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Pregnancy

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Original poster

Is is safe to use an old cot?

10 replies

jellyjem · 23/07/2007 15:48

My Mum has dug out my old cot from when I was a baby, its 37 years old ! I love the idea of using it as I like the history (I used it, so did my cousins and my brother) but I'm worried incase its not safe.

Obviously we don't have the original matress and even if we did I'd still get a new one. My husband has also promised to send some time sanding it down and repaint it if we do decide to use it. Does anyone know if this would be okay to use? Obviously I don't want to put my baby at risk and I'm a bit worried about lead in the old paint but if we sand it down and repaint it with gloss that shouldn't be a problem should it?

Jem x

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reikizen · 23/07/2007 15:51

Just off the top of my head I'd think about whether the gaps were big enough to get the baby's head trapped and lead in the paint which should only be a problem on the bits they chew?

Haylstones · 23/07/2007 15:51

We used dh's old cot when staying at PILs and it was fine. WE bought a new mattress obviously. However, we have since realised that the spaces between the bars are probably too wide so I'm not sure if I'd be happy about using it again tbh. NOt sure about lead as this one is wooden. IF you're really worried I'd buy a cheap one from Ikea or similar and just use that... give some excuse about the cot sizes being different now and not being able to get a mattress to fit if you're worried about offending.

Original poster

jellyjem · 23/07/2007 16:16

Thanks, I would like to use it but you've all echoed my fears really so maybe its not such a good idea. Think I'll get the tape measure out when I get home and see how wide appart the bars are but I've still got the problem of the old paint, do you think it'd be okay if we had it stripped completely?

OP posts:

RGPargy · 23/07/2007 17:06

If you sand down all the old paint (i.e. to the bare wood) then i'm sure it'd be fine! Deffo check out the gaps in the bars tho.

agnesnitt · 23/07/2007 18:07

General consensus on gaps is that if you can get a drinks can between the bars then they're too far apart. So grab a can of something cool and go test. If that test is passed, remove all the old paint grab that new mattress and enjoy your cot

Agnes

BetsyBoop · 23/07/2007 19:36

the gaps between the bars need to be less than 6.5cm, and the space between the mattress and cot no more than 4cm to meet current safety standards

asur · 23/07/2007 21:00

Our family have a crib which is at least 100yrs old (was made for my great-grandfather we think) I used it for DS last year and plan to use it again for 'bump' this year... bought a new mattress each time but never been a problem.

My dad stripped it and revarnished it before my neice used it (3yrs ago)...

vole3 · 23/07/2007 21:16

Chances are the paint may be lead based, so your DH may be better off using chemicals rather than sanding, but you should get advice from a paint supplier.
B&Q do a lead paint test kit for about £5 that we used to find out if I had to miss out on sanding down the paintwork when we were getting the nursery ready. Shame it came back positive so I was relegated to tea making duties.

The other option is to look in yellow pages for a company that strips doors etc and they can dip the whole thing and save you a fiddly job. We got some doors done and it cost about £16 for a standard door.

On the positive note, we all grew up teething on lead based paint and we're fine

Sarahjct · 24/07/2007 13:47

My mother still has my brother's old swinging crib which I would really love to use. It's 32 years old and has been in the shed for the last 10 years so we haven't looked at it yet, it might be too manky.

But would the same apply regarding gaps between bars etc as babog will be too small to move around much (and in a grobag as soon as poss!). When do they start chewing?

I'd love to use it as she'll bin it if I don't and I'm too semi-mental to let it go.

Mindles · 24/07/2007 13:53

I would think so - my son is currently sleeping in my old cot. How many people used it? Because mine was passed through most of the family before it got back to me, I would say at least half a dozen babies have slept in that cot between me and ds!

I was worried that it would just be too rickety and unstable but once we put the mattress in there it was fine.
We didn't have to repaint ours as it had been use quite recently but yes it will be fine if you sand it down and repaint it.

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