Looking for a more natural way to wipe down your kiddo’s messy high chair after a meal? this Baby Safe Tray Cleaner is a natural baby safe cleaner
Washing Ryan’s high chair is a real pain. Some how, he gets food in every crevice possible. Thankfully, our highchair has a washable cover, which helps a lot, but there is still the actual frame and tray of the highchair, coated in thin layers of spaghetti sauce, jelly, and smushed sweet potato that dry quickly into a cement like state.
We try to feed Ryan to support the healthy boy we hope he grows to become. We go organic when possible, avoid processed and packaged foods, and offer as many whole foods as we can manage.
So why would I wipe his high chair multiple times a day with bottled sprays and chemicals that smell like a janitor’s closet? He eats these whole, healthy foods off of that high chair. Shouldn’t we apply the same values to the cleaning products which touch his food that we use to the food he eats?
I did some research and quickly found that there are many alternatives to clean his high chair and high chair tray without adding chemicals. Both citrus and vinegar have antibacterial properties that keep germs away while cleaning off the grime. If you’re worried about the vinegar smell, don’t. Once it dries, the vinegar smell evaporates, leaving a nice, light citrus smell behind.
Citrus Tray Cleaner
1 quart jar
Citrus peels*
White vinegar
1/2 to 1 cup of water
Essential oils (optional)
Place citrus peels with the pith removed in jar and cover with vinegar. Seal jar and place in a cool, dark place for at least 2 weeks. Strain well and pour into a spray bottle. If using, add essential oils and shake. I use grapefruit and orange, about 1/4 teaspoon of each.
Pour into a spray bottle and clean to your little heart’s desire. I do clean our highchair deeply using typical cleaners at least once a month, but this is perfect for daily use.
*In order to collect that many citrus peels, I keep a citrus jar in my freezer. when I use a lemon, I cut off the rind before throwing away and toss it in the jar.
You can also just cut them about once a week – if you use a decent amount of citrus like we do, and are lazy like I am, just make a peel bag and once a week cut the peels off all of them at once, like so.
Heather@hungryforbalance says
I love the citrus peels in the freezer trick! We use vinegar to clean everything, but I do not live the way it smells. I am totally trying this! Thanks for sharing!
Morgan says
Yeah, the vinegar smell definitely can be icky. This smells like vinegar for a minute or two, but when you wipe it away, it’s gone!
Liz Joiner says
while we don’t do organic really, I really love this, it’s such a nice alternative, especially if I don’t want to buy regular chemical cleaners.
Morgan says
We don’t really do organic too much of the time since it’s super expensive. But I really wasn’t trying to clean my son’s food space with gross chemicals!
thefolia says
Brilliant idea of using every piece of food item…cheers to less scraps in the trash and squeaky clean without the toxins! Happy cleaning!
Morgan says
That’s the plan! Thanks for stopping by!
Bev @ The Make Your Own Zone says
I love vinegar and water for cleaning so many things in my house and it’s a great idea for the tray of your little one’s high chair too. I used my orange peelings to make a citrus infused vinegar. Every time I ate an orange, I would dump some more peels into my batch. After a few weeks (and much snacking on oranges!) I had a lovely orange scented vinegar. Perfect for cleaning!
Morgan says
It such a great way to use up something you would have just thrown out!
Erin @ Stay At Home Yogi says
Great tip! With the amount of fruit my toddler eats I’d have enough peels in no time!
Bradleigh@WideMeadow says
Pinning! This is exactly what I need! I’m going to start saving citrus peels for this. 🙂