Inevitably, prams and pushchairs can get really quite mucky quite quickly. Whether it’s from our lovely little ones or perhaps from the rain or muck outside, they’re all too often a little bit dirty here and there. It can be hard, as parents, to find time to deal with a mucky pram, let alone the energy to do anything about it! When we have got the time and the energy, it’s sometimes hard to know where to start. Do not fret, the pram cleaning process is much simpler than you think. Here’s all that you need to know about how to clean a pram.
What You Need To Clean A Pram
Before you start cleaning, you’ll need to be sure that you have all of the following at hand in order to get the pram really clean.
- A bowl of warm soapy water
- A vacuum cleaner
- A scrubbing brush
- A nail brush or old toothbrush
- Soft fabric brush
- Clean cloths
- A spray bottle
- Disinfectant spray bottle
- Microfibre cloth
- Washing machine
- Laundry detergent
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How To Clean A Pram: A Step-By-Step Guide
Step One: Use A Soft Fabric Brush To Remove Crumbs
Using a brush that is suitable for soft fabric parts of the pram, brush away any crumbs and dirt that have been left by your baby’s finger foods and dirty clothes after days out at the park. This shouldn’t take too long, and if you don’t have a suitable brush you can always use a vacuum cleaner.
As you remove loose dirt, loose crumbs, small stones etc., make sure you pay particular attention to the hard to reach places to ensure that you effectively remove sand and other small bits of dirt.
Step Two: Remove Any Parts Of The Pram That Can Be Machine Washed
Fortunately, large parts of baby strollers are made of fabric, and these fabric parts can often be removed pretty easily. Most of these fabric sections can be chucked in a washing machine whilst you clean the rest of the baby stroller, making your life a thousand times easier!
There will be a label on the fabric of your pram. It’s important that you check the label and follow any instructions that it provides; do not just assume that your pram is safe to be machine washed! You may find that you need to hand wash the fabric in hot soapy water or that it needs to be washed at a really cool wash. Follow the instructions carefully, and pop the fabric in the washing machine on a gentle cycle with the necessary laundry detergent.
When the washing machine is finished, you can take the fabric out and leave it in the sun to air dry (this is much better than a tumble dryer, as they may shrink in there, and the UV light works as a mild stain remover). Make sure that the fabric is completely dry before you put it back on your stroller.
Step Three: Use Warm Soapy Water To Clean Non-Removable Fabric
There are usually fabric parts of strollers that cannot be removed. These still need to be cleaned, though. Rather than using the washing machine to have them cleaned separately, you’ll need to use hot soapy water and a firm scrubbing brush to clean the pram.
Place the soapy water in a bucket or bowl nearby and dip the brush into it and then scrub the fabric with the warm water. If your pram has any stubborn stains or mould stains, you might find that you need to use mould remover or stronger soapy water to tackle the marks. You can use vinegar to do this by creating a cleaning solution that works as a natural stain remover. It is three parts white vinegar and two parts water. This will be friendly to the baby, but will effectively kill off mould and remove mould stains as well as stubborn marks. Lemon juice sometimes works too!
You’ll need to use your scrubbing brush to put the cleaning solution on, and then you should use plain warm water to rinse the solution away. When you’re done, leave the pram somewhere safe to air dry.
Step Four: Clean The Frame Using Hot Soapy Water
If your pram has a metal frame with removable plastic parts, it’s now time to take those plastic elements off. If you can’t, just clean the two together.
Using a solution of washing up liquid and water or soapy water, use a clean cloth to wipe down the surfaces. You might need a small brush like a toothbrush or nail brush to reach small areas. If you have any stubborn marks, you can use a stiff brush or scourer, but be careful not to scratch the metal as this can cause rust to develop!
Let the frame dry before returning the other elements to it, or, if need be, dry it with a microfibre cloth.
Step Five: Using A Spray Bottle Of Antibacterial Disinfectant, Clean The Food And Drink Holders
The food trays and the cup holders are the next thing to be cleaned. You should use a disinfectant spray like Dettol or The Pink Stuff to remove any bacteria from the trays and wipe them down with a cloth. You might also want to remove them and soak them in warm soapy water. The toothbrush may come into handy here, too, if you have any hard to reach places.
Then, remove any excess water with a microfibre cloth and reattach them to the pram.
Step Six: Cleaning The Wheels
Use a scrubbing brush and some warm soapy water to clean the wheels of your baby stroller. These wheels go through all sorts, so giving them a good scrub is always a good idea, and stops you from traipsing it around buildings as you use the pram.
