Stroller Maintenance and Cleaning. WDYD to care for your Strollers? (kinda long)

[blue]

Hi, I am just curious what everyone does to take care of their different strollers. My strollers haven't gotten much use over the winter :(, and are still in great condition. I am planning on using them a lot this spring (the ones I am keeping) and I want to take good care of them. So I am looking for suggestions on maintenance and products.

I did a quick search to see if their were any recent threads on this and didn't see much. (It was only a 3 min search, so I may have missed it :p, feel free to link to anything my short attention span for searching today didn't find).
TIA

A couple of Q's:
Air tire Stroller
-- What lubricant if any do you use for the wheel? How often do you apply?
-- Do you keep an tire pump with your stroller? What kind works with your stroller?
-- Cleaning the wheels? What if anything do you use?
-- Cleaning the fabric?
-- Any thing else you maintenance on your air tire stroller?

Foam/ Other tires and Strollers
-- How do you care for the tires?
-- Cleaning the fabric?
-- Any thing else you maintain on your foam/ other tires?

Selling a Stroller/ do you do any extra cleaning
-- Do you wash the fabric? If so with what soap. (Instruction on mine say mild soap, any recommendations?)
-- Generally making your stroller look great AND preform like new before selling, WDYD?

Thanks :)

[purpelina]

I think with strollers it all is case by case basis - mess related, so to speak.
I do clean fabric on my strollers, but it really is not a scheduled maintenance but accident related - spilled milk, crumbled cookies, didn't have diaper accidents in strollers but that's another reason, also if your child vomited in the stroller, you want to clean it right away.

I wipe the footrest now and then, especially when it's icky weather.

I don't do much for tires, except eventual pumping, but again it depends on how often you use the stroller, how heavy is our child. I was pumping my tires 2 times a year. others might do it more often.

I used silicone spray a couple of times when I noticed the folding mechanism being sticky (from being too new, or getting old and abused) - same approach as squeaky door for example, you spray when you hear a strange sound ;)

Yes, I do clean strollers thoroughly before selling them. It helps me sell them faster and for more money than competitors.
Here's what I do:

if fabric is removable, by all means remove it and wash. I prefer to hand wash just in case, unless I'm absolutely sure it can be machine washed. In that case I use gentle cycle, cold water. Hang to dry - highly recommend!
I use organic detergent for all my laundry needs. Odor free is best - you never know what types of allergies and scent preferences a buyer might have, so clean and odorless is key.

Sometimes it's best to put the fabric back on the stroller frame while it's still damp. It's easier that way, and there are less wrinkles afterwards.
While you were washing the fabric, clean the frame with damp cloth (I use a microfiber cloth damp with just water).
Also clean the footwell / footrest area, and wipe the frame next to the wheels. I removed rust with "mr metal", but only used it once on a simple graco that I had. Made metal parts nice and shiny.
I might squirt some water on the wheels, too, if they look icky - right before I meet with potential buyer.

[legaleagle]

Speaking of silicone spray, is there some trick for spaying on the sticking parts without getting all over everything else, esp the fabric. My mac starck needs some major help with folding!

[purpelina]

Speaking of silicone spray, is there some trick for spaying on the sticking parts without getting all over everything else, esp the fabric. My mac starck needs some major help with folding!

I have silicone and wd-40 spray tubes that both come with straws. You lift it up, aim at a sticky part and shoot. Go easy. It was targeted enough for my strollers. Otherwise, get some rags you don't care about (or paper towels), and protect the fabric around.

I didn't get the starck in the end, so I'm just guessing what might work...

[legaleagle]

Thanks - I didn't realize it came with straws like WD-40. I think I will lay the stroller on the ground with the seat up and spray down towards the floor since I believe it's mostly the folding mechanism in the back that's the problem. Now just to get my hands on some before our trip on Sunday!