We love hook on highchairs. They're portable, take up less space, and if you're like us, are used regularly instead of a traditional highchair. However, they have one major flaw: it’s difficult to clean. And depending on who you talk to, that’s kind of a big deal. This chair is meant for a baby who is starting and learning to eat.
That equates to a mess all the time.
It’s frustrating that something that will most certainly get soiled beyond imagination is difficult to clean. And parents are busy – whether you’re working outside the house, a stay at home parent, or working at home. There is already a long list of things to do so why add more unnecessary tasks to your plate? We scoured the internet and found the 3 most effective ways to clean the Chicco Quickseat Hook On Chair.
Wipe Down, Hand Wash & Air Dry
This is the manufacturer’s recommendation. Food can sometimes be easily wiped down the fabric seat, but for the most part, it needs a more thorough cleaning. While some people are ok with hand washing this product, it is quite bulky and difficult to thoroughly hand wash. Unless you’re skilled at washing large materials by hand, it can be time consuming and tedious.
And to dry it? Hope you have a couple hours. Or depending on the weather, a day to let it air dry.
Washing Machine
This is a common solution among parents who’ve decided hand washing is not going to work for them. The recommendation is to not run it through the washing machine, but many people (us included) have found that it turns out fine. We do worry that after multiple washes we’re decreasing the longevity of the cover, but the convenience of putting it in the washing machine was worth the risk.
As mentioned earlier, hand washing takes a long time and we ultimately wanted a clean highchair as quickly as possible. We do air dry it as recommended by Chicco. However, it can be an inconvenience waiting for it to dry and have baby on our lap during mealtimes. Even though we’re technically saving time by throwing the cover into the washing machine, we still have to disassemble, remove the cover, wait for it to completely dry, then put the cover back on. It’s one thing if we can simply take the cover on and off the fast table chair, but everyone who owns this highchair knows it takes some time and effort to remove and put on the cover seat. Like many parents, we wanted an even quicker and more effective solution.
We have a better alternative.
Highchair Cover
Finally, a cover for the Quickseat! It has practically eliminated the downtime with removing and washing the fabric cover. We do wash the fabric seat from time to time, but nowhere near as frequently as we used to.
It’s also made mealtimes less stressful. Liberating really, for both us and the baby. As baby is getting older, more food gets into more crevices of the highchair. With Wunderland Highchair Cover, baby is free to explore and get food everywhere while we feel at ease, knowing cleaning afterwards is just as easy as taking off a cover and placing a new one. And in less than a minute, we have a clean seat and ready for the next mealtime. Definitely recommend having more than one cover, but even if you just have one, you can throw it in the washer and dryer and it’ll be clean by the next meal!
Not having to remove the fabric cover to wash it has been the biggest selling point. Taking apart the highchair then reassembling it was an inconvenience, and sometimes, frustrating task. It’s a simple enough chore once we got used to it, but having to do it frequently was becoming a major pain point in an otherwise great product.
The Best Option
Of the three options, of course we prefer the Wunderland Highchair Cover the best (you can check its other great features). Like all parenting advice, do what’s best for you and your family. Before having a baby, we used to live a minimalist life and would think twice before getting something. To some extent we still have that mindset, but once you’re sleeping 3 hours at a time during the night, working, and adding chores on your long to-do list, you realize even more that time is a limited resource. Sometimes it’s better to delegate tasks. And that’s what the Wunderland Highchair Cover does. Yes, you can hand or machine wash the fabric seat, but if there’s an available solution that can save you time and effort, is it worth it?