Second-Hand Baby Items
Preparing for the arrival of your first child can be an expensive business. Whoever said ‘all a baby needs is love’ was very wrong. Yes they need love, but there’s a lot more they need too. Nappies, a place to sleep, some clothes amongst other things. If you are on a tight budget, it can be a really good idea to buy second hand as your budget will go further and you’ll get more bang for your buck.
The Rules
There’s only a couple of rules when it comes to what you can and can’t buy when it comes to second-hand baby items. One of these surrounds where they sleep. It’s fine to buy a second-hand cot or crib, but you must invest in a new mattress. There have been links to higher rates of death in infants who have used mattresses from outside the home. If you think about it logically, you can wash cot linen but a mattress is almost impossible to clean. If another baby has been sick it may stay in the mattress. Gross! Would you buy a second-hand mattress from yourself?
The other one is the car seat. Never buy or accept a second-hand car seat from someone you don’t know and don’t trust with your baby’s life. I didn’t know this until I fell pregnant, but even the smallest of crashes can damage a baby car seat. It’s just not worth taking the risk. I know car seats can be pricey, but have a shop around, look in the sales – if you’re shopping online, somewhere like Nuna’s sale page could be a great place to start. A first-hand car seat is a worthwhile investment, and you can save money in other areas.
So everything else, go for it with the second-hand baby items. Pram, clothes, toys and much more. Everything you buy can be cleaned up as good as new.
How To Clean Second-Hand Baby Items
I bought a second-hand pram and it was quite easy to take apart and clean. Here’s what I’d recommend. Start by disassembling all of the parts that are meant to be disassembled. I don’t mean take the whole pram back to the raw elements.
Anything that is fabric can be washed. It’s likely that it will have washing instructions on it, but if not you can always hand-wash it to be on the safe side. Use a non-bio detergent and softener, so that it doesn’t upset baby’s delicate skin. Leave to fully dry, either on an airer or outside on the washing line.
Anything that is non-fabric can be cleaned using an anti-bacterial spray or wipe. If you aren’t sure whether you can anti-bac it, try cleaning it with the spray in a hidden part of the pram, that way you’ll see whether it marks or not. It shouldn’t do, but just in case. If it does mark, you can always use some soap and water which is less abrasive, but to be honest, I’ve cleaned everything with a spray cleaner and it’s done nothing to mark or damage the items.
Once all the items are clean and dry, put them back together. Not only will your pram look like new, but it’ll also smell all clean and lovely. Perfect for welcoming your little one. The same method can apply to toys, furniture and clothes.
Where To Look For Second-Hand Baby Items
I find the best places for hunting for second-hand baby items bargains are Facebay, Ebay, Shpock and Gumtree. Where else do you get your second-hand items?
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