripped and painted it as a baby present to us and we bought a new mattress. My DH mum wanted to buy us a new cot but I said no way I wanted the old family one. Hopefully it will stay being used for sons kids if he has any.

I thought that you must not use heat to strip lead paint? Use chemical removers if you must take the paint off. But safer to paint over the top.

Yes cot would have been bought in the mid 70's and my husband is very keen to get stuck in to the paint stripping etc. We feel that for us personally this is a nice thing to do. Totally appreciate that many people would rather simply buy a new cot.

I used the cot my grandfather had been in as a baby for all of my children, and wanted to pass it down to them for their own kids, but they are not using it for various reasons.

I loved the sense of tradition that brought.

I also think that while being very grateful for all recent scientific research that draws our attention to possible causes of cot death (one being the cot or mattress?), we have to use our own judgement too. Could a solidly-built wooden cot that has safely slept at least 19 children over the last 100 years really be that unsafe?

However, lizedmonds, one thing you don't want to worry about when you have your first child is whether or not the cot is safe. So getting it checked out/repainted etc is a good idea, or, if it looks like it's going to be too complicated, buy something new that complies with all the safety regulations.

From this very quick poll then it seems as though the as long as the cot meets the regulations (thanks japers and we will try top confirm online), we can use the paint stripper and paint from a general DIY shop. My husband has gone to work as we speak, he is trying the hand sanding first and will move to paint stripper if needed. Plan is to strip it this week and paint it next week.

...complies with all the safety regulations.

Good luck!

Any suggestions for cleaning the metal bits, we are tempted to try coca cola!!

could you sand the paint off - therby not needing any stripper and then wash with soemthing anti bacteria but physically removing it would be fine I'm sure. You could also use low - fumes basic white emulsion as a base coat then get a low fume paint. The new layer would be the top layer and completely cover it so that would be the only surface to come into contact with baby.

We looked into that for a cradle which has been handed down in our family. One of the metal parts in the rocking mechanism snapped due to metal fatigue so my dad got new ones made. It wasn't expensive and they used the old ones as a pattern so they fitted perfectly.

We used an 100yo crib that has been in DH's family for generations. It was professionally dipped to remove the paint and DH's granddad waxed it. I hunted on the internet for a mattress that fitted and had some cheap made to measure fitted sheets done.

The bar spacings weren't to current regs but as it was a crib we didn't worry about it as DD was too big for it before she started rolling. Had it been a cot, I would have ensured the bars were the correct spacing.

I hope your DH enjoys the renovation and that you start a lovely family tradition.

We've measured the bars and they are 80 mm apart so its looking like a non starter after all!

What a shame! Can you look at putting extra bars in between?

You could put horizontal bars - maybe three each side - so that the rectangles made by the horizontals are not baby head size! Then, when your baby gets big, you can think about whether or not you need to replace the cot with something else.

Just put in extra bars - will be fine- we did this with dh's old cot