can my britax be salvaged?

[k_null81]

So my lovely mom for some crazy reason put a tupperware bowl of oil based dressing in the car seat and at some point it came open or wasn't closed properly and spilled. It has soaked thru completely. I'm extremely upset with my mom b/c she doesn't take care of things properly and this isn't a cheap car seat to replace so I'm a little irritated.

I will be contacting Britax but they are closed after I get off work and apparently I can't rely on my husband who is out of work to make these kinds of calls for me! Grrr....I'm tired of feeling like a mother to 3!

So I know the odds of someone having this exact situation is probably 0 but I figured I would ask.

TIA

[AnnieW625]

Well you can wash the cover and let the straps dry out and it should be good as new. Now if the straps are really dirty try spot washing them by using a baby wipe or maybe a wash cloth and some really mid soap. Just don't try washing them in the washing machine. I believe you can also order new harnesses for Britax seats.

We wash our covers on gentle cycle (I'd do the handwash cycle on my machine, but it doesn't spin it at all, and a little spin cycle isn't going to hurt it) with mild or regular detergent (I have used Forever New, Woolite, and Tide Free & Gentle; I also used regular Gain on my Graco cover and it worked fine), and then hang dry.

[k_null81]

Well you can wash the cover and let the straps dry out and it should be good as new. Now if the straps are really dirty try spot washing them by using a baby wipe or maybe a wash cloth and some really mid soap. Just don't try washing them in the washing machine. I believe you can also order new harnesses for Britax seats.

We wash our covers on gentle cycle (I'd do the handwash cycle on my machine, but it doesn't spin it at all, and a little spin cycle isn't going to hurt it) with mild or regular detergent (I have used Forever New, Woolite, and Tide Free & Gentle; I also used regular Gain on my Graco cover and it worked fine), and then hang dry.

Do you think the shell is ok though? Like the styrofoam part? Not sure if that's styrofoam or not but that's what it looks like to me. Not sure if the oil can penetrate that and break it down? Just don't want to take the chance of using a car seat that isn't safe.

Thank you for the washing info on the cover.

[Joolsplus2]

It won't eat through your shell or anything (I know vaseline can eat through latex in a jiffy, but this is a very different chemical situation... think how salad dressing can sit in plastic containers for years and not hurt them, except for some staining).
I personally am fine with dunking my harness straps in some tepid water with a drop or two of dawn--then dry flat on a towel that would make sure they are clean (Annie's right, the manual says to just wipe them off, but there's some liability issue that they don't want their government mandated flame retardant chemicals to wash off, and as soon as you tell people they can 'wash' things, they might do something stupid like soak them in bleach and put them in the dryer with 10 sheets of bounce... but the straps have been test-soaked and re-crashed in the laboratory... and soaked in gallons of pee and soda and juice in real life, and yet they don't fail, I've never heard of straps ripping in half in a crash, actually!).

Be sure to be really careful of how everything's put together before you take it apart..the hip straps are kind of tricky.

Good luck! And call Britax for replacements if any oil got right into the buckle or won't come out of the comfort foam.