Graco Snugride - HELP!! removable/washable?

[pongstress]

Help! My daughter had a major accident in her Graco Snugride. The fabric cover says "Cold water wash, hang dry", but for the life of me I can't figure out how to take it off the harness. I called Graco (no one answers the phone) and looked on the website (says "wipe" - ah - I don't think so).

Does anyone know how to do this? Also, I'm not confident if I can put it back on - it can be one of those things once you take it apart you can't put back together : ( Any tips?

As long as I'm on Graco Snugride - what is the deal with the handles that can't be moved unless BOTH side buttons are pushed in?? That is soooo frustrating. Who has three hands?

[Joolsplus2]

I thought the manual has pretty good pictures...? www.gracobaby.com if you happen to have lost yours.

This is basically what the back will look like (I assume you have the front adjusting model? It's like this... http://picasaweb.google.com/joolstag/Ss1Rearview )

If you have a rear adjusting model...ugh..not as easy, I hope the manual can help you.

If you're really worried, take pictures... a digital trail will help you re-do what you are un-doing :)


Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/Leah.aspx

[chicagojo]

I agree with the PP about taking pictures as you go along, but here's my attempt to describe what you need to do to get the cover off (based on many disasters that have befallen my SnugRide)...

1) Look on the back of the seat and you'll see a plastic squarish piece that is covering part of the strap assembly. Remove this piece by pulling on it from the middle until it snaps off (you may need to pull to one side to remove one side first, then the other will easily slip off).

2) Follow the straps down to where they are hooked onto a metal piece that is sort of ovalish/rectangular. Unhook the straps from this metal piece (you may need to loosen them from the front in order to do this).

3) You should now be able to unthread the straps through the seat back and the cover.

When you put the cover back on, just be sure that you're re-threading the straps through the appropriate holes in the seat itself - it can be easy to misalign the cover and the seat so that it looks from the front like you've got the right holes, but from the back (where it really counts) the straps are either too high or too low.

I hope this makes sense. Good luck - the good news is, the cover really does wash up very nicely. If your straps were affected by the mess, I know there are some good posts in the archives about how to safely clean them.

[pongstress]

THANK YOU!! I was able to take the cover off and wash it.