Are they serious? (Chemicals in carseat covers)

My local news did a story tonight on another "chemical cancer scare" in child products, specifically, CAR SEATS! Ok, I knew this would be coming (friggin everything causes cancer these days) but what got me was in the video footage they were talking to some guy (supposed expert) who was testing for levels of brominated fire retardant on the car seat covers & when he was asked what you can do to protect your child I nearly fell over. His reply, "wash the cover a few times it will remove most of the chemical or you can PUT A DIFFERENT COVER OVER THE SEAT." :eek:

I searched the channels website for the stupid story so you guys could see it but I couldn't find so I emailed them asking for it. When I get it I'll be posting it here for you all to see.
 
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NOAHSMOM

New member
Re: Are they serious?

My local news did a story tonight on another "chemical cancer scare" in child products, specifically, CAR SEATS! Ok, I knew this would be coming (friggin everything causes cancer these days) but what got me was in the video footage they were talking to some guy (supposed expert) who was testing for levels of brominated fire retardant on the car seat covers & when he was asked what you can do to protect your child I nearly fell over. His reply, "wash the cover a few times it will remove most of the chemical or you can PUT A DIFFERENT COVER OVER THE SEAT." :eek:

I searched the channels website for the stupid story so you guys could see it but I couldn't find so I emailed them asking for it. When I get it I'll be posting it here for you all to see.

It was on my local news this morning also and I also can't find it on their website. It was a stupid story with it coming across that the chemical rating that your seat gets is the most important factor in choosing the seat. An "expert" saying that some of the cheapest seats are the best because they have less chemicals in their covers. The "expert" that recommended using seat covers over the seat was deemed to be a new dad as well as a chemist.
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
Re: Are they serious?

People need to be smart enough to realize there's a huge difference between a POTENTIAL health risk & an ACTUAL safety risk.... So, with certain covers your child *might* get sick eventually -- without the right carseat (compatable to the child + vehicle & of course always used correctly: no aftermarket covers!) your child won't make it to eventually :twocents:
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
I tweaked your title a little so more people might chime in if they see what it's about :).

Anyway, what are we supposed to do? Re-cover all our furniture before the baby comes so our anti flammable sofa doesn't give off fumes? Not buy a new car, which is loaded with the same chemicals (and more!). Never buy polyester clothing that's anti-flammable for sleeping? Talk about a needless way to scare parents into doing the wrong thing. :mad:
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
You forgot the living room carpet ;)

Granted, certain kids with severe medical conditions would be much more susceptible, but that's extremely rare.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Yeah, I was chatting with a chemically sensitive family and the mom seemed happy to just air out her infant seats for a month or two to be sure they were de-gassed...
 

aisraeltax

New member
i think the advice about other car seat covers is bad and would hope they would correct that advice, but i do have an extremely sensitive little guy and have started washing the car seat covers. we had one that actually came off on his skin (yuck!!!) and that was the first time i ever even thought about washing a car seat cover.

this seems to be a "hot topic" (the chemicals) but i do try to do everything i can do to minimize the exposure of chemicals to my son's skin. Its disappointing that one co. (britax that im thinking of) has car seat covers that have "good" ratings and ones that have "bad" ratings..why cant they all be good. :(

i know that some dont recommend washing car seat covers but im making the decision to do so...as i make the decision to stay away from anything that has been treated (pj's, etc. etc.).
 
I tweaked your title a little so more people might chime in if they see what it's about :).

Ty Julie.

I emailed my local news station & have heard nothing back. I'm going to call tomorrow & tell them they should re air the story & include info that adding another cover or replacing w/ an after market one violates warranties & compromises safety.
 

Melizerd

New member
There was a big "stink" (lol) about this previously too. If you let the seat sit out for a bit before putting it in the car it's fine. There's more chemicals in the vehicle seats then the carseat.
 

vonfirmath

New member
i think the advice about other car seat covers is bad and would hope they would correct that advice, but i do have an extremely sensitive little guy and have started washing the car seat covers. we had one that actually came off on his skin (yuck!!!) and that was the first time i ever even thought about washing a car seat cover.

this seems to be a "hot topic" (the chemicals) but i do try to do everything i can do to minimize the exposure of chemicals to my son's skin. Its disappointing that one co. (britax that im thinking of) has car seat covers that have "good" ratings and ones that have "bad" ratings..why cant they all be good. :(


They were not created to pass whatever test this group is using.

I've heard some concerns about the randomness about this test, so until I see more I am pretty much discounting this report.
 
They were not created to pass whatever test this group is using.

I've heard some concerns about the randomness about this test, so until I see more I am pretty much discounting this report.

I agree w/ you on that. What pissed me off about it is all those parents that are going to fall for it & use it as a "reason" to go buy all those pretty after market covers (that are just way to pricey IMO).
 

cpsaddict

New member
This came up on another board I am on and I got blasted all over the place for "discounting" and "poohpooing" a mothers feelings about the chemicals. She was telling other parents that they needed to consult this report before ever considering a seat and that this was just as important as the safety of the seat. I kindly told her she could wash the seat cover of whatever seat she had and the problem would be eliminated. Apparently, that wasn't good enough so she was going to sell her "chemical laden Britax Marathon" for, I think, an Eddie Bauer that rated well on the chemical list. Sigh. Not that I think the Marathon is the be all end all, but geesh, why sell a perfectly good Marathon and go to something that will end up costing even more money, when you could just wash the cover? Bottom line, I think this whole thing has been blown WAY out of proportion.
 

aisraeltax

New member
This came up on another board I am on and I got blasted all over the place for "discounting" and "poohpooing" a mothers feelings about the chemicals. She was telling other parents that they needed to consult this report before ever considering a seat and that this was just as important as the safety of the seat. I kindly told her she could wash the seat cover of whatever seat she had and the problem would be eliminated. Apparently, that wasn't good enough so she was going to sell her "chemical laden Britax Marathon" for, I think, an Eddie Bauer that rated well on the chemical list. Sigh. Not that I think the Marathon is the be all end all, but geesh, why sell a perfectly good Marathon and go to something that will end up costing even more money, when you could just wash the cover? Bottom line, I think this whole thing has been blown WAY out of proportion.

see, i agree with most of what you are saying. i would NEVER sell a MA to get an Eddie Bauer whatever...b/c i do consider the SAFETY of the car seat (as in the crash tests etc. etc...safety in the sense of protection my child against death or serious bodily injury in a crash) to be paramount.

i just think that both of these issues can and should be explored. just as some ppl dont think there is any problem w/ BPA, i am pretty much of the opposite extreme. I like to know that something is safe (to the extent i can).

No one can guarantee anything is perfectly safe...and as pointed out the insides of most vehicles have a lot of chemicals in them (there is a Ford out there that is supposedly made w/ green foam or whatever now but i have other reasons for not ever wanting to buy a Ford so thats out for me).

Ppl will be extreme..and ppl will be complacent...and then there are ppl on one side of those and on the other side.....its really just a matter of whether you (general you) want to heed warnings...and in the area of petroleum products, drugs, and chemicals, im a pretty cautious person and will look at what it is vs. what our needs are (im certainly not typing on a vegan puter, for example). there are things that are easy to do (like not purchasing plastic toys)....and there are things that take more thought....i think its a good thing that ppl are concerned about the chemical composition and i would love to see car seat manufacturers take these things into consideration..and until consumers are aware, that wont happen.

someone on here always says that ALL car seats manufacturered are SAFE and pass safety tests. if thats true, it really doesnt matter what car seats parents purchase, does it? but maybe manufacturers will hear complaints and hear that ppl arent buying their seats SOLELY due ot their car seat covers. i think that would concern Britax alot. I actually am thinking of writing a letter to them about it, b/c i think they should be aware that parents are using this as a reason to stay away from their car seats (as ridiculous as *I* think that is).

im just trying to offer a different perspective and i believe both considerations should be contemplated prior to any purchase....and before anyone thinks i have an "environmentallly friendly" car seat, im pretty sure i don't. I have 2 BVs, one soon to be MA and an Olllie. I also have 2 TFs but they arent being used.
 

ellepenguin

New member
The toxins and carseats findings are published on http://healthycar.org/ Sunshine Kids Radian 65 Champagne got a no toxins rating so it's not just about buying the cheapest carseat available nor that non-toxic = unsafe car seat.

I just mentioned in an older thread on this topic that adding vinegar to the final rinse helps to strip chemicals from fabric as well as naturally act as a fabric softener (and if it were made out of naturally fire-retardent wool there wouldn't be any PDBEs in it in the first place). However, I forgot to point out as another mom did that most seat bases are made from plastic which as far as I know is not BPA-freeOn hot days, you can smell the heated plastic offgas especially in a parked car.

Knowing about the toxic chemicals is not an excuse for not using a carseat; it is an issue of holding carseat manufacturers (and all baby product manufacturers for that matter) accountable for the toxins in their materials. We can demand non-toxic products from them but that has to be linked to their profit to motivate them to change. As informed consumers, the best way to achieve that in the immediate is to buy from the companies who are least toxic. Furthermore, we ought to demand stronger federal and state legislation that protects children from exposure to toxins in the long term.

I want to point out that when we discuss our children's safety in terms of car seats, there is strong federal regulation and testing in order to protect children from harm in cars because let's face it, we are a car-centered society. But when we discuss our children's safety in terms of health and toxic chemicals, there is little federal oversight, testing or regulation. Let's be a human-centered society and have evidence-based regulation of the chemical industry (meaning that they have to prove that a chemical substance is NOT harmful *before* introducing it to the public rather than retroactively) and curtail their special interest lobbying to protect our children and our children's children from mutative/mutagenic harm.

FYI ewg.org has a lot of information on the toxic burden that babies have to endure in modern day.
 
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keri1292

Well-known member
If my child was in this car, I'd prefer the more flame retardent cover without a doubt. And I wouldn't reduce the flame resistance intentionally by adding vinegar.

I'm a fairly crunchy, organic eating/buying mother, but my kids rarely eat their car seats, we leave them out to off gas before using them as our daily seat and there is a layer of clothing between them and their seat. While I don't like them to be exposed to chemicals, I'd really hate them to suffer from preventable burns in my car. I have never smelled a car seat off gas on hot days. I tend to leave my windows open a crack to keep the car cooler though.

I think there are better places to reduce our chemical exposure than car seat covers. :twocents:
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
If my child was in this car, I'd prefer the more flame retardant cover without a doubt. And I wouldn't reduce the flame resistance intentionally by adding vinegar.

I'm a fairly crunchy, organic eating/buying mother, but my kids rarely eat their car seats, we leave them out to off gas before using them as our daily seat and there is a layer of clothing between them and their seat. While I don't like them to be exposed to chemicals, I'd really hate them to suffer from preventable burns in my car. I have never smelled a car seat off gas on hot days. I tend to leave my windows open a crack to keep the car cooler though.

I think there are better places to reduce our chemical exposure than car seat covers. :twocents:


Agreed. That flame retardancy is required by law for a VERY good reason. Reduce the chemicals ELSEWHERE, not where the lack of it could mean serious injury for your child.
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
However, I forgot to point out as another mom did that most seat bases are made from plastic which as far as I know is not BPA-freeOn hot days, you can smell the heated plastic offgas especially in a parked car.

There is so much plastic in the vehicle itself I can't imagine that the tiny child seat really does that much to add to the mix. It's all well and good to be outraged over this, but it's just a drop in the bucket. If people want to get all activisty about something, I'd suggest getting activisty about the chemicals & toxins that are in our VEHICLES first.
 
Though the healthycar.org study gives statements regarding the potential "by-products" and chemical agents that might "out-gas", "evolve," scarily appear, etc., the study did not attempt to actually measure any of the "scary" compounds they talked about. In short, they have no data about the compounds and merely speculate (with doses of OMG) that these compounds are present. There was no quantitative amount measured, no information on route of exposure or length of exposure.

Throughout the study, the effects of exposure to hypothetical agents are mentioned. Remember, they did not do anything to actually find the compounds for which they listed potential negative effects. The study merely speculated that certain compounds were used or might exist, speculated again that under just the right conditions, other compounds might form, speculated again that the compounds would be around in enough concentration to be somehow ingested by a child, speculated again that this concentration would be high enough for the right amount of time to cause elevated concentration levels in humans that might possibly cause negative effects.

I'm not saying that exposure to certain substances can't ever be bad. Even over exposure to hydrogen and oxygen (i.e. water) can kill you. However, studies should have some elements of scientific validity if they are to be taken seriously enough that they cause fear and panic. This particular study is worthless, not scientific and the results are meaningless.
 

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