For a Child’s Health, Have a Car Seat Cleaned at Least Once a Year

How long has it been since the car safety seat was washed? The child sits in it every day — we suggest a clean at least once a year!

A child’s clothes are changed every day, sheets are washed regularly, and toys are wiped when they’re dirty. What about the car safety seat that goes out with the child every day?

Many parents are very particular about a child’s everyday things: bottles are cleaned, clothes are washed thoroughly, bedding is changed regularly — and yet it’s easy to overlook the child safety seat in the car that’s used every day.
Think about it: this seat goes with the child to school and back, on trips, for snacks, even for a sleep in the car.
Sweat, saliva, milk stains, biscuit crumbs, drinks, and the occasional leak of urine or a bout of vomiting, can all let soil build up gradually in the fabric cover.

Some safety seats are not without dirt — they simply haven’t been cleaned properly since the day they were brought home.

If it doesn’t look dirty, does that really mean it doesn’t need washing?

A child’s car safety seat usually has several layers of fabric, padding, and all kinds of gaps.

A clean-looking surface doesn’t mean there are no food crumbs, sebum or leftover stains inside.

Taiwan’s climate is especially humid and hot. Children sweat in summer and ride in heavy clothes in winter, and drinks are sometimes spilled. If stains aren’t treated in time, an odour or a mark that’s hard to remove may appear after a while.

And once liquid has soaked into the inside of the seat, cleaning and drying need still more care.

How often should a child’s car safety seat be cleaned?

We suggest that parents form a habit ofarranging a clean and a check of the safety seat at least once a year.

This is a care suggestion that’s convenient for parents to follow, not a mandatory cleaning cycle set uniformly by every brand.

Day to day, you can regularly vacuum crumbs and wipe surfaces that can be cleaned. If the child often eats in the car, sweats easily, or the seat already has obvious stains and an odour, you don’t need to wait a year to clean it.

Especially after spit-up, vomiting, urine or a spilled drink, it should be treated as soon as possible according to the manufacturer’s instructions, so the stain doesn’t sit for a long time.

A safety seat is not an ordinary chair — you can’t just wash it however you like!

This is a very important point.

Besides the fabric cover, a car safety seat also includes safety webbing, buckles, a plastic frame, and padding that absorbs impact energy.

Some covers can be taken off and washed, some can only be hand-washed, and some models allow a gentle machine wash — it must be done according to the manufacturer’s instructions for the brand and model.

The harness webbing and the fastening system in particular must not be soaked or put in a washing machine as if they were ordinary clothes.

Over-cleaning, using unsuitable chemicals, or putting it back together wrongly may all affect how the safety seat performs.

So cleaning a safety seat is not only about removing stains; it also has to take care of the material, drying, and correct assembly.

A place the child touches every day is worth a little more care

We are willing to spend time choosing a car safety seat that has passed safety certification, and to study carefully how it is installed and how it protects.

But after you bring it home, besides checking that the child is sitting properly and the harness is fastened, don’t forget to check the cleanliness of the seat regularly.

The safety seat’s most important job is to protect the child, and appropriate cleaning and care are also part of everyday looking-after.

You don’t have to wait until it’s black and smelly before you think of cleaning it.

Next time you tidy the child’s clothes and bedding, don’t forget to look at the safety seat in the car as well.

It may already have gone with the child on countless journeys, and yet not have been properly cleaned for a long time.

EN Laundry | Professional assessment of cleaning for children’s items

Not sure whether the car safety seat at home can be cleaned?

You’re welcome to send us photos of the seat, and the brand and model.

We’ll assess, according to the material, the stains, and the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions, which parts can be cleaned and what treatment is suitable.

So the safety seat the child rides in every day stays clean and comfortable, without overlooking what matters most: safety.

We don’t know how thoroughly other shops clean.
But when it’s sent to us, we take the whole thing apart,
and clean everything, including the gaps and the straps.
Even moldy areas are treated separately, with a safe method of removing mold and sanitising, before we hand it back to you.
So when you send it in, we suggest allowing two weeks, to be on the conservative side.
Because sometimes the inside is already moldy, and that is not something that can be solved in a day.
After all, mold takes a long time to grow before it is easy to see with the naked eye.