Cleaning public surfaces - carts/tables/et cetera

[houseof3boys]

So I was caught without my beloved snazzy cart cover last week when I drove the other car and went to Target. Ryan ate the metal bar behind the seat the whole time as well as chewed on the plastic sides. Two more teeth just came in last week so he was quite partial to the metal on the cart. :)

I had some packets of the antibacterial hand wipes in my bag so I used that on the next cart we had to use at Sam's Club (too lazy to go back home just to get the cover out of my car) to at least get it somewhat clean before I put him in it. I got to thinking about all of the germies and wanted some input.

There are the hand wipes, the Lysol type wipes that you clean your house with and then alcohol wipes which sterilize (don't they?) your skin when you get a shot. What's the difference? What is the best thing to use when you are eating out and want to wipe the table to put down food for the little ones. I know some of you don't get addicted to the hype of "protective" products like cart covers and Tiny Diner (plastic placemat things to put on the table for food and to catch food spills) so do you not worry at all about this stuff? I know that a flaming dart will come from Flagger :) on this since he is so carefree about this, but I am still easing into this germ thing.

Thoughts are appreciated for the crazy germ phobe! :P

[starrynight]

I would use alchol before lysol wipes but I don't use either honestly. Lysol/clorox wipes say you have to rinse the surface a few times with water after using the wipes if the surface will be used for eating.

I just use a regular baby wipe, I figure it's safe enough if some of the soap gets in my kids' mouth and if the clean faces and butts good then they work for everything else.

[amp]

Before we put Jake in any shopping cart or high chair, we clean up the area with Wet Ones, which I always have in the diaper bag. I've gotten a few looks from other parents, but I can say that my son only got sick once in his life so far (okay twice if I count another little round of sniffling that may have been teething related). It works for us and allows me to not be so neurotic about letting him touch and eat parts of the cart and to pick his food up off the table at a restaurant.

[papal]

Have not had to clean surfaces yet, since dd is can't sit... but i always clean the forks and other silverware with the napkin (cloth or paper) before using them... unless it is in a really nice restaurant. Sometimes gross black stuff comes out from between the prongs (?is that what they are called?) of the fork.

[amp]

Can be called prongs. Also "tines".

[lizamann]

I don't use seats or placemats. If it looks icky I wipe it off, but not with anything fancy - a wet napkin most likely. But Nora hasn't shown an interest in chewing on those things yet - if she does I think I will still just wipe them with mostly water to get off the grunge. I honestly worry more about the chemicals in those antibacterial wipes than a few germs. I don't let her eat crumbs off the floor at the coffee shop though - I do have my standards LOL! I think it did happen once or twice though... DD hasn't had any colds, caught gastroenteritis (from me and DH) once, and has had one unexplained fever. If I had a family that got sick more often maybe I would be more vigilant.

[daisymommy]

I don't know if I'm a germa-phobe or just protective of DS...but we have a shopping cart cover that goes everywhere with us, the disposable plastic placemats for restraunts, and carry a pack of wet-ones hand sanitizing wipes in my diaper bag to wipe everything else off with. I figure if you can clean your hands with them and then eat something with your hands, then it's safe to wipe off a cart handle with that DS might put his mouth on (YUCK!)

[houseof3boys]

Me too. I almost always have my cover and Tiny Diner with me except for last week and that's what got me thinking about this. I just wondered what everyone else uses that isn't as "cautious" as we are! :)

[toomanystrollers]

ITA w/Beth :) I'm more concerned about the chemicals than the germs. You need some germs to help build up resistance.

[parkersmama]

I'm with Beth and Pam on this one. No shopping seat covers or Tiny Diners for us. I do *usually* wipe down the table and/or high chair at a restaurant with a baby wipe. I'm not as worried about it if the food she's eating is dry (cheerios, etc) but for wetter food (peaches, bananas, etc) I prefer to clean off the surface. I don't think that baby wipes have dangerous chemicals in them but don't trust the chemicals in other wipes and certainly not alcohol to be touching food. I never wipe down shopping cart seats. I do *attempt* to prevent chewing on them by allowing her to chew on either my purse or wallet or an item we are purchasing (hey, is that really any better? LOL!).

In 6 1/2 years of being a parent, we've had many many illnesses but I can honestly say that there has never been even *one* in all that time that I suspected came from a shopping cart seat or a restaurant table/high chair. I know that it *is* technically possible but in my experience, it's highly unlikely. And I'm telling you, I do a *lot* of shopping and a *lot* of eating out! LOL! ;)

[lisams]

I use alcohol wipes when I feel a need just because it evaporates quickly and doesn't leave behind cleaner residue.

Lisa

[houseof3boys]

You do a lot of shopping? Hee Hee. :)

[egoldber]

I never clean anything either. The only exception was if we were given a restaurant high chair that was obviously filthy or dirty, then I clean it up with diaper wipes. I have never used a shopping cart cover, the placemats, etc. Never missed them. DD has had only one random viral infection in her life (at 7 months) and a few colds (mainly since starting preschool).

HTH,

[new_mommy25]

I have a ton of alcohol swabs I keep in my diaper bag. I like how it evaphorates quickly. You can buy a huge box in the band-aid aisle at Target. Otherwise I use Wet One's or these other antibacterial wipes I buy in the travel section at Target. They are about the same price. In a pinch I will use a Tidy Tot wipe because they are more soapy than a babyb wipe. Lol, I carry all of that in my bag. My mother who "doesn't believe in germs" thinks I am crazy.

[Andrea S]

I wash the highchairs before I put Andrew in them. The the wipe is always black after I am done. I did use a shopping cart cover when Andrew was younger I would look at something and he would be chewing on the cart. He is a very oral baby.


Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/02

[AngelaS]

At a restaurant, I use a wet wipe to wipe off the table where the baby will be eating, 'cause she doesn't always just eat off the plate. LOL We also don't eat off the floor in restaurants.... :D

My kids don't get sick very often. My friend who wipes her kids' MOUTH out with a wet wipe if they put it on the shopping cart---they're the ones who get the puking illnesses 3 or 4 times each year.....