Do I need to wash infant seat fabric before baby uses it?

[justlearning]

I'm getting ready for my baby to arrive, so I'm laundering all of the clothes he'll be wearing once he's born along with blankets, etc. My question is do I also need to wash the fabric of the new Snugride I bought before he uses it? I'm really not even sure why you're supposed to launder everything before the baby uses it (because the baby's skin's sensitive?), so I don't know where to draw the line. What do you suggest and why?

[Momof3Labs]

I did, just in case (turns out that Colin's skin is very sensitive) - I figured that it was easier to do it before baby arrived than after!

[cpsadvocate]

First of all, see what the manufacturer's instructions recommend.

If you decide to wash it, I'd recommend Dreft. It is not supposed to damage the properties that make fabrics (like this car seat cover) flame retardant. This is also the reason you should NOT use a fabric softener like Downy (read the back of the label).

Hope that helps.

Mom to 4 ages 4 To Teen

[mam615]

I washed the snugride fabric (on cold, line dry I think), and it was fine (no shrinking or fading). I think the reason to wash everything is that manufacturers often coat fabrics with some kind of protector (sometimes formaldehyde -- yikes!) to keep it from getting dirty on its way to the store. Often times, I've noticed that babay clothing and accessories/gear say "recommended wash before use" on the tags. So I think it's worth it!