When you've got a baby, it can be really hard to keep on top of everything. One of the things that often gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list is cleaning the baby stroller. It's usually just not something that people really think about, or that people just don't know how to clean. If you've been putting it off again and again, here's exactly how to clean a pushchair.
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Before you get into cleaning, you'll need to make sure that you've got all of the things that you'll need. This will make cleaning a pushchair much easier. You will need:
You do not need a hairdryer, but it will help with the drying process. It does work just as well, however, to leave the items that need to dry out in the sun.
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The first step, as with cleaning almost anything, is to remove sand, loose dirt, loose crumbs, and other debris. Baby strollers pick up a lot of this from your child's finger foods, their shoes, their clothes, even just dirt kicked up from the floor by the wheels.
The best way to remove all of this is to brush the fabric parts down with a small fabric brush. You should do this outside or in the garage, somewhere that won't just make more of a mess for you to clean up later. Once you've brushed the fabric down, you might find that you need to use a vacuum cleaner to get out all of the dirt from places like the seams.
On a pram or pushchair, a lot of the fabric parts can be taken off of the frame and can be machine washed. They will usually have instructions on the label, as with most fabrics, and these will usually specify that you need to put them on a gentle cycle with cold water as opposed to warm water, as a cool wash is often best. But it is always important to check before you begin your wash!
For fabric sections that cannot be machine washed, you can usually clean them in warm soapy water or with a disinfectant spray bottle. These sections will still need to be removed from the frame and cleaned carefully.
Once the gentle cycle is done, you should leave your fabric out in the sun to dry. Letting the material air dry is much safer and better for the material to air dry it, as the UV rays can even work as a mild disinfectant.
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Most models of prams and pushchairs have some sections of fabric that will not be removable. These sections do still need cleaning though! The best way to clean the fabric is to use warm water with mild baby-friendly soap, creating a cleaning solution of hot soapy water.
Using a cleaning cloth, wipe the whole surface of the fabric with the damp cloth. If there are stubborn stains, you may need to level up from just hot soapy water and get a gentle scrubbing brush out.
If you do encounter some really tough and stubborn stains, you'll definitely need to whip out something stronger than soapy water. There are two perfect cleaning solutions that you can use on the fabric: white vinegar and water or lemon juice.
To make the white vinegar natural stain remover, simply mix two parts water with three parts white vinegar and use it as a cleaning solution. Just apply the white vinegar mix to the fabric, wipe it gently, then rinse it off.
For even more stubborn marks, you might find that the lemon juice will work best. Apply the juice, sprinkle some salt on top, and then leave it for a while. Rinse when ready.
Typically, the vinegar will work best on mould stains and the lemon juice will work better on ordinary stains.
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It may not seem like an important bit to clean, but the plastic parts and metal parts still need to be part of the cleaning process when it comes to cleaning a pram. If possible, remove the plastic parts, but otherwise, you can clean them all together.
You should use washing up liquid and water as a gentle disinfectant, dip a cloth, and scrub the frame. If there are areas that you cannot get to, you can use the toothbrush to reach them. To remove stubborn marks, use a gentle scourer but be sure not to scratch the metal in order to prevent rust. Once you're done, you should wipe the metal down and dry it with a microfibre cloth or soft towel.
The plastic food tray and cup holders should be next on your list. You can clean these with a disinfectant suitable for food preparation sprays and a clean cloth. For more stubborn food stains, you can use a scrubbing brush on the plastic.
With warm soapy water and a scrubbing brush, wipe down the plastic wheels. By doing this you'll prevent getting dirt all over your home, your garage, car boot and will stop traipsing dirt through other buildings, too.
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Once the cup holders, fabric and frame are completely dry, you can start to reassemble the pram. Make sure everything is dry to prevent rust and mould from forming. If need be, you can dry the fabric with the hairdryer.
