"mazda616" (mazda616)
12/18/2016 at 11:51 • Filed to: Car Seat
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"mazda616" (mazda616)
12/18/2016 at 11:51 • Filed to: Car Seat | 0
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What do you use to keep the infant car seat base from leaving permanent indentions in the seats of the car? My 6 has leatherette seats, and I’d rather them not end up with permanent creases. My wife’s CX-5 has cloth seats, so I’m not concerned about it.
I’ve looked at these:
Brica Seat Guardian Car Seat Protector
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Summer Infant Elite DuoMat for Car Seat, Black
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Of course, there’s the old fashioned way: a beach towel. What say you, dads of Oppo? Whatever I get has to stand up to the Kentucky weather which ranges thoughout the year from 10 degrees to 100.
My wife just hit 32 weeks, so it’s coming time to make sure the car seat and its bases are securely installed in both cars. Little man is growing and is expected to arrive a couple weeks early.
Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 11:54 |
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A towel between them would help.
Spaceball-Two
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 11:56 |
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I just put a towel down. Helps to keep the seat from moving around too.
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mazda616
> Spaceball-Two
12/18/2016 at 12:05 |
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So just a folded up beach towel under the base?
Monkey B
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 12:06 |
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you can try a towel to lessen the impact, but there will be indentation as you need to have the belt pulled tight. It also effects the seat foam. There are ways to remove or improve these marks, sometimes if not too deep they’ll work themselves out during the course of a summer.
Anyone with light markings that would like to try some heat from a blow dryer followed by pressing a cold soda can on it can sometimes work them out. Being a professional I use a heat gun and a chill bar but that’s a very dangerous thing to try without experience as scorching the top coat and shrinkage happens almost split second for leather...vinyl (leatherette) can expand and melt.
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Spaceball-Two
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 12:08 |
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Yup! Also helps catch crumbs and soak up the occasional spill or spit up.
LongbowMkII
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 12:12 |
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First kid?
Don’t stress about the seats. You can get a seat protector like that, but just realize that it’s going to be puked on AT LEAST a half dozen times, giving you just another thing to clean and reinstall. Much less if you plan on keeping it for a toddler. There will be some sort of alchemy of goldfish, milk and yes puke that you’ll enievitably discover in some corner.
If you’re hoping for a pristine back seat for resale in 3-4 years I suggest joining your local upholster’s poker night.
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mazda616
> LongbowMkII
12/18/2016 at 12:13 |
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The kid is going to be in my car about 25% of the time. My wife’s car will see the majority of what you’re discussing. But the car seat base has to be in my car at all times.
facw
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 12:16 |
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There are products made specifically for this:
I have no infants, so I can’t recommend any in particular though.
Matt Nichelson
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 12:27 |
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I went the towel route in mine until my stepdaughter was old enough to start using a booster seat. No sense in spending extra money on something else plus you can just take it out in throw in the washer when it gets dirty.
DipodomysDeserti
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 12:36 |
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I useone of those seat protectors but you’ll still get indents if the seat is stapped in tight. They’ll end up wrecking the inside of your car by the time they’re three and you’ll forget you ever worried about indents in the leather.
HammerheadFistpunch
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 12:36 |
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my car has leather and my wifes is vtex and I’ve never noticed a permanent mark from any of the car seats we use. long lasting? sure, but never permanent, they always return to form.
shop-teacher
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 12:44 |
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I’ve got the first protector you posted. It works nice, and cleans up easily.
Make sure you get your seat installation checked by either your local police or fire department. I consider myself pretty good at reading directions and putting stuff together, but I still got it wrong. The officer who checked mine had to take a 4-day training class to get certified in it. There’s a lot going on there.
Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
> Spaceball-Two
12/18/2016 at 12:53 |
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Shift into “D” for “daaaaaad.”
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Spaceball-Two
> Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
12/18/2016 at 12:58 |
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The boy likes riding in the Audi because I tend to drive a little more aggressively than mom.
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Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
> Spaceball-Two
12/18/2016 at 13:01 |
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You’re just going to drive that thing into the ground aren’t you.
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Spaceball-Two
> Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
12/18/2016 at 13:03 |
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Nah. I don’t beat on it. It’s actually been pretty reliable latley. Plus I just got my tabs so I get my $78 out of it.
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Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
> Spaceball-Two
12/18/2016 at 13:08 |
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If only jkm had your VAGCOM luck.
The wife put 21k miles on the Vibe last year. I’m pretty glad I sprang for the low-mileage example in hindsight. Although it has been really unreliable. I’ve replaced one blinker bulb and one headlight bulb. Unacceptable!
JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 13:09 |
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When my sister and I were younger dad just used a beach towel. Kept the seats fine and we both turned out alright!
Phyrxes once again has a wagon!
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 13:16 |
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I have brica protectors under both seats, they wipe off easily and contain spills reasonably. The back seat of my TDI is fine two years later.
Tazio, Count Fouroff
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 13:17 |
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+1 beach towel
Worked great 10 years or so ago, idk now as they keep making those carseat deals more and more elaborate/BDSM
Congrats and best wishes! A great problem to have. Like @Spaceball Two mentioned, sons are fun
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Spaceball-Two
> Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
12/18/2016 at 13:28 |
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I’m really surprised his new VW is such a turd.
Glad to hear it!
Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 13:32 |
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I’d just throw in a semi-rigid seat protector (like the ones you posted...the Brita one looks better) and forget about it. It will do a decent job of preventing gouges. Indentations in the cushion will be unavoidable.
For me, there’s only so much I can do/worry about on a depreciating daily driver.
Nothing
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 13:36 |
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We have that summer infant one. Works well. We also cut a pool noodle in half of the infant seat. That helps with the seat angle, and creases. I think most bases know have an angle adjustment built in, so you probably won’t need a noodle for that purpose anymore.
Ferdinand Adlersflügel
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 14:16 |
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Please, please don’t use a beach towel or anything that can slide around if you care about your child’s safety at all. I have seen on multiple occasions babies and toddlers come through my ER that moved in their seats or booster, or even slid out entirely, during a crash. I always think back to a 10-month-old and a 3-year-old that came through my ER; both slid out of their seats when their family’s car was rear-ended. I was talking with an EMT later and it was determined the children were secured properly but the seats were on towels that caused the seats to slide just enough for them not to do their job.
The seats are designed to be on the seat, not on top of a towel on the seat. One of my colleagues in peds was describing a pad designed in conjunction with a series of bases and seats where the pads also utilize the LATCH mechanism. I can’t recall the name, but it sounds like you have a little time to research something like that. I completely understand wanting to take care of things but I am positive your new child will be more important than marks in vinyl.
The Lurktastic Opponaught
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 14:17 |
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The interior of your car will degenerate into a crumb strewn sticky wasteland from the time they start with solid food to age 5. Resistance is futile.
You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 14:19 |
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I’ve got the Summer Infant Elites that you have listed in my wife’s vehicle and mine. They work very well to keep the seats from getting trashed by the car seat.
merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 15:46 |
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I’m using these, they are decent. I didn’t use any in my last car, S4 with leather seats and there were really bad indents, but they came out mostly. But that’s why I’m using them with the new car. They are nice, they have a non slip backing and they are a good size.
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mazda616
> The Lurktastic Opponaught
12/18/2016 at 15:52 |
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I can at least try. I paid too much for this car to stop caring about it and leaving it a mess.
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mazda616
> Ferdinand Adlersflügel
12/18/2016 at 15:53 |
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Obviously I’m not going to endanger my child but I’d like to do what I can to preserve some semblance of resale value on this car.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 17:22 |
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I highly recommend one of the large seat protectors designed for dogs. It will catch all the spills, excepting the ones that make it down the seatbelt or patch holes.
My wife didn’t bother to get one. Her car always smelled like spoiled milk.
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The Lurktastic Opponaught
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 18:16 |
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We’ve had good luck in our subie with one of those black nylon dog tarps that start just below the headrest and go all the way to the footwell. And, once they’re forward facing, rear kick protectors for the seat in front of the kid. And a shop vac if you don’t have one already.
E92M3
> mazda616
12/18/2016 at 18:18 |
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See my post from a while back: http://oppositelock.kinja.com/til-how-to-remove-wrinkles-in-leather-1782465621
Slow_s10
> mazda616
12/19/2016 at 10:43 |
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I have three kids (8/6/2) and over the years I have found that my leather seats have held up just fine without any extra fussing over them. I was the same as you when our oldest was first born and I used towels and special car seat pads and such to protect the seats, but by the time you have a third one things like this become so trivial as to not even register anymore.
Still that being said I do give a crap about my cars and occasionally (every month or two) I will pull out all the car seats and do a through deep cleaning of the rear seat area. And thus far I have not found any abnormal wear from our various kid seats on the leather upholstery of my Wife’s Chevy Tahoe, which is the primary kid hauler. I think the main trick is just to make sure when the seats are secured they are cinched down tight enough that they can’t slide around. That plus sand and food crumbs and other various detritus on the seats could definitely cause unusual wear, but I think regular deep cleaning and just making sure the seats are properly secured has all but prevented that in my cars.
Also for my personal car which only hauls any or all of the kids very rarely, I don’t usually keep car the seats installed full time. I just keep them in the trunk and install them as needed. But you don’t need to go to the police department or fire department every time to double check you. Just have them demonstrate how it’s done and then let them watch you do it and verify that it was done properly. I can definitely respect wanting to make sure it’s done right for the safety of your baby, but it’s seriously not that complicated once you know the proper procedure.