Mats under the carseat - necessary?

jbtobe

Is something like this necessary for under the infant seat? I don't think baby will be spilling much until he/she is in a forward facing seat.

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3620421&fromRegistryNumber=48243421&product_skn=255207

I read on the Nurseries & Baby Gear board that a handtowel can be used under the carseat base - anyone else do this? I have cloth seats but my husband has leather and I'm wondering if we just need something between the base and the seat to prevent indentations. Maybe that's not even an issue, I have no idea.

MarisaKathleen

My girlfriend has leather seats and swears that if she doesn't have this mat in the car that her car seat wiggles all over.

Manx4

I have leather interior in my car so we bought the mat that prevents indentations - it's worked great!  We used it for the infant carrier and it's now under the convertible car seat. 

As he gets older & eats snacks, I'm assuming it'll be nice to not have the crumbs go into the cracks of the seat and instead be caught on the mat.

mchupie

We got one of these but then I heard that they void the car seat warranty if you use them. Does anyone know if there is truth to that? We've never bothered to use it.

superned

They are not necessary and should not be used.  You should never add any after-market products to your seat because they have not been appropriately crash tested.

Some CPS techs will say that a towel is okay, but I personally don't think it's necessary.  After two years of use there isn't a single mark on the seat of my car from a car seat.

superned

mchupie:

We got one of these but then I heard that they void the car seat warranty if you use them. Does anyone know if there is truth to that? We've never bothered to use it.

Generally that is true.

As an example, here is Britax's warranty information:

"WARRANTY LIMITATIONS
This warranty does not include damages which arise from negligence, misuse or
use not in accordance with the product instruction. The use of non-Britax Child Safety, Inc. covers, inserts, toys, accessories, or tightening devices is not approved by Britax. Their use could cause this child seat to fail Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards or not perform as intended in a crash. Their use automatically voids the Britax warranty."

From: https://www.britaxusa.com/uploads/products/user-guides/82.pdf

mrs.kapow

Our cops who inspected our seats actually told us the opposite of PPs. They said the mats are helpful to ensure the seat is not going to slide around. 

I don't know who is right, but I see no issue with having ours. And ours is a full seat mat so it protects the back of the seat from her kicking it now that she is RFing and longer. 

gingerfamily

We had it in my old car but never put it in my new car.  Old was cloth seats, new is leather sets.  I never had a prolem with it either way.

 

hterry85

We just used an old towel we were ready to toss anyway. I'm not worried about spills, just wearing a hole in the seat or something.

freeatlast2014

I was always of the impression that it wasn't safe to add any after market products to the car seat so we never got them. I have leather and the seats are fine after both the infant seat and now with the convertible.

Holly_1007

I have leather seats and never used a mat or anything and my seats are fine

I did use a pool noodle with the infant seat because my bucket seats slant and we couldnt get the seat "level" according to the bubble indicator.  I had no problems with the infant seat indenting my leather seats either. 

freeatlast2014

We didn't use the pool noodle but I remember the sheriff's officer that installed my carseat told me that is common and sometimes necessary. If you do research you can find a place that does installs/inspections for free.

Fluff28

Your infant might not be snacking or drinking in the car, but they can certainly throw-up and reflux.  My daughter did that a lot and I always thought it was contained to the seat and just washed the cover, then when I took the whole thing out to vacuum the seats were stained vomit that had leaked down through the crevices...  I definitely recommend it and it can make sure a tighter fit for the carseat.  The video they showed us at our childbirth class recommended the pool noodle or rolled towel as well to get the base level for optimum safety.

rach7883

I would for sure get it for your DH's car as he has leather. We dont use it for our car as its cloth but for our Tahoe we do as its leather and its saved our leather big time from indentations and as DD has gotten older from snacks and such. plus it helps with getting the car seat more secure as they tend to slide a lil bit when just on the leather.

stella_blu

With the infant seat, we had a piece of that foam shelf liner that the inspector put in. We have leather seats. We really need to get something under the convertible seat as its ruining our car. 

SortaCrunchy

Seat protector mats are controversial.  That said, I think this article/set of experiments is pretty interesting:  Seat Protectors:  Safe For Use, or Vile, Evil Predators Against Our Innocent Children?

I do not use seat protectors.  The vehicle seat cushions in both DH's and my cars are quite compressed/dented looking when we remove the carseats.  However, the cloth upholstery is not ripped or otherwise damaged.  After the seats have been out of the cars for a little while, the cushion springs back into place.  Honestly, a good carseat install should compress the seat cushion.  If it does not, I would be skeptical that it's not actually a good install.  (Although some vehicle seats are squishier than others.)  At least one carseat brand actually tells you in the manual to ensure that the vehicle seat is compressed.

Pool noodles or rolled towels are acceptable to achieve a 45* recline with most carseat brands.  Again, check your manuals.  A 45* recline is needed to protect newborns' airways, but once the baby is older, you can generally remove the noodles if they were needed and have the carseat as upright as 30*.  Again, check your manuals.

anna2029

Lo had horrible reflux and colic. We didn't use one and didn't need to. The spit up just got all over him and the carseat but nowhere else. I have one that I bought that I will use when LO forward faces. 

FutureMrsLemon

mrs.kapow:

Our cops who inspected our seats actually told us the opposite of PPs. They said the mats are helpful to ensure the seat is not going to slide around. 

I don't know who is right, but I see no issue with having ours. And ours is a full seat mat so it protects the back of the seat from her kicking it now that she is RFing and longer. 

If your carseat is installed and fastened correctly I simply cannot imagine that it would be able to "slide around" at all. Granted I dont have leather interior (not in the Florida heat) but my carseat doesnt slide at all. It can be wiggled, but doesnt move position at all.