The cover on my Radian says it can't be machine washed.

[Llyra]

Is this a safety issue? DD2 peed in hers. She's done it before, and we've just swabbed it off and aired it, but this time, I can't get the stink out, and now my whole van smells like pee. It's hot out, and the smell is just building up in there-- it smells like a dirty men's room. (Sorry for the vivid description- just trying to give an idea of the magnitude of the problem.)

Would it really affect the performance of the seat, if I tossed it in the wash? Handwash cycle, maybe?

FWIW, I tried pet mess cleaner-- that enzyme stuff? That just made the van smell like pee AND the cleaner, which was worse.

[McGucks]

I went to a presentation by a child seat safety specialist, who said that machine washing takes off the flame retardant chemical.  My guess is that is the reason.

[DahliaRW]

I have and would wash on the gentle cycle and air dry.

[Llyra]

Thanks! I'm going to, ASAP.

[lkmiscnet]

I highly recommend a piddlepad to prevent potty leaks. It has saved us quite a few times and is machine washable. I just had to wash it for such an occasion last week. I recommend the deluxe versus the basic one. It seem to offer more coverage. I bought mine through amazon, but BabiesRUs has it too (link below).

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3557154&prodFindSrc=search

We have a Radian and I washed the cover and it was very difficult to get it back on. Sunshine Kids did not do a good job in this department in making it easy on parents. What were they thinking?

[leighi123]

I wash mine on the handwash cycle, with just tiny bit of natural laundry soap.  Cold water. 

Don't put it in the dryer though! 

[Llyra]

Updating-- I washed it, with a small amount of detergent, on a gentle cycle, in cold water. Then I hung it up to dry. Anyway, I had no issues getting it back on the carseat, and my van smells so much fresher now.

I would love to hear some discussion from those in-the-know, about whether those piddle pads are safe-- I've always heard that anything that goes between the child and the seat can potentially affect the performance of the seat, unless it was sold with the seat. That's why we avoid things like BundleMe, for instance. I know myself I've used chux pads in the carseat, when DD2 was vomiting and we were taking her to the ER. That was an unusual situation, though, and a chux pad is really thin. But the piddle pad looks like it has some bulk to it.