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Original poster

WIBU to reuse a mouldy infant car seat?

33 replies

OhwhyOY · 05/05/2023 16:06

We have an (expensive) infant car seat we bought for our daughter that we were planning to reuse. It's been in storage for just under a year and we've taken it out to find mould on the shoulder straps. Have emailed Nuna, the manufacturer, as we know you can't use chemicals etc on car seat materials or hot wash them as they are then no longer safe in the event of an accident. They have basically said bin the seat as there's no safe way to clean the mould off. We could buy new straps etc but the mould could have penetrated the shell of the seat and be unsafe.

We are leaning towards buying a new one as clearly we don't want to put our newborn baby at risk either from mould or from intensive efforts to remove the mould that could weaken the materials. However it feels tragic to spend so much money on a new seat when we have one already, and also incredibly wasteful environmentally. WWYD?

NB for anyone that thinks we should have stored it better, I fully agree, sadly PILs kindly offered to store it in their garage and assured me it was safely wrapped in damp proof material. Spoiler alert - it wasn't.

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FoxtrotSkarloey · 05/05/2023 16:11

Tricky one as of course you want to be safe. All I can go on is that when we needed to reuse our infant carrier for second DC, I'd never heard any of this not using chemicals stuff etc. it wasn't mouldy but it was a bit grubby.

I stripped off all the fabric parts (as you can) and washed them at 40 degrees with a laundry sanitiser.

I then wiped down the straps and plastic with a bleach solution and it seems to be fine!

Iminthemoneylife · 05/05/2023 16:12

I would buy a new one. Sorry.

HadalyEve · 05/05/2023 16:13

WIBU to reuse a mouldy infant car seat?

YES.

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CornishTiger · 05/05/2023 16:13

Mould can eat away at the straps and affect them. I really wouldn’t use it tbh.

Whatames · 05/05/2023 16:14

I have never found a way to store a car seat that doesn’t result in the straps going mouldy. I’m the queen of hand me downs but have always bought a new car seat because of this. I would try and strip it all down and wash it and if you can’t get rid of it then buy a new one. I don’t think I’d worry about not washing it on hot etc. think that’s just the company covering their back. Maybe you could see if you can just source the straps as I bet the rest comes off and will be fine after a wash in the machine

Theunamedcat · 05/05/2023 16:19

Get rid

In an accident it might not be as safe

BertieBotts · 05/05/2023 16:20

No sorry. It sucks (can you claim on house insurance?) but mould is apparently one of the things that weaken plastics, not to mention the fact of your baby breathing in the mould spores.

You don't have to spend loads of money on an infant car seat to get a good one. The Cybex ones are compatible with the same prams as Nuna and they have some cheaper ones which are really good.

DragonbornMum · 05/05/2023 16:20

Heartbreaking, yes, but I'm afraid you'll need a new one.

gentlemum · 05/05/2023 17:27

Definitely safest to buy a new one, but I'd also be fuming at having to fork out again! The way I would look at it is if anything ever happened (as in car accident) I'd never forgive myself for not having bought a new seat.

Redebs · 05/05/2023 17:31

Mould grows on the straps because of food and dribble. If it's superficial, then you could just wash them in warm soapy water. Don't use bleach.
If you can get new straps instead, then that's great.
The rest of the seat should be absolutely fine with a wipe and a cover wash..

gentlemum · 05/05/2023 17:36

Redebs · 05/05/2023 17:31

Mould grows on the straps because of food and dribble. If it's superficial, then you could just wash them in warm soapy water. Don't use bleach.
If you can get new straps instead, then that's great.
The rest of the seat should be absolutely fine with a wipe and a cover wash..

That's not quite true. The manufacturer themselves have stated how mould could penetrate the plastic and rest of the car seat, not just the straps. You cannot know for certain mould is superficial.

FlounderingFruitcake · 05/05/2023 17:42

Not worth the risk, buy a new one.

FirstFallopians · 05/05/2023 17:48

I’d be tempted to give it a good scrub, properly wash the fabrics and see how it turned out. If still not in safe and useable condition then replace.

The manufacturer was never going to give any other advice other than replace the seat- they will always err on the side of caution and avoid any liability whatsoever.

trrk · 05/05/2023 21:34

It’s pretty much impossible to get rid of all the mould spores so it would be a new seat for me.

DangerNoodles · 05/05/2023 21:41

Your baby's safety and health is worth more than the cost of a new car seat.

JandalsAlways · 05/05/2023 21:52

YABU to accept it! Mould is unhealthy!

JandalsAlways · 05/05/2023 21:53

DangerNoodles · 05/05/2023 21:41

Your baby's safety and health is worth more than the cost of a new car seat.

This. The manufacturers have said there's no way of cleaning it. I'm surprised you'd even consider the risk for your child.

GoneTillNovember · 05/05/2023 21:57

We cleaned ours up and re-used it... Didn't occur to me not to! Surely that's why all the covers are removable, to be washed? She survived this dangerous ordeal anyway and is now in the next size up.

I also washed the pram which had gone slightly mouldy in the garage and she is still in that.

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 05/05/2023 22:12

Even if it hadn't gone mouldy unfortunately you shouldn't store a carseat in a garage as they get exposed to extremes of temperatures which can affect the integrity of the seat. Unless of course it is a very well insulated integrated garage so that the temps are similar to the house temps.

Reugny · 05/05/2023 22:15

DangerNoodles · 05/05/2023 21:41

Your baby's safety and health is worth more than the cost of a new car seat.

This.

JandalsAlways · 05/05/2023 22:16

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 05/05/2023 22:12

Even if it hadn't gone mouldy unfortunately you shouldn't store a carseat in a garage as they get exposed to extremes of temperatures which can affect the integrity of the seat. Unless of course it is a very well insulated integrated garage so that the temps are similar to the house temps.

This is really interesting and totally makes sense, its a pity this isn't more well known

ejbaxa · 05/05/2023 22:18

Chuck it out no question

You won’t be able to get the mould spores properly out and it’s an awful thought to put a newborn in it.

elevenplusdilemma · 06/05/2023 00:00

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 05/05/2023 22:12

Even if it hadn't gone mouldy unfortunately you shouldn't store a carseat in a garage as they get exposed to extremes of temperatures which can affect the integrity of the seat. Unless of course it is a very well insulated integrated garage so that the temps are similar to the house temps.

Really? Unless you take the seat out of the car each time you use it, it will be subjected to similar temps in the car. Probably more extreme actually (it's not unusual for cars to reach internal temperatures above 40°C in the height of summer, but I doubt a garage would exceed 30°C very often in the UK). And cold - subzero in the winter months would be the norm. For people living in some parts of Europe, Australia or USA, the extremes would be even greater. Surely manufacturers have accounted for this?

mrshenny · 06/05/2023 00:02

100% get a new one

BertieBotts · 06/05/2023 07:55

The garage thing is a load of rubbish, garages don't experience such extremes of temperature in the UK, a car parked outside would be worse, and we have a very mild climate. Remember the EU car seat regulations cover Italy (hot summers) and Poland (freezing winters)

You do need to be careful to protect them from damp and mould spores, frequent/rapid changes of temperature might lead to condensation, and I think yes food/dribble/milk/sick on the straps is probably what is particularly habitable to moulds there.

But no, there's no blanket rule against storing car seats in garages or lofts, despite what you may have seen on social media!

I put ours inside a plastic bag inside a cardboard box and then stored the box on top of another item and with some distance to the outside wall, but it was in our cellar storage (we live in a flat). It worked well and would recommend this method. Some people also throw in a cloth bag full of uncooked rice or some left over silica packets to help absorb any moisture.

We had some books and clothes go mouldy when stored in a cardboard box near an outside wall in our bedroom, so it's really not about a named location but about the conditions in whatever room you choose to store things.

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