So how often do you...?

[simba20]

Take apart your child's carseat for cleaning.

Obviosuly, due to the wrestling match I just fought in trying to get the darn thing apart, I don't do it that often.

I found Cheerieos in her seat, and I cannot even begin to tell you the last time we took along Cheerieos with us as a snack on an outing.

Anyway, waiting for the washer to be done with the sheets and then I will throw the cover into the machine.

I really hate this particular car seat. The straps always twist, get stuck, won't tighten, too loose, too tight, etc. I have to take the whole thing apart just to fix the straps, so I figured I'd wash it. I have only done this once before. In our other car we have a different model car seat that I loooove. I throw away the seat I'd hate and get one that I love, but I am practical (plus new seat that I love is $130). Anyway, hopefully when I put everythign back together, I'll finally fix it and turn it into a seat I love.

 

[dawnmommy]

how old is your daughter, and what seat are you using? If it is a seat that doesn't have high harness straps or a higher weight limit, you might need to get a different seat anyway, before she's ready for a booster.

The Graco Nautilus is an awesome seat, lasts forever (my 6 year old is still harnessed in one), AND converts to a pretty good booster later. The Britax Frontier does the same but is more expensive.

As you are cleaning the seat, remember not to submerge the harness straps into water, just wipe them down.

But oh yeah, but kids' seats get DISGUSTING! I rarely have to wash the covers, but I vacuum out the seats all the time, and use the vacuum attachments to reach into the crevices. All sorts of goldfish dust and cheerios pieces, ew!!

Take apart your child's carseat for cleaning.

Obviosuly, due to the wrestling match I just fought in trying to get the darn thing apart, I don't do it that often.

I found Cheerieos in her seat, and I cannot even begin to tell you the last time we took along Cheerieos with us as a snack on an outing.

Anyway, waiting for the washer to be done with the sheets and then I will throw the cover into the machine.

I really hate this particular car seat. The straps always twist, get stuck, won't tighten, too loose, too tight, etc. I have to take the whole thing apart just to fix the straps, so I figured I'd wash it. I have only done this once before. In our other car we have a different model car seat that I loooove. I throw away the seat I'd hate and get one that I love, but I am practical (plus new seat that I love is $130). Anyway, hopefully when I put everythign back together, I'll finally fix it and turn it into a seat I love.

 

[simba20]

how old is your daughter, and what seat are you using?
She's 2.5, will be three in July. The seat is the Eddie Bauer 3n1. Goes from birth to booster. However we never used convertibale seats at birth, we used the infant carrier/bucket seat and then when she outgrew that, we got the convertables and left them RF (I was doing ERF) until my husband kept complaining that her legs were "all scrunched up" and turned then around. LOL! There was no chance of turning her back around after that.

If it is a seat that doesn't have high harness straps or a higher weight limit, you might need to get a different seat anyway, before she's ready for a booster.
I thought about buying her a high back booster to replace this seat, but she's a tiny girl and is not ready for it. The boosters I looked at (high back) with 5 pt harnesses, reccommend using them at 30 lbs. Then I read a booster seat article that reccommend 40 lbs and 40 inches. So we have a whiel to wait. She's remined at 27 lbs for a good while now. Plus just looking at it overall, I'd rather wait. The EB seat is still a pain though
The Graco Nautilus is an awesome seat, lasts forever (my 6 year old is still harnessed in one), AND converts to a pretty good booster later. The Britax Frontier does the same but is more expensive.
The seat I love is an Evenflo....something. It has dials on the sides to tighten the straps with and you can slide the harness in the tracks rather than taking the seat apart to adjust it. That is in our other car. I was thinking of buying another one and replacing the EB, but practicality wins out.

As you are cleaning the seat, remember not to submerge the harness straps into water, just wipe them down.
Oh yes, I know this. Just got done wiping down the shell.

But oh yeah, but kids' seats get DISGUSTING! I rarely have to wash the covers, but I vacuum out the seats all the time, and use the vacuum attachments to reach into the crevices. All sorts of goldfish dust and cheerios pieces, ew!!
Thanks fo rthe tip. Gonna get out the dustbuster.[/QUOTE]

 

[dawnmommy]

HI there!

our daughters are almost the same age!

You are right that the bare minimum for putting a child in a booster seat is 4 years and 40 pounds, so your daughter has a way to go. The Cosco/Safety First/Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 seats don't really work well as boosters at all. in fact, they are terrible. They hold the seat belt too far away from the kids, and the kids can submarine under the belt. So it is harnessing her nice and safe, but you'll eventually need something else.

If you have the older 3-in-1 seats that go to 40 pounds, then your daughter might need another seat soon, as the top harness height is only about 14 inches (the seat is outgrown when the child's shoulder is above the top harness). Keep in mind that the TOP slot on your seat is only for booster mode and won't hold the harness (it is labeled as such).

If she's a petite girl (sounds just like my little dd, who just turned 3), then she likely still fits fine right now. But eventually she'll need something else.

The Graco Nautilus works in harnessed mode beginning at 20 pounds. Same with the Britax Frontier. They can technically be used in booster mode (no straps) at 30 pounds, but it isn't really recommended.

The seat with the dials is the Evenflo Triumph Advanced. great seat. But since your daughter is already forward facing, it isn't really worth it, as that seat doesn't convert to a booster. Still, an awesome awesome seat. If you are going to have another baby to hand the seat down to, then it is a good choice. She'll still need a booster someday though.

Sorry for such a long response, I'm a complete and total carseat geek. It is my obsession (well, besides planning for our Disney trip!!!!)

 

[LuLuO]

In all honestly I only wash the covers if there has been a blowout/leak or if they've gotten sick. Other than that I spot clean.

I don't let the kids have anything but water in the seats and I don't let them eat in the seats so I don't have to worry about food spills. We have two britax seats and I hate, hate, hate taking them out and removing the covers and then trying to get the covers back on.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We just moved from the evenflo triumph to the graco nautilus as DGS just hit 40 lbs. We do like the graco nautilus but it looks like we are going to have to take the harness off to get the seat off to wash. It is also not as easy to adjust and DGS does not sleep as well in it. I would just keep her in her seat as long as possible!!

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

HI there!

our daughters are almost the same age!

You are right that the bare minimum for putting a child in a booster seat is 4 years and 40 pounds, so your daughter has a way to go. The Cosco/Safety First/Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 seats don't really work well as boosters at all. in fact, they are terrible. They hold the seat belt too far away from the kids, and the kids can submarine under the belt. So it is harnessing her nice and safe, but you'll eventually need something else.

If you have the older 3-in-1 seats that go to 40 pounds, then your daughter might need another seat soon, as the top harness height is only about 14 inches (the seat is outgrown when the child's shoulder is above the top harness). Keep in mind that the TOP slot on your seat is only for booster mode and won't hold the harness (it is labeled as such).

If she's a petite girl (sounds just like my little dd, who just turned 3), then she likely still fits fine right now. But eventually she'll need something else.

The Graco Nautilus works in harnessed mode beginning at 20 pounds. Same with the Britax Frontier. They can technically be used in booster mode (no straps) at 30 pounds, but it isn't really recommended.

The seat with the dials is the Evenflo Triumph Advanced. great seat. But since your daughter is already forward facing, it isn't really worth it, as that seat doesn't convert to a booster. Still, an awesome awesome seat. If you are going to have another baby to hand the seat down to, then it is a good choice. She'll still need a booster someday though.

Sorry for such a long response, I'm a complete and total carseat geek. It is my obsession (well, besides planning for our Disney trip!!!!)

I was going to provide you with the same information. Honestly if she is already forward facing and you are looking at another seat, I wouldn't buy anything but a Graco Nautilus or a Britax Frontier. They will both keep her harnesses for a very long time and then convert to boosters. I know they advertise the EB 3-in-1 at the stores as the last seat you will ever need but that really isn't the truth. The two I mentioned truly fit that description.

I also have as obsession with car seat like the the poster. If you wanted any other info check out www.car-seat.org. Awesome site with lots of information.

 

[Normangirls]

When DD13 was a baby, about once a month, with numerous spot cleanings in between.

When DD9 was a baby, a couple of times a year.

With DD4, well, we bought one when she was born, and she just switched to a booster seat a few weeks ago. I cannot remember when the original one got a good cleaning (I'm positive I did it, maybe when we got a new car in the fall of 2007).

Having three kids has obviously affected this germophobe!

 

[danielle&aidan]

Yay for other carseat geeks!!!!

I am obsessed. I'll actually be a certified technician in May (sooo excited!). My 3 year old is still RF in a Britax Boulevard and I'm currently considering getting a Radian XTSL (which rf to 45 lbs).

I just wanted to agree with everyone else that recomended the Nautilus. The Frontier rocks, but also comes with a Britax pricetag. The Nautilus is awesome awesome awesome. If your little one is ff, I wouldn't get anything else.

And I never take mine apart and clean it. Literally, never. I vacuum is every time I vacuum my car, but in the 2ish years I've had the seat, I've never taken it apart. Yeah, I'm awful, but the thing actually does stay pretty clean aside from crumbs.

 

[Blessed99]

I can't remember having car seat issues when my DD was little. She is 10 now, but boy, the high chair was another issue! I thought it was really nice since it was padded, and I didn't actually find out that the cover came off for a long time. Well needless to say, I found enough cheerios to make an entire box!! (or it seemed like it anyway!!) I know this info was not helpful at all, but it brought back memories for me!!