Cleaning crib/carseat for baby 2

[Elz1406]

Hiya, hoping for some advice please!

Baby no 2 is coming in August and we want to reuse baby 1's crib (with new mattress), car seat and carry cot.

I've read it's really important to make sure reused items are very clean and newborns are so vulnerable. We'd like to avoiding using a valeting service as they're so pricey but obviously want to do a good job!

Does anyone have any tips on how to clean fabric items that don't have removable materials? What products to use etc? I definitely remember baby 1 projectile vomiting on the side of his crib and DH and I doing some pretty half arsed cleans in our sleep deprived state!

Thanks so much! Xx

I was in this same scenario a couple of weeks ago! I found that with the carry cot, the fabric could actually be machine washed - so that was easy. I also washed the fabric of our next to me cot in the washing machine (even though it says not to ha). For the car seat, I hoovered it first then just put some hot water in a bowl with some of the fairy detergent I use to wash baby clothes and then used a cloth to give it a good scrub. Everything came out looking clean, so I can only hope it was good enough!

What car seat do you have? Most infant car seats have removable fabrics that can be machine washed. Google the guide for your make and model and it should tell you how to do it. Just to add, car seats do expire over time, I don't know what the age gap is between your kids but there should be a label on the car seat that tells you the date of manufacture, most car seats last about 7 years before they are no longer safe to use.

Our car seat is cossato and we have a small gap as our older child is only 1!

Thanks so much for the advice both - I'll def reinvestigate and check if there is any way of removing fabrics. If not will try the hot water and mild detergent method. :)

Just to add, if you’re able to remove the car seat fabrics, it’s important to wash at a low temperature with non-bio detergent and no fabric softener. The straps can be sponge washed as a PP mentioned above, but avoid submerging them.