The Car Seat Protector: My Ultimate Mom Hack for a Clean Backseat
I will never forget the day I made my mom the angriest I’d ever seen her. I’m not sure where we’d gone, but riding in the backseat of the station wagon (long before car seats), I was around the age of 5 or 6 and was chewing on a handful of gumballs. As you might be aware, gumballs lose their flavor very quickly so soon after I began chewing them, they amassed into a giant, flavorless blob in my mouth.
So I took the gum out of my mouth and tried to hold it in my hands. But it was sticky. And I suddenly found it stretching with lines of goo from one hand to the other, much like a spider web. I tried in vain to hide this gooey disaster from my mom. I put my hands behind my back and under my bottom but now the mess had spread to the backseat. By the time we rolled up to our house and my mom opened the door, it was everywhere. I was in so much trouble and wasn’t allowed to chew gum again until I was much older.
Those were old-school vinyl seats too but I still remember how hard it was to clean. Now that I’m a mom myself, I keep gum away from my little ones too, but to keep them away from other snacks in the car is impractical. You can’t go somewhere with kids and expect them to wait until you get to a proper snacking place to eat. Nor can you expect them to eat without spills. They’re kids. They make messes. Even my eldest, despite her best efforts, will spill food and drinks in the backseat. Life happens.
But that’s no fun for me either. Because I get busy and I forget that they ate bananas back there or crackers or cookies. I forget that my little one clutched onto her drink pouch with such gusto that it shot up like a volcano and sprayed my canvas seats. Ah, yes, the life of a mom.
So I took the gum out of my mouth and tried to hold it in my hands. But it was sticky. And I suddenly found it stretching with lines of goo from one hand to the other, much like a spider web. I tried in vain to hide this gooey disaster from my mom. I put my hands behind my back and under my bottom but now the mess had spread to the backseat. By the time we rolled up to our house and my mom opened the door, it was everywhere. I was in so much trouble and wasn’t allowed to chew gum again until I was much older.
Those were old-school vinyl seats too but I still remember how hard it was to clean. Now that I’m a mom myself, I keep gum away from my little ones too, but to keep them away from other snacks in the car is impractical. You can’t go somewhere with kids and expect them to wait until you get to a proper snacking place to eat. Nor can you expect them to eat without spills. They’re kids. They make messes. Even my eldest, despite her best efforts, will spill food and drinks in the backseat. Life happens.
But that’s no fun for me either. Because I get busy and I forget that they ate bananas back there or crackers or cookies. I forget that my little one clutched onto her drink pouch with such gusto that it shot up like a volcano and sprayed my canvas seats. Ah, yes, the life of a mom.
My husband thinks it’s so simple to keep the car clean. It’s a bone of contention between us, to be honest. But if it was his car that was used to shuttle the children around, perhaps he’d understand just how hard it can be to keep that backseat clean at times. Just like our home, I could spend all the time in the world buffing, cleaning, polishing, washing, and making everything perfect and I guarantee you my kids will find a way to make it look like I did absolutely nothing to restore order and cleanliness.
Not long ago, I had to take my car in for repairs. My air conditioning went out and they needed a few days to fix it. They gave me a rather nice loaner vehicle to use until they were finished. I’ll never forget the look on the service gal’s face as she helped me remove the car seat for my youngest. There was a literal pile of crumbs underneath her seat. It looked like a mountain made of unicorn dust, the accumulation of cookie crumbs, candies, crackers, and other snacks. To say I was embarrassed by this was a huge understatement. I had no idea these food remnants had found their way under my daughter’s car seat, colonizing into some freakish sprinkle-encrusted pile, but there it was.
Once I got my car back, I was worried about a mountain of food piling up again with everything my daughter ate in the backseat. A little research online brought me to the Smiinky Car Seat Protector. It’s designed to protect your seats, particularly leather ones, from being damaged by car seats themselves as well as protect your seats from the usual spills and crumbs that come with having a family. Despite not having leather seats, I decided to order just one to see how it fared with my family.
Not long ago, I had to take my car in for repairs. My air conditioning went out and they needed a few days to fix it. They gave me a rather nice loaner vehicle to use until they were finished. I’ll never forget the look on the service gal’s face as she helped me remove the car seat for my youngest. There was a literal pile of crumbs underneath her seat. It looked like a mountain made of unicorn dust, the accumulation of cookie crumbs, candies, crackers, and other snacks. To say I was embarrassed by this was a huge understatement. I had no idea these food remnants had found their way under my daughter’s car seat, colonizing into some freakish sprinkle-encrusted pile, but there it was.
Once I got my car back, I was worried about a mountain of food piling up again with everything my daughter ate in the backseat. A little research online brought me to the Smiinky Car Seat Protector. It’s designed to protect your seats, particularly leather ones, from being damaged by car seats themselves as well as protect your seats from the usual spills and crumbs that come with having a family. Despite not having leather seats, I decided to order just one to see how it fared with my family.
Since installing a car seat is like the kiss of death to me, I initially put it under the booster seat where my older daughter sits. I wanted to be sure I liked this product before buying another one to fit under the car seat for my youngest. I had looked at the kind of car seat protectors that my mom uses for the family dog to keep her fur from getting everywhere and to protect the leather seats, but they seemed less versatile than the Smiinky Car Seat Protector. This one looked much easier to put on and care for.
And it was! Within just a few seconds, I had it firmly in place on the seat. I put the booster seat back on top of it. Then I got the kids in the car to test it out. I gave them some snacks for good measure. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but as it turned out, as soon as we set off, one of the neighborhood kids zipped by on his bicycle without looking. I slammed the brakes. Normally, my older daughter would have slid in her booster and whined to me about it, but the Smiinky Car Seat Protector kept her booster right in place. I was absolutely thrilled with this feature.
My older daughter took to stashing some extra items in the pockets it comes with too. Just one day with this car seat protector and I knew it was the best option for protecting the backseat of my car. The girls both got cookie crumbs everywhere and that car seat protector made it a breeze to clean up. Well, for the older child at least. For my youngest, there was another mountain of crumbs waiting for me when I finally bit the bullet and removed her seat. Now with the car seat protector under her car seat too, I know that whatever mess she makes can be easily cleaned off with the machine washable car seat protector, that will keep my seats from the ravages of children.
And it was! Within just a few seconds, I had it firmly in place on the seat. I put the booster seat back on top of it. Then I got the kids in the car to test it out. I gave them some snacks for good measure. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but as it turned out, as soon as we set off, one of the neighborhood kids zipped by on his bicycle without looking. I slammed the brakes. Normally, my older daughter would have slid in her booster and whined to me about it, but the Smiinky Car Seat Protector kept her booster right in place. I was absolutely thrilled with this feature.
My older daughter took to stashing some extra items in the pockets it comes with too. Just one day with this car seat protector and I knew it was the best option for protecting the backseat of my car. The girls both got cookie crumbs everywhere and that car seat protector made it a breeze to clean up. Well, for the older child at least. For my youngest, there was another mountain of crumbs waiting for me when I finally bit the bullet and removed her seat. Now with the car seat protector under her car seat too, I know that whatever mess she makes can be easily cleaned off with the machine washable car seat protector, that will keep my seats from the ravages of children.