How long till the puke smell goes away? (Radian Straps)

[joolsplus3]

Leah's tummy decided that buttery whole wheat toast and a curvy country road were not a good match yesterday :p
I got everything cleaned up (oh the crevices in the Radian are a PAIN! I actually folded it halfway and put it in the sink and sprayed water down in there to get the gunk out...)..microfiber towels and nature's miracle and elbow grease (really, thumb grease, lol) got the velcro clean on the harness... I wiped the straps with babywipes, rinsed them with some fresh water, put a little nature's miracle on them, and this morning they are still funky :(

Has anyone ever noticed a timeline for when straps start smelling better? A Day? A Week? A Month? Will putting it out in the sunshine today help?

[singingpond]

I always put barfed-on stuff, including carseat parts, out in the sun, if possible, after initial cleaning. I'm sure it helps with some disinfecting/deodorizing, although I haven't done a controlled study, LOL.

As for time for smell to totally fade, I think it's on the order of weeks, IIRC. We haven't had a lot of barf events in carseats, and fortunately no really severe ones... but, boy is that a persistent smell, especially after the closed vehicle has been sitting in the sun for a while. I never tried the Nature's Miracle, or anything other than water with a little bit of mild soap -- maybe the NM will speed up the process... one can hope...

Katrin

[aisraeltax]

try cleaning w/ a little bit of baking soda.

[4boysmom]

Is NM strap safe? Isn't in like an enzyme cleaner or something so it may eat away the straps as it "eats" the barf?

We had a barf attack yesterday in our marathon so we will be playing the same game. I didn't have the energy to do much of the deep cleaning last night. Luckily that one expires in Sept and we've got a new one on the way.

[joolsplus3]

Thanks, that gives me some hope (yeah, we had to park it in the baking sun for 6 hours before I had a chance to clean it...my car was not smelling so hot when we drove home, lol)... the sun seems to be holding out longer than I'd hoped today, maybe it's helping a little (seat's out on the porch right now)....If it's bad when we come in, I'll definitely try the baking soda...good tip!

:)

[melniemi]

You too, huh? My son got sick all over his regent yesterday.:( Nasty smelling and all. I cleaned the straps after doing a search here and had them in the sun all day. I think they still smell, but I'm hoping he doesn't notice - which I am not counting on because he is super sensitive to all smells.

[tanyaandallie]

My dd puked on her seat the first time in March, the day I finished my cert. class. OMG. I never knew how disgusting puke in a carseat was. I could not get the puke smell out. The cover was fine b/c I washed it but the straps were simply awful and I couldn't figure out if the rest of the seat smelled as well. I tried the baby wipes. In the sun, air dry, etc. Nothing helped! Someone on the tech board (can't remember who) recommended baking soda as a last resort and it worked!!!! May not be recommended by manufacturer but it's gentle. I mixed it with water, took a toothbrush and got in all the crevices of the seat, the straps, etc. After everything dried off the seat smelled normal again.

Baking soda will leave a residue so you will have to dust everything off.

[joolsplus3]

Is NM strap safe? Isn't in like an enzyme cleaner or something so it may eat away the straps as it "eats" the barf?

.

I've sprayed gallons of it on my carpet...even the wool one...with no ill effects...I think that the enzymes that eat orgainc matter aren't interested in polyester :thumbsup:

[4boysmom]

I've sprayed gallons of it on my carpet...even the wool one...with no ill effects...I think that the enzymes that eat orgainc matter aren't interested in polyester :thumbsup:


Okay :) just making sure you had thought that aspect/possiblity through, I honestly have no real clue one way of the other.