Is it time to get your car seat cleaned?

As parents we all know that the main items we buy for our children will be put through the mill through time. Buggies, cots, highchairs and even car seats, all of these things are incredibly important for our children, and over time, can become grubby and worn.

What may surprise you is just how dirty they can get. A recent study that was published by Which? “Is your child car seat dirtier than your toilet?” is a showcase of just how much punishment one of the most used baby and child accessories can take over time.

The truth about car seats

In order to understand more about the filth that could be hiding in your car seat, the study took swabs from a variety of places on the car seat. This included the buckle, the harness and the headrests. This was across a number of car seat brands and styles, in order to gain a range of results.

Each and every seat that was swabbed was tested for a range of different bacteria. This included MRSA, E.coli, Staphylococcus and C.difficile. All of these different bugs and germs can, if they are in large quantities, pose a genuine health threat to your child, and cause them to become incredibly unwell.

In order to understand just how high the levels of these bacteria were, a number of toilet seats were then also tested as a comparison tool.

So, what did the results say? Well, one thing that they pointed to was that whilst toilet seats were a breeding ground for bacteria that is found in both your gut and also faeces, so were car seats. In fact, in the car seats that were tested as a part of this study, there were as many as 30 different types of bacteria to be found on one car seat, with only 16 different types of bacteria found on a toilet seat.

Pretty gross right? Well, not only is it enough to make you feel a little queasy, but this isn’t where it ends. Some of the bacteria that can be found on car seats, Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococci, can be dangerous enough to cause issues such as sepsis, if you have a compromised immune system, a common issue with young babies or children.

What can you do?

So, chances are that after reading this, you are itching to make sure that you have your child’s car seat cleaned. But how do you do this? Sure, you can try and tackle it yourself, but do you know where to start? Do you know what to clean it with? Will you be sure that you have really cleaned it as well as it needs?

If you are not sure on the answers to any of these questions, then you might want to call in a professional. So, to make sure that your car seat is as clean as it can be, give Buggy Pitstop a call. Not only are we here to make sure that your car seat can be cleaned when you need it, but you can also book in for regular cleans (we suggest between every 3-6 months) to ensure that you don’t have to worry about a grubby car seat. 

Car seat cleaning starts from £25, if you want to find out more get a quote here