Car seat got rained on - car door was left open over night. .. ???

[My Sweet Blessings]

Last night, my oldest forgot to shut his side of the van. Of course, it had to rain. I don't know how long it was raining for before my husband went out and discovered it. My son's Frontier got wet. It was mostly on the side on the padding. I checked the harness straps and they seemed to be fine. To be safe, I brought the seat inside so I could take a better look at the whole strap and under the pad and so forth. My only concern is the bottom of the strap where the metal plate is where it holds the strap in the carseat. Does that make sense? It's damp. It's not soaking wet, but it's still wet for about an inch or so. Also, that side of the seat the latch strap got a bit wet. Again, not dripping wet, but still wet. I'm not sure what to do. We can't afford to replace the straps right now. Is the latch strap even replaceable?

 

[Minnesota]

I would bring it in, disassemble (remove cover, pads and harness) towel dry everything, and then let it rest face down on towels for at least a full day so it can all dry out. Reassemble and make sure everything appears to be working the way it was before (harness adjusts the same way, nothing sticking or stopping). I wouldn't hesitate to use it as long as nothing appears amiss. A little rainwater quickly dried is unlikely to cause any problems to any component.

Oh, and you can put the cover in the dryer on air if it's taking too long to dry, but never the straps or foam. Just allow the straps and foam to lay out on towels to air dry.

 

[Jonah Baby]

I wouldn't worry unless it rained soap or chemicals of some kind, just air dry it before use.
Given how much kids pee, drool, and spill their drinks on carseat straps so often, I'm sure that manufacturers have built harnesses to withstand.

When I sold my Hyundai, we happened to see a really GROSS looking section of seat belt where the baby's seat was installed. We had been using the Marathon there with a belt install and I guess no one realized how often the baby spit up, leaked out of his diaper, drooled, etc. in his seat. I called Hyundai, liability concern, and they said it's fine. It could even be "detailed" out with a steam cleaner if we wanted (minus the soap, just steam.)