Mouse Pellets on Stored Baby Gear

I would replace bedding and anything cloth, but wipe down the rest with a good cleaner (something to disinfect).

Mice spread disease in their droppings.

1. No -- I would've done the same. Yuck! Not the poop part (well, I guess that too), but mice are gross. Who knows what kinds of diseases/bacteria/virus they are carrying around. I would not want my newborn sleeping in that even if I used bleach to clean it, unless there was a way for me to know 100% that all bacteria/virus were killed in the cleaning process. Even if that were possible, I think I would just throw it away.

2. No.

3. I would just throw it away. Too much trouble to give it the deep/sanitizing clean it needs.

Gross. Yes, dump it. Mice can carry potentially deadly diseases, even in their feces. We have had to clean pellets out of our garage and it is disgusting. Protocols for cleaning carefully (so you don't breathe in any possible bacteria/viruses) are very stringent and usually pertain only to non-permeable things. I can't imagine sleeping on a mattress that once had mouse poop on it, even if it were cleaned off. Why expose a very vulnerable baby?
http://www.cdc.gov/rodents/cleaning/index.html

I would have cleaned the frame, washed the bedding if it was in good shape, and purchased a new bassinet mattress.

I would have cleaned it well, with copious amounts of soap and water, followed by wiping it out with bleach, and figured it was fine.

I hate to waste things, and I know that living at the edge of the woods where I do means mice and chipmunks in the garage and (occasionally) the basement. I would just wash it - it's just poop, as unappealing as that is. I would have checked carefully for damage from chewing, as mice and other critters do sometimes take the stuffing out of things to line a nest. I've found that with the grill mitts forgotten under the grill cover, for example - in a bad winter, they grab what they can. I also have found acorns and sunflower seed husks in the air filter of my car and in the glove compartment - the critters go where it's warm!

So if there was no damage to the fabric, I do think a good wash would be fine. We are surrounded by far more bacteria and germs than we realize, and I think we have to find a good balance. I don't sanitize the bar of my shopping cart either, although I probably would I had a baby sitting there sucking on it. But this is me. You are you.

I know it sounds like an overreaction ("gee its just mouse poop, wipe it off, good to go!") but the reality is that mice can be carriers of serious illnesses, specifically Hantavirus, which is spread through their excrement.

In this situation, the hard items of the bassinet would have been fine if thoroughly cleaned & washed down with a bleach solution. Any soft bedding should have been run through the washer/dryer. The mattress might have soaked urine (not sure about vinyl covers on baby/children's mattresses) & potentially could have been wiped with bleach solution, or steam cleaned. At worst, the mattress could've been tossed & replaced.

Here is a wealth of information about mice, their diseases & how to protect yourself & belongings, with plenty of cleaning/disposal advice as well. http://www.ehso.com/ehshome/hantavirus_faqs.htm

If your friend asks about the bassinet, I would just let her know that the storage in the garage didn't protect it from the mice, & you took a "better safe than sorry" approach.

If I had items to sell in a garage sale that I knew had been exposed to mice, I would take the time to clean hard parts w/bleach, & notify new owners that it was in good condition, but needed to be thoroughly cleaned due to storage. T. :)

i guess i just don't squick out that easily. with all the animals we have around here, both ours and the wild ones, i consider poop something you clean up and move on.
i'd certainly have dumped the mattress. the cleaning process would be way too much work to be worth it. but the hardware and frame? clean 'em with a bleach solution, slap on a fresh coat of paint and enjoy.
i'm not sure it's quite the thing to sell it at a garage sale, at least without a disclaimer. i'm assuming your friend wouldn't have wanted it back?
khairete
S.

I would have thanked her. When I got home I would inspect and clean it thoroughly and prepare it for my little one. If you need to purchase a mattress fine.

There is nothing wrong with getting a used item that is good shape. It saves you money and the baby won't use it until he/she goes to college.

Many people in our country would discard it because of the mice but it is not necessary.

Enjoy prepping your home or "nesting" for you new one.

the other S.

I would have pitched it as well! I have spent way too much time in microbiology labs...yuck.

Every one has different comfort levels. We moved in here and there were mouse pellets. In my kitchen. It took me days of cleaning, scouring, and sanitizing before I even felt I could put food back in the cupboards. So for a baby, I get it. However, if someone had kept it and stored it away, I'm not sure I would have chucked it. I think I would have mentioned something and allowed them to decide. But that's just me and the relationship I have with my friends who loaned/gave me stuff.

I did get something with pellets in it once - but it was toys. I was able to scrub those down and we did use them. Soft materials ... I'd feel ickier about.

Clean the bassinet with a bleach solution and toss the mattress. I get a new mattress for every new baby anyways. Keep in mind, it has likely had baby poop on it too - so even if it looked super clean it needed to be sanitized! And with any luck at all - your baby will poop in it. Trust me, a baby that doesn't poop is very crabby:)

i would clean and use. if i were no longer going to use it i would of cleaned it up and garage saled it or donated it to a shelter. (in our first home where we lived till my second born was 4 months old we had mice. no matter what we did we had mice. there were mouse droppings everywhere. we cleaned often but the droppings were unavoidable none of us ever got sick or had any lasting issues from them.)

Anything stored in a garage could be subject to mouse droppings and/or mold.
I think most Moms would have thrown it away.
If you ever have anything you can't let go of - if you're storing it in a garage - you might as well toss it - it's just taking up space.

I think if people really knew what was in our every day stuff they'd get really really germaphobic. If you cleaned it and sprayed it down with bleach water and let it air dry or sprayed it down with vinegar water then let it dry it would have been as sanitary as the day it was purchased. You could have bought new sheets and a new cover for it.

You could have sprayed it down at the car wash if it was really really bad but if you can afford to do something else why not buy new. I don't know about telling her though. If you buy a new one and it has a cover over it she won't know will she?

Truthfully I would have looked at it while she was there and she'd have seen the condition. I probably would have just bought a new one though, if I didn't have one and was going to be using it.

We put the baby bed by my side of the bed and put the baby directly in it. When they moved around or started waking up I was right there. I could slip my hand in between the bars and touch them and they'd go back to sleep.

I would have thrown it away immediately. It could never be cleaned enough for me to use for a baby….or anyone or anything else!

ETA: I think I would mention the droppings to your friend, in a nice way and only as an FYI, in case she doesn't know. If she doesn't know, the problem may get worse, especially with winter coming, and more of her things may get damaged. It's not just mouse droppings, but rodents chew everything and can cause damage to other stored things, the house structure, wiring, etc.

As for the bassinet, now that I think about it, I'd ask her before I threw it away, but if she said she didn't want it back, in the garbage it would go.

We walked out on a housing sale contract because there was evidence of mice on all three levels of the home. It freaked me out!

I probably would have tossed the mattress and cleaned the bassinet.