How to Protect Your Furniture During Potty Training
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Your child will have many milestones over the course of their life, especially in the first two years.
A big milestone is potty training. Unfortunately, it is not without its share of messes, stains and ruined furniture.
Luckily, there are ways to potty training less harmful to your home.
Protecting Furniture During Potty Training
Keeping furniture from being damaged during potty training is not that difficult. You may need to invest in some protective equipment and heavy-duty cleaning spray. You will also need to remember to put your child in leak-free undergarments that fit well.
Materials Needed
- Waterproof Furniture Covers
- Mattress Pad
- Crib Protector
- Potty Chair
- Disposable Toilet Rugs
- All-Purpose Stain and Odor Remover
- Training Pants
Protecting Furniture During Potty Training: A Step-by-Step Guide
Potty training doesn’t come naturally. You need all the help you can get.
There are plenty of different ways to go about potty training, but one thing that remains constant is the mess.
Step One: Decide Which Furniture Needs Protecting
Not all of your furniture needs protecting. Many of us parents block off portions of the house that are not safety proofed.
For instance, I always gated the kitchen and stairwells when my children were young. They only had access to the living room, dining room and their own nurseries until they were past the toddler years.
Bathrooms, kitchens and other bedrooms required constant supervision to ensure their safety.
Think similarly about potty training. You wouldn’t want your little one making a mess in the guest bedroom, so keep it off limits in the meantime.
Places that will need protecting: sofas, chairs, cribs and any beds that are used by the baby.
For instance, if you ever let your toddler sleep with you at night, you’ll need to make sure your bed is potty proofed.
Step Two: Purchase and Install Waterproof Furniture Covers
Waterproof furniture covers are very easy to install. Most of them only require that you drape the cover across the top of the furniture.
Mattress pads function like fitted sheets. You should use one of these for each mattress your baby might use, including the crib.
Some parents worry that waterproof mattress pads are unsafe for children. This should not be a problem as long as you avoid vinyl.
Step Three: Designate a Potty Training Place
You might want to pick a bathroom that is the potty training room. This is the place where you will keep your child’s potty chair.
Having the chair in one place makes clean-up much easier. It also keeps any rugs in your other bathroom(s) from becoming soiled.
You can also place disposable toilet rugs around the potty so you can throw them away each time your child misses the training toilet.
This is not exactly what I did with my kids. My home has restrooms upstairs and downstairs. I bought a potty for each of the bathrooms so we would never have far to go when my child got the urge to go.
I did have twice the number of bathrooms to clean up but I had far fewer messes.
Step Four: Be Prepared to Clean
Your child is going to make messes. There is no way around it. You need to be prepared. Get yourself a roll of paper towels, a strong sponge and a good bottle of all-purpose cleaner.
Have it where you can get to it quickly but your child can’t reach. I like to use Kids ‘N’ Pets but you can go the all-natural route as well.
A combination of baking soda and white vinegar can clean up nearly all messes. If you have missed the mess and its set in, add some salt.
Make sure you rinse the area very well when you’re done, though the truth is, you’ll never really be done. As long as your child is potty training, you will need to know how to clean pee.
Step Five: Avoid the Mess from the Outset
This is easier said than done. You’ll need to start with the right kind of training pants. These pants fit well and are easy to pull up and take off again.
Disposable training pants are less likely to leak than washable, fabric ones. Pants that are too small and pants that are too big can cause severe leakage.
Another way to avoid the mess is to pay attention to your child as they are potty training. When you potty train a toddler, you are also training yourself to notice their signs.
As soon as your child appears to need the toilet, get them there as quickly as possible. If you stay attuned to the signs, you should be able to avoid most messes
Key Takeaways
Potty training is neither easy nor fun. However, it is necessary. You will have your share of messes but you might be able to avoid any lasting damage.
Do you have any tips for protecting furniture during potty training? Share them with us in the comments!
