My last baby is about out of the infant carrier, but now the thing is so old it's about to reach the expiration date. Is my only option to throw it away or is there something else to do with it?
Donate it to a woman shelter. If they cannot use it in a car they can use it for babies to sleep in.
The safest thing to do is cut the harness and discard the seat so no one else will be tempted to use it. Plastic degrades over time. It is not necessarily degradation that we can see with the naked eye. I would hate to be responsible for any child being injured because a car seat I "donated" ended up being unsafe. I used my car seats with both my children and gave it to my sister-in-law. I asked her to discard it after she finished with it because I didn't feel it would be still be safe after six years.
While I generally believe that we are EXCEPTIONALLY over-cautious about car seats, the stress of being strapped into a car, dropped and banged, exposed to heat and cold, and time DOES degrade the intergity of plastic resins. Some people are not willing to take that risk and that is why many places don't take used care seats.
If you can find someone that will, pull the cover off and carefully check it for any cracks or stress points (you'll see it as sort of a whitening of the color) before handing it off to someone who might not be as diligent.
EDIT: It is not against the law to sell or donate a used car seat...many places just don't accept them (for sale or donation) due to liability issues.
I know that this is coming very late but I'm finally catching up on my non-emergency emails. You might check for materials that are recyclable. I was happy to see that the one we just outgrew is. It still has another year before it 'expires' but I made sure to let my cousin know and she vows to recycle it when they are through. Even if there is just part of it, it's better than a land fill. I also like the idea from another posting that it could be used for dolls. Kind of a big toy, I'm sure my daughter would love something like that for hers. Come to think of it, so would my son!
Have a wonderful day!
Goodwill or garage sale.
You could probably drop it of at a pregnancy crisis center they would put it to good use.
Donate it to a church, donation center, or pregancy care place. I don't know where you are, but just north of Houston, in Spring/The Woodlands, off I-45 there is a Pregnancy Care (can't remember the whole name)that helps pregnant Moms in need with getting Baby supplies. They also help with educating & I believe some counseling.
I sold mine at a consignment store, it was in good shape, looked brand new. I didn't think I was being unethical, not everyone has the money to buy a brand new car seat. Now if the seat had been "recalled" that is a different story.
By law neither car seats or baby carriers can be resold or donated.
I was a little surprised at all the posters who lectured you about the lawfulness of re-selling a car seat, since your post did not mention any plans to sell. On a kinder note, what about letting your little girls use it for their dolls? Surely that shouldn't be a safety issue or unlawful despite the fact that plastic can degrade over time?
I don't know if it is actually a law, but you are not suppose to garage sale or donate your old car seats. That expiration date is on there for a reason, the plastic gets brittle as it ages and sits in a car day in/day out with extreme temperature variations.
You are suppose to replace a car seat if you have a wreck, it could have been compromised in the accident.
How would you feel if you knew that you garage saled it or donated it and then the person who bought it had an accident and the child was injured or killed because the seat was old or had damage you had not seen when getting rid of it?
