If you have a baby, there’s a likelihood that you have a HALO bassinest – the manufacturer claims it’s America’s most popular bed for infants. But how do you clean a HALO bassinest? You as a smart parent want to keep the little bed spotless for the sake of your baby’s health. However, it can appear a little tricky to do so. Therefore, I’m going to discuss in detail how to make sure your bassinet is sparkling and sanitary.
Which Parts of the HALO Bassinest should you Clean?
Once you’ve gone through comparing HALO versus SNOO bassinets, and you went for the former you may wonder which part of the HALO Bassinet they should clean. The answer is that you can (and should) clean all of it. This includes the frame, sides, mattress, and sheets. However, what you need to remember is that the mattress can’t be machine-washed. That would destroy it. Instead, you need to follow the instructions below to clean it.
How to take apart HALO Bassinest for cleaning
The Bassinest isn’t the easiest piece of furniture to take apart. However, with these steps, it ought not to be too difficult. Also, look at this video for a better understanding of the topic.
- Remove the mattress.
- Unattach the velcro on the slit of the fabric.
- Once you have lifted the material up, remove the screws on the base. Unscrew them only halfway.
- Lift the bassinet off the base and place it on the floor.
- Now remove the material on the fore and aft panels.
- Now, in the metal bars that are exposed, there are little metal buttons. Press one at a time to help release the interlocking bars.
- Pull the bars apart, but make sure you mainly hold onto the bars as you do so, not the fabric. If you hold onto the fabric, you may rip it.
- Now that the bars are free, remove them from the fabric.
- Turn the bassinest onto its side so you can access the bottom. Notice the tabs? Press them in and pull the top and bottom panels out
- There is now a round plastic piece at the bottom of the bassinet that needs to be removed. Unscrew the three screws you see there.
- Make sure you have little tubs in which to keep the different sets of screws so that you don’t lose them or muddle them up.
- Now you can pop the 6 screws at the bottom of the bassinet out. (Remember the screws that you half unscrewed earlier on?) There is no need to unscrew them.
- Now start removing the fabric off the base. Start at the white metal ends and ease it off.
- Now you can wash the entire fabric.
To reassemble the HALO Bassinest after washing, simply follow the above direction in reverse, and do the opposite of what it says! For example, screw the 6 screws INTO the base with a screwdriver.
How to clean different parts
The HALO Bassinest needs to be separated into different parts in order to clean it. REMEMBER NEVER TO CLEAN ANY PART OF THE BASSINET WITH BLEACH or abrasive materials. It will destroy it.
Cleaning the HALO Bassinest Mattress
There are several methods to clean the HALO bassinest mattress.
- Use cloths, mild detergent and water:
- Take a damp cloth, and put a little mild detergent on it. Any baby detergent will do, such as Noodle and Poo Ultra Safe Laundry Essentials Laundry Detergent.
- Wipe the entire mattress.
- Use another cloth, and dip it in the water, and rinse the soap off.
- Wipe more firmly for stubborn stains.
- Dry it in the sun.
- Alternatively, you can wipe with a little sterilizing alcohol before the above steps.
However, many parents won’t allow any alcoholic sterilizers near their child because of the dangers involved, even if you’re wiping the alcohol off.
- Tea Tree oil, cloths, and water:
- Mix tea tree oil in water.
- Dap cotton cloth into the water, and wipe over the mattress.
- Rinse off by wiping with a wet cloth.
- Dry off with a clean cloth or by drying in the sun.
- Use a steam cleaner to do the job for you. You need to make sure you dry it out in the sun to remove any moisture because you don’t want mold to form–that’s very harmful to your baby.
After steps 1 and 2, use a vacuum cleaner to vacuum the mattress, so that you can soak up any inner dirt.
Cleaning HALO Bassinest Sheets
How would you clean HALO Bassinest Sheets? Simple: pop them in the washing machine.
You need baby-safe detergent, such as Purex Baby Laundry Detergent. It’s for sensitive skin and doesn’t have a strong smell. The soap is ideal to soak the sheets for a while because they’re likely to have vomit, pee, or poop on them, and this must be eradicated, along with all germs. You can always add nappy sterilizing liquid or a solution with 40–70% alcohol to the final cycle to disinfect the sheets.
Dry them in the sun. If you dry them in the tumble-dryer, there is a chance they’ll shrink. And then they wouldn’t fit the bassinet mattress.
Of course, you can hand-wash them if you prefer. I highly recommend something that’s not only good for the baby’s skin and nose but also great for the environment.
Cleaning HALO Bassinest Mesh
How do you clean the bassinet mesh? There are differing opinions. Some will say not to wash it at all, but to rather wipe it. The reason is that they doubt that it would dry fully.
However, those that do wash it, do so by hand, and then allow it to fully dry in the sun.
So, if you’re going to wipe the bassinet mesh, then do so with one of the following solutions:
- Citrus solution, warm water and cloth: Mix the citrus solution and warm water together and apply onto the mesh with the cloth. Rub hard for stubborn stains.
- For stubborn stains: Use baking soda, water and a cloth. Make a paste with the baking soda and water, and rub it onto stubborn stains.
How to clean the frame and base of the HALO Bassinest
You can clean the metal frame with a clean cloth, water and mild soap. Don’t use anything too strong or abrasive on it. You can use a little hand sanitizer first if you suspect that bodily fluids have leaked onto the cardboard base, or if you wish to be super careful.
What you should be especially aware of when cleaning a used HALO Bassinest
There are a few issues you need to be aware of when cleaning a used HALO Bassinest:
- You need to look carefully for mold and faulty parts. If a screw is rusted, for instance, rather get another one, because it could cause the bassinet to fall apart at the most inopportune moment. And mold might be dangerous for the baby. (Whilst not proven with human babies, it has been shown to create deformities in animals.
- It could be dusty from not having been cleaned for a while. Take your time steam-cleaning it, and then vacuuming it to get rid of the majority of dust mites. You could also spray it with anti-dust spray.
Conclusion
The HALO Bassinet is one of America’s most popular bassinets. What’s more, the HALO Bassinets are one of the best bassinets for C-sections, too. It may be somewhat challenging to know how to clean particularly if you wish to clean every part. And if you want to keep in mind that you can only use baby-safe products.
You can clean the netting, mattress, sheets, and even the frame.
You will have to disassemble the bed to clean the netting and the frame but use my step-by-step guide above on how to do it.
