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My wife and I are expecting our first baby and I am trying to figure out the best way to protect the back seat area of my ES from both marks from the car seat and spills/crumbs/etc. I love the color combination of the interior, however, I know a baby is going to destroy it in no time. Currently the rear seats are relatively pristine. There is some mild discoloration on one of the seat belts (which I have no idea how it happened), but other than that it's pretty much in new shape as picture below.
I think I have settled on the cocoa colored rear floor liner from weathertech (https://www.weathertech.com/lexus/20...er-digitalfit/) to protect the rear carpet. I am unsure what would be best to protect the actual seat though. Weathertech does make a (very expensive) rear seat cover (https://www.weathertech.com/lexus/20...at-protectors/), which can be had in Black/Cocoa/Tan/Gray. I think it would be worth the $160 price tag if it really will protect the rear from all the above, but I question just how liquid-proof it might be and whether it would do anything to protect the car seat from dimpling the leather. I also don't know what color would match the seats best, or if it would be best to just get the cocoa and match the floor liner.
Those of you who have experience protecting your interiors from children, please help me out. I appreciate any advice you can give!
My kids are now 4 and 7, so it's not such an issue. Honestly, we never really had big messes from them when they were little (they don't projectile until they're older) . I got a seat protector (a thick pad) that goes under the car seat itself. I never worried about anything else. Their messes at the early ages always seemed pretty well confined to their car seats.
The best advice I have is to ensure you buy a car seat that you can easily take the insert out of to wash.
When they switched to forward facing, I put a seatback protector on the front seats, as they like to dirty those up with their feet.
I think I'd only be wanting to put a cover on the seat bottom. Remember there are airbags in the seat back side bolsters. Most infant car seats these days have an extensive side shield on both sides that would keep "liquids" contained inside the seat I would think (and protect the child from the explosive inflation of that seat airbag).
I have the weathertech back seat cover in my Land Cruiser for the same reason. It's definitely heavy duty and will protect your seats. However, I really don't like the way it looks. For the most part it just looks like a blanket draped across the seats; but that's better than a stain.
Something else to keep in mind with the car seats (and I have no idea how to prevent it) is because it will more or less be permanently secured in the car you could get an indentation or crease where the car seat sits. I have it in mine.
With all that being said - don't sweat the small stuff because the good stuff passes by too fast.
I'm picky about the inside of my cars--that's where I "live". The outside I care about, but not as much. My kids are grown now, but we never really ate in the car. We did a few times when they were older (stop at Sonic, etc.) So spills, etc., were never a problem. Crumbs, cookies, crackers, Cherios, those can be vacuumed up. If you need to give the young ones a sippy cup, pull over or let the passenger help the child...then take the cup back. Do not leave food with the child.
Hey father of 2 here (2.5 and 3 months) so i know what you are about to go through. congrats on your first baby btw. There is no real way of protecting your backseat to be quite honest and anything that covers the entire seat will make your car look ugly imo. I use this Brica for all my infant and convertible car seats between my car and my wife's car and i highly suggest it. It might gives you a little lines on the leather seat overtime but it all depends on how tight you are bolding down the carseat. If you are looking to transport your carseat between different cars then be sure to shop for lighter carseat. in my case, my carseats are very much staying in one car so i go with heavier and easier to clean the junks that they eat. I have convertible carseat called Clek Foonf and i'm very happy with the quality (easy to clean and junk foods can't fall into crack). It's also very narrow design (but comfortable) and save alot of space.
Congrats on the baby! Only one? I have 4 year old twins. I recommend starting with one LOL.
My Lexus is not the primary baby mobile, we have a Chrysler Pacifica minivan for that. It gets HAMMERED. I mean...my God its a disaster area. But, as others have said that didnt start until they got older and started eating in it and drinking in it and playing with toys in it, etc. I have carseats in the Lexus too, and we do take it places but they drink only water and easily vacuumed snacks. No food.
The best way to keep the car nice is to begin to instill the behavior of "car is not an eating/drinking/roughhousing place" early. My wife and I differ on this, but they know they don't do what they do in Mom's car in Dad's car.
As for seat protection I had the Brica one above for a while, it was okay. Now I have this one:
I would get the seat cover linked above, that should keep most crumbs and liquids off the actual seat itself. I assume you have real leather instead of Nuluxe. Light-colored leather doesn't tolerate milk stains, ketchup and vomit, so any spills should be cleaned up promptly. Nuluxe tolerates pretty much anything.
Get a blanket, fold it and put it under the car seat. Throw it in the washer once a week. Enjoy your baby as they grow up far too quickly. Cars come and go and with a blanket your back seat will be fine..
Get a blanket, fold it and put it under the car seat. Throw it in the washer once a week. Enjoy your baby as they grow up far too quickly. Cars come and go and with a blanket your back seat will be fine..
Do NOT do this. You want to be very careful what you put under the car seat, car seats are designed to grip on to the seat bottom of the car, and putting something not designed to allow the carseat to do that, such as a blanket, underneath the carseat might make your child less safe in a crash.
If you look at car seat protectors, they are designed to grip on the top and bottom so that they dont interfere with the carseats function in a crash.
In fact, if you do some research you will find that almost everybody recommends against putting ANYTHING between a carseat and the seat, including a purpose designed seat protector.
Of course we want to protect our cars but our kids safety has to be #1
Have the exact same interior color and was concerned about the little one dirtying up the back seat. I have to say I'm surprised that the seats have held up well with no covers on. We got the car when the little one was around 8 months old and my concern was him resting/kicking his shoes on the rear seat. So far so good (he's almost 18 months) and the rear seats have held up well with no issues. I've also discovered that Superclean (available at Walmart) diluted 4:1 is excellent for cleaning the light interior. Had a few dirty spots on the driver's area and it took it right out. The car is only used for weekend (Sunday) duty mostly, so this helps as well.
Do NOT do this. You want to be very careful what you put under the car seat, car seats are designed to grip on to the seat bottom of the car, and putting something not designed to allow the carseat to do that, such as a blanket, underneath the carseat might make your child less safe in a crash.
If you look at car seat protectors, they are designed to grip on the top and bottom so that they dont interfere with the carseats function in a crash.
In fact, if you do some research you will find that almost everybody recommends against putting ANYTHING between a carseat and the seat, including a purpose designed seat protector.
Of course we want to protect our cars but our kids safety has to be #1
I bought the car seat protectors as mentioned above, they do collect a lot of crumbs and other misc stuff. I also got seat back protectors as my kids (4 and 8) like to occasionally put their feet on the seat backs no matter how much I plead with them.
These are not very noticeable on my car since I have black interior.
Brica Deluxe Kick Mats Auto Seat Protector, 2 Pack
04-19-19, 01:17 PM
Baby-Proof the Back Seat
. I got a seat protector (a thick pad) that goes under the car seat itself. I never worried about anything else. Their messes at the early ages always seemed pretty well confined to their car seats.
