Cleaning a baby's highchair tray OS style

HopeElizzy

Does anyone have any advice for me? I have been using anti-bacterial, all singing, all dancing wipes that cost a fortune. I suspect I've been sucked in by the advert on the TV telling you there are more germs on a baby's highchair tray than the average toilet :eek: BUT what can I use instead? My son has the tendency to find it great fun to skim any plate off his tray so very often I put things like sandwiches straight onto the highchair tray. It always worried me that I wiped it with alot of chemicals but consoled myself that there was no harmful bacteria lurking
So, any OS ideas that I could use please? I know a few germs aren't harmful (as the rest of my house can testify ) but my son has had gastroesophegeal reflux from birth and it's only in the last couple of months, he's now 19mths, that we have it under control so I'm cautious about food bacteria.

smileylunar

HI I think you are right to be concerned about chemicals and children, however the most effective way of cleaning anything that does not have infective body fluids is good old soapy warm water,then dry the area with a clean cloth(bacteria likes warm wet places to breed). the advert people love to instil fear into us !
hope this helps.

Zed42

I also, would then favour a wipe down with a white vinegar spray.

Personally, I wouldn't use anti-bacterial wipes/spray unless I rinsed that off afterwards, wouldn't want my dd exposed to the chemicals.

Just my opinion.

Good luck with the reflux, that can't be fun

hardpressed

I understood a reflux is caused by a physical problem not by bacteria. When you use a plate you wouldn't use an anti-bacterial spray to clean it, well most people wouldn't, so I would use hot water and washing up liquid. Then rinse with plain hot water and let it dry.
Hopefully the little one will have grown out of his reflux now.

sunnth

my twins had reflux until about 18mths as well and I never connected it with how I cleaned to be honest. Hot soapy water was usually all I used, especially since they would bring most of their food back up anyway and I seemed to be constantly cleaning!

Now my boys are 4 and only one of them ever suffers from a little reflux now and again, thankfully. Hope your little one outgrows it soon too.

HopeElizzy

hardpressed wrote:

I understood a reflux is caused by a physical problem not by bacteria.

You're right about it being a physical problem but if he picks up any bugs they last longer and make him poorlier than most children and I have to start him on his meds again for a while. He recently had the 24 hour gastroenteritis thing that was going around which he had for a week and had to be checked by his consultant at the hospital. It certainly makes me paranoid and over cautious I know.

:T Thanks for all your replies - You're all right about hot soapy water of course - that's what I wash my dishes in after all! :rotfl:

Rachie_B

i would use a steam cleaner,i love mine its fab for cleaning almost anything

take the highchair into the garden and give it a good steam clean ,i do it with the buggy too : )

HopeElizzy

Rachie_B wrote:

i would use a steam cleaner,i love mine its fab for cleaning almost anything

Sorry, if it's a personal question but how much did your steam cleaner cost? And where did you buy it from?

Rachie_B

we got it from one of the shopping channels on sky ,its the "shark" lol
i think it was about £70

ah ive just found a link for you https://www.asseenontvnetwork.com/vcc/tvnetworkltd/steamshark/140838/

dont know if you can get it cheaper elsewhere or not though

comping_cat

I often use baby wipes to clean the high chair!!!!

mamaoba

I'd second the steam cleaner. Robert Dyas often do them cheap or look on amazon - you don't need an all singing all dancing version for cleaning up after baby! A cheapo handheld version will do just fine.

When my ds had a bad cold I used to steam clean his mattress too to kill off any bugs lurking. Might be a useful idea for you too? They are also very useful in the bathroom for cleaning up the inevitable potty training accidents and are wicked for cleaning the oven so your investment will pay for itself no end as the best thing about them is they use NO chemicals at all.

The other thing I'd suggest apart from hot soapy water is a couple of drops of tea tree or thyme oil on the cloth you wash the highchair with. These are powerful anti-bac and anti-fungal agents but don't carry the same high risk of building anti-biotic resistant germs that commercial products do. The last you need is for your son to get a bug that doesn't respond to anti-biotics :eek:

Then rinse the cloth thouroghly after use and zap it (WET or damp only!) in the microwave for a minute to sterilise ready for use again. Cloths and sponges are common places for bugs to lurk so I do this with dishcloth every night.