Do harnesses deteriorate from spit up?

[proudsahmof3]

I have heard that car seat harness straps can become weakened over time by the stomach acid in spit up, especially by those babies that do so frequently. Any truth to it? Neither of my two had much spit up issues, but I have a friend whose baby suffers from pretty severe GERD, and I know she expressed some concern over this. I thought somebody here might have an answer. . .

[Joolsplus2]

I don't think they weaken significantly...obviously if they do to the point it's obvious, visible damage and fraying on the straps they need to be replaced, but in reality people do funky nasty things to harness straps and they just don't rip in half and release babies, so I wouldn't worry too much about it...just wipe the straps off with water and mild soap (ie, baby wipes are great) and go on from there (I'm hoping the nasty smell from a barf episode in our Radian 65 fades quickly, because you can NOT buy new straps for that seat! Pretty dumb design, but also proves they don't think straps will really need to be replaced in the 7 or 8 years the seat is good for).

:)

[proudsahmof3]

Thanks! I learn something new on BBB every day!