How to Wash, Clean (& Sanitize) a Baby Stroller

Top tips on how to clean a dirty stroller. Time to make a pit stop for a deep cleaning.

Contents hide

1 Introduction to Stroller Maintenance

1.1 Stroller Maintenance: Fixing Plus Cleaning

1.2 How to Know When Its Time to Clean

1.3 Where is Dirt Likely to Accumulate

1.4 Handy Tools to do the Cleaning

2 How to Proceed: Steps to Clean the Stroller

2.1 Cleaning Instructions Summarized

3 Regular Maintenance for Best Performance

4 Wrap Up

Introduction to Stroller Maintenance

Strollers require proper maintenance for smooth functioning and also to make it look clean and new. Most parents assume their baby carriage is clean but a closer look reveals that the stroller really needs cleaning.

Since all strollers are used outdoors, and used by babies, its obvious for them to get dirty, kids eat in them, sleep in them, soil their diapers in them, spilled milk, cookie crumbs, mashed fruit, leaky diapers can stain the fabric and also get into the corners and crevices of your baby’s stroller.

Over time, strollers go through lots of wear and tear – the surface and the kids are hard on the stroller, the handlebar wrap starts coming off, most parts become dirty.

Stroller Maintenance: Fixing Plus Cleaning

Stroller maintenance is about keeping your stroller in great shape, both in terms of functionality and looks. It means fixing the tires as and when needed (especially for joggers) and cleaning it regularly so that it looks nice.

Maintenance of the tires: Jogging strollers with pneumatic tires often require punctures to be fixed, and you may consider getting a stroller maintenance kit for it.
Regular cleaning and maintenance of the stroller: This involves thoroughly cleaning every part of the stroller, which is covered in this post.

Thankfully, most strollers nowadays come equipped with washable fabric, removable machine-washable layers. So keeping a stroller clean is not as difficult as it seems.

How to Know When Its Time to Clean

Here are signs that will tell you’re its time to clean, and you’re not cleaning your baby’s stroller enough.

Your stroller gives out a peculiar smell and it doesn’t do away
You find something from one of the storage flaps/compartments and wonder how long it has been lying there
You find crumbs snack leftovers everywhere
You find cheerios all over the place
Most of the surfaces feels a bit sticky
There are signs of Spit-Ups all over the place, and in some cases, even a dirty diaper was left behind

Once these signs are clearly visible, you must take time to clean your stroller!

Baby Stroller are meant to be used outdoors, and its the place where you feed your baby (when outdoors).

Over time, its dirt and crumbs (from the snacks) get accumulated in the stroller (which is not visible from a distance). Most medical studies suggest that strollers need to be cleaned and disinfect every week, to ensure good health of your child.

Regular cleaning also helps to keep your baby stroller look spic-and-span.

Where is Dirt Likely to Accumulate

Here are a few key things to look for that will help you reduce the time spent on cleaning the stroller.

Generally, the frames (plastic, aluminum, or other material) is easily wiped down compared to the other components.
Models with piping and ruffles on the seat can take time to clean.
Look carefully at the various crevices in snack trays, handles, and baskets, this is where dirt typically collects. The fewer such crevices, the better for you in terms of cleaning.
Do you have a stroller model in darker color? You may consider doing a quick cleaning as the darker color will conceal the stains/dirt.

Handy Tools to do the Cleaning

Here are the tools that will help you do the cleaning:

Hand vacuum or dust brush
Terry-cloth towels (2 to 3)
Large bowl or bucket. Warm water
Mild dish or laundry soap
Toothbrush
Wooden grilling skewers
Air compressor
Steam cleaner

How to Proceed: Steps to Clean the Stroller

For wet messes (yogurt, baby food, apple sauce), use a plastic knife or spoon to remove (scoop up) the bulk of the spill. Its better at cleaning than trying to wipe with paper towels, which can spread the spill into the fabric of your stroller.

Its better to use each of the tools (from the cleaning kit) one at a time on the entire stroller, and also avoid cleaning one section at a time. The only exception being the wheels, which you can do towards the end.

Remove Crumbs With a Hand Vac

You may use a dust brush as well, but a hand vacuum (such as this one) is easier to use and effective at sucking up all the miscellaneous crumbs from the stroller; you can even use the upholstery attachment of a full-size vacuum.

Detach the Removable Parts

You should remove & check all the detachable parts (including accessories). There are lots of removable parts, fabric, accessories on every stroller. You should also clean the plastic parts, including the stroller accessories.

Its easier to clean parts like storage trays, cup holders, and even fabric seats when removed from the frame of the stroller.

You will want to make sure that you remove, wash and disinfect the detachable plastic parts of the baby stroller. These are items such as the holder for cups or tray for snacks.
Use a disinfectant that is labeled as baby-friendly.
A mild dish soap will get the grime off.

Check the manual to see which, if any, parts can be put in a washing machine or dishwasher. That’s much easier than cleaning them by hand. If you’re not good at DIY stuff, you can take photos of all the things that you remove, in the right sequence, so that you know how to put them back (re-attach) later.

Use the Toothbrush to Get into Crevices

Once the stroller is free of bigger sized crumbs, its time to use a toothbrush dipped in warm, soapy water to scrub any caked-on messy substance from the various corners of the fabric seats. A toothbrush also works great for spot cleaning any stains.

For fine cracks and creases, like those in the harness buckle, Wooden grilling skewers work better. The points easily get into those tight spots, and skewers are also stronger than toothpicks.

Scrub Fabric With a Terry-Cloth Towel

What if the fabric seat cannot be removed from the stroller? In that case use a terry-cloth towels dipped in warm water with mild soap to scrub the stroller down (beginning at the top of the stroller), wiping away all the debris and gunk.

Use a soap that is recommended by the manufacturer in the manual or that is mentioned on the tag under the fabric seat. If there is no recommendation, use mild dish soap or laundry detergent. Make sure you test the soap first (before beginning the cleaning) on some inconspicuous spot to make sure it doesn’t stain the fabric.

Related: Find more useful information on how to clean stroller fabric and how to use Stain removal kits.

Clean and Lubricate the Wheels

Last is to clean the plastic or rubber wheels. Even if your stroller is quite new, depending on the terrain you use, the wheels of your stroller are likely to get dirty very frequently, which you will need to clean regularly.

Most of the time, you will find them dirtier than the rest of the stroller, obviously because they come in contact with the ground. And you don’t want that dirt coming in contact with the other parts of the stroller, especially where your child sits.

Here is how to clean your dirty stroller wheels.

Let the wheels fully dry. Check if the manual recommends periodically lubricating the wheel bearings. Depending on that, you may need to use the recommended lubricant, or spray liquid lubricant at the point where the wheel attaches to the frame.

Besides washing, you also should check if the wheels are working fine.

You can use a scrub brush and disinfectant to get the grime off.
Lubricate the wheels if they are squeaking and are not turning well.
Check to see if the tires need more air in them. If they do, fill them up.

Some parents wipe the wheels of the stroller with paper towels, but it’s not completely effective as it leaves a bit of mud inside the door and on the carpet. Besides, if you have a little baby who plays on the same carpet, you better ensure the stroller wheels are clean before it enters the house.

Here are some options (although most of it is time-consuming):

Put a thick door mat outside the main door. Make sure the mat is also cleaned regularly as it can look ugly at the entrance of your house.
Buy shower caps that you can use over the wheels while storing inside. You will need one for each wheel.
Buy stroller wheel caps/covers (you get ready-made ones, especially for strollers). Again, you need one for each wheel.
Buy automotive tire brushing/cleaning stuff (available at most auto parts stores).
Roll the wheels over grass (if there’s grass nearby), you can do that to clan your shoes too. Works great if the grass has dew on it.
You can hose pipe (clean) the wheels if you’re not too tired before you enter your house.

Cleaning the stroller wheels

Feel too lazy to learn the wheels of the stroller? Use stroller wheel covers instead.

Stroller wheel covers: keep dirty wheels covered

The following sections go into the detail of some of the steps mentioned above.

Vacuum the Material (Fabric) Used on the Stroller

You will need to put that vacuum cleaner to use.

You will need to get out your vacuum so that you can vacuum the part of the stroller that is made of fabric.
You will start off by vacuuming loose debris and any crumbs that you discover on the stroller seat and other parts.
It is a good idea to use a handheld vacuum that allows you the comfort of using an adjustable nozzle so that you can do a truly thorough cleaning in the various crevices, corners and even pockets of the stroller.

Vacuum the Seat and Back Support

It is important to note that the dirtiest area of the stroller will most likely be the part of the stroller where the seat part connects to the back support of the stroller since this is where the crumbs tend to slide to and collect there.
It is a good idea to pass your vacuum cleaner over that area several times in order to be sure that all the crumbs are now gone.

Remove the Material/Fabric of the Stroller (If Possible)

For better results, remove the fabric from the frame.

Check your user manual to see if the fabric comes of the stroller, so that you can clean thoroughly. Most strollers are designed where its easy to remove the covering material. However, some strollers don’t allow the fabric to be removed.
Once you are able to remove the fabric, follow the instructions about machine washing or hand washing the fabric.
Avoid putting the washed fabric/material of the stroller into the dryer as it could cause the material to shrink. You should hang it to dry.

If the fabric Cannot be Removed, Clean the stroller Outside

Take it out of the house.

You will clean the fabric of the baby stroller outside if the fabric cannot be removed from the frame of the stroller.
You will turn on the hose and use it to wet the whole stroller in order to give it a thorough rinse.
It is okay to wet the stroller like and to scrub the material since stroller are made to be very durable in order to stand up to the different types of weather conditions.

Drying the Stroller

Let the stroller dry well outside (depending on the weather, else you may have to dry it indoors)
If you are drying your stroller inside, you can use a small heater since this will make the process of drying it to go much more quickly.

Cleaning Instructions Summarized

A clean stroller is safe to use for the child, it gives a fresh smell, and looks new in appearance.

Fabrics: Removable fabric can be washed using warm water and soap/mild detergent. Non-removable fabric can be spot cleaned using a damp sponge and soap/mild detergent.
Frame: Clean using a damp cloth and soap/mild detergent and dry thoroughly
Leatherette: Spot clean with a damp soft cloth. Avoid using an excessively wet cloth
Wheels: Remove wheels. Use a brush to remove dirt/mud build-up. Clean using a damp cloth and soap/mild detergent. Dry thoroughly before placing it back on the frame. You may lubricate the wheel pivot pin using silicon lubricant before placing it into the stroller.
Mildew and mold can be removed using a hard bristle brush to remove the mold and using a mix of water and vinegar applied to the area.
Do read the manual to read instructions on how to increase the longevity of the stroller.

More Useful Tips

Go through the instruction manual and learn about the various parts and the various functions.
Always respect the recommended max weight capacity. You will need a vacuum cleaner to clean up dust and dirt during the cleaning process.
Use a clean cloth and mild soap and/or detergent to wipe the frames, footrest, and handle bars.
Use a soft brush to scrub off the dirt from the straps and canopy Wash the wheels to remove stains, mud & dirt accumulated on the wheels due to movement.

This is what it actually takes to clean a stroller.

Useful Links:

Regular Maintenance for Best Performance

Cleaning your stroller is a great time to inspect it and perform regular maintenance for optimum performance.

There are a few things you should keep an eye out for while looking at your stroller:

Do a thorough walk-around inspection. Verify that all screws, attachment points and fasteners are tight.
Check tire pressure. Most strollers have pneumatic, meaning air-filled tires, like on a bicycle. If you find that one or more of your tires are flat, pump them up with air to the rating shown on your tire, or in your user guide. You can do this with a regular bicycle tire pump.
If your tire is still flat after pumping, you may have a leak in your tire or tube. Each tire has an inner tube that simply needs to be patched or replaced when punctured. You may contact a local dealer, bike shop, or the Stroller company’s Customer Service team for help.

Wrap Up

Its only when you get down to clean your baby stroller, you realize how much dirt and crumbs were hidden in your baby stroller. So do make it a point to regularly clean (and even disinfect) your stroller so that your baby stays away from all the germs. It also gives you the opportunity to take a closer look at your stroller, in case certain parts have worn out (and in the process is compromising the safety) and needs to be replaced. This way you will have peace of mind and your child will continue enjoying the stroller.

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StrollerBoards is a family managed website with me (Ben) and my wife doing most of the work. We are proud parents of two wonderful kids and love reviewing baby travel gear. We have a firm but friendly “democratic parenting” style and offer several practical solutions backed by extensive research. Our own experience with raising two children prompted us to share our knowledge. Read more.

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View Comments

StrollerWash says:

October 28, 2021 at 7:54 am

If your pram gets dirty, you easily wash it with a washcloth and mild soap. The hard surface can be cleaned using a wet cloth or even a disinfectant wipe. You can even use a toothbrush or any gentle scrubber to clean heavily soiled spots.