Anyone ever refused to do a check because of the condition of a vehicle?

zactayaus

Well-known member
I had to install a car seat in the most disgusting car ever today. Seriously I wanted to bathe in hand sanitizer after I was done.:( I can't remember the make or model of the vehicle now but it was a very old car that didn't even have locking seat belts. Parents had installed an evenflo infant seat FF:rolleyes: in the backseat passenger side. I tried to install it in that position RF but unfortunately we needed to use a locking clip which then landed right in the belt path so the seat wouldn't be able to click in to the base. I thought the seat belt in that position was pretty disgusting until I went to use the seat belt in the center which was of course a lap belt, but it had a locking latch plate so we were good. This seat belt however was as stiff as cardboard. I actually had to keep playing with the seat belt to get it to soften up so that I could tighten the belt because it was so stiff it wouldn't even slid through the latch plate. So after I got that worked out I knelt in passenger seat and I felt my knee getting wet.:confused: I did my best to reposition myself and ignore it. I finally got the base in nice and tight and I got out of the car and OMG!:eek: My whole entire knee was completely brown!:sick: I have no idea what it was...coffee?...soda? Not sure. I was too embarrassed for the parents to even ask. I completed the check as fast as I could and then ran for the hand sanitizer like my life depended on it. I completely covered the knee of my pants in sanitizer and scrubbed it with paper towels and then used a ton of sanitizer to wash my hands. I still had another hour to go and several more seats to check and I felt so gross and disgusting. Here I am showing new parents how to install their seats properly with this big old dirty brown knee.:( Someone even asked if I had tripped and fallen in a mud puddle.:eek:

Has anyone ever refused to do a seat check because of the condition of a vehicle? I'm sure I would still have done it any way cause my own conscious would not allow me to let someone leave with a FF infant seat but ugh. I just wanted to vomit.
 
ADS

Kac

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I have never refused, but I have been disgusted before. The smell of vomit, urine, etc. kills me. I've had sticky, damp, smelly, etc. I always go wash my hands right away. I try to wear gloves if available.
 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter
Been in two vehicles with children actively vomiting.

Also been in one that smelled like death. Why? Well, they transported a DEAD body, of course.

Of course, I have had plenty of the seats covered in I have no idea what.

Never refused.
 

emtb79

New member
Been in two vehicles with children actively vomiting.

Also been in one that smelled like death. Why? Well, they transported a DEAD body, of course.

Of course, I have had plenty of the seats covered in I have no idea what.

Never refused.

Why would someone want to bring their kids to a carseat check vomiting. I hope the vehicle that smelled like death was a hurst.
 

TXAggieTech

Active member
No, but I have really wanted to. I bring gloves, wipes, a change of clothes and sanitizer. But ew, have people no shame?

And what is up with waiting in line for an hour and no cleaning the crap out of your car? You know someone is going to be crawling around in there and you have all sorts of nastiness in it. Not just clutter, but dirty diapers, old food bags, old food and filth.
 

trippsmom

CPST Instructor
I did one this spring that had a cat in the car and it has used the bathroom in the car. You could not only smell it, but see it. Another had a ton of carpet powder all over the place. The carpet powder was no longer white in some areas, it was yellow and brown and caked up.

¡May contain dyac moments!
 

actuallyamanda

New member
I cant open this post again, I'm starting to feel nauseous already:sick:

I dont feel so bad about the crumbs & dead grass in my floor boards right now though.
 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter
I cant open this post again, I'm starting to feel nauseous already:sick:

I don't feel so bad about the crumbs & dead grass in my floor boards right now though.

That is what I tell parents all the time. They are apologizing, and I tell them I have seen far worse.

I have also knelt in who knows what. It was wet and smelled bad. I stuck my hand in pee.
 

shellebelle

Senior Community Member
I had one that seriously smelled like a petting zoo and the upholstery and seat belts were rock hard. Fortunately, they got new seats from us so we could at least make a point to kneel in those to keep ourselves clean. When I worked as a tech professionally my least favorite events were distributions because of the stomach-churning cars we got.

One of the techs I used to work with ran into way worse cars than I did; she had one with a kid whose eardrum had ruptured and was actively draining. She refused that one on account of the blood biohazard.
 

actuallyamanda

New member
Ok so I lied, I had to come back bc I just cant stop thinking about it now.

I seriously cannot believe ppl let their vehicles get so disgusting. It drives me crazy to see the dead grass tracked into my car and the occasional poptart crumbs:whistle: I even have my kids trained to put their trash in the cubbies of the doors so that I can quickly and easily remove all the trash from the car and vacuum it out on a regular basis.

If ppl let their car get that way, I dont even want to image what their homes look like.
 

scariestone

New member
Dear God and I thought DH's car was bad. It used to be his dad's, who took his dog to the beach every day so it smells like wet dog. DH smokes like a chimney in it so it smells like an ashtray and there are stray ashes everywhere. There's a pile of garbage on the passenger seat floor. I feel like I need a shower when I get in it to move it in or out of the driveway.

I'm curious about the dead body thing. Did they explain why there had once been a dead person in their car....or was it still there? <shudder>
 

monica-m

CPST Instructor
The last check I did we had to give one kid a new seat because there was so much stuff caked to the harness strap as it ran under the seat for it to be tightened properly. I don't know what was caked on there but it was pink and orange, looked sticky and was about a half an inch thick. When we pulled the seats out there was chips and a chicken strip that was dried out and dark brown. :sick: It was the most disgusting seat I had ever seen. Mom had bought it new and it wasn't even 2 years old based on DOM. The cover was so filthy that it was shiny. Amazingly enough it came in with a tight install, locked seatbelt and tethered. Kid left in a brand new Maestro. I shudder to think what it looks like after a week of use.
 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter
I'm curious about the dead body thing. Did they explain why there had once been a dead person in their car....or was it still there? <shudder>

Baby's daddy was getting rid of a body. He was in jail when we had the car seat clinic, for trying to get rid of said body.
 

hrice

New member
monica-m said:
The last check I did we had to give one kid a new seat because there was so much stuff caked to the harness strap as it ran under the seat for it to be tightened properly. I don't know what was caked on there but it was pink and orange, looked sticky and was about a half an inch thick. When we pulled the seats out there was chips and a chicken strip that was dried out and dark brown. :sick: It was the most disgusting seat I had ever seen. Mom had bought it new and it wasn't even 2 years old based on DOM. The cover was so filthy that it was shiny. Amazingly enough it came in with a tight install, locked seatbelt and tethered. Kid left in a brand new Maestro. I shudder to think what it looks like after a week of use.

Sounds like a friend of mine. I bought brand new covers and harnesses for her Nautis. They were funky. I swear her kids eat every meal in the car. Her vehicle is disgusting too.
 

hrice

New member
Judi said:
Baby's daddy was getting rid of a body. He was in jail when we had the car seat clinic, for trying to get rid of said body.

Holy crap! That's crazy!
 
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