How to Get Smell Out of a Stroller (with a Non-Toxic Cleaner)

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If you’re the mom of a toddler, then you’re no stranger to accidents. Yet, they usually come at inopportune times and can be of much larger proportions than you had expected!

That’s exactly what happened to me on an ordinary trip to the grocery store. Accidents happen – it’s inevitable with little ones, but especially with a toddler that’s potty training. And this time it was a BIG one!

Poop was everywhere. And it smelled. I found myself wondering how to get poop smell out of a stroller.

How do you deodorize a stroller?

I’ll spare you the gory details, but I basically cleaned up my child at the store as best as I could with the potty-training supplies, I had on hand in my diaper bag.

Yet, there was still more to do when I got home. The clothes can easily be washed in hot water and detergent, but what was I to do about the stroller?

Put the stroller in the bathtub to soak it, like I saw someone do with a pack-n-play on Pinterest? Genius idea, but unfortunately my stroller wouldn’t fit in the bathtub so it was a no-go.

Will vinegar, dish soap and water get the poop smell out?

Then I remembered that a mix of vinegar, dish soap and water was a simple, non-toxic cleaning solution that could be used for a variety of cleaning purposes. I created the mixture, doused the stroller in it and scrubbed hard. Then I hosed it down.

It didn’t work. Well, it did work with cleaning the stroller in an initial way, but the pungent poop smell still remained. Granted, it wasn’t AS strong and there were no stains, but the smell was still present.

So, what to do? Remove the stroller cover and put it in the washing machine? That IS an option for the City Mini stroller that I have but honestly I didn’t want to go through all the hassell of taking it off and putting it back on. I really just wanted to deep clean the seat and front buckle of the stroller.

How to Get Poop Smell out of a Stroller with a Non-Toxic Cleaner

I looked at my cleaning supplies to try out another alternative. I had a few non-toxic cleaners, but the one I tried that finally worked was Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner.

It just happened to be the non-toxic product that I had on hand that ACTUALLY got the poop smell out of the stroller. It’s highly concentrated and smells strongly like lemon. Let me say, that this post is NOT sponsored by Simple Green. But I certainly recommended that you check them out! I’m impressed by their line-up of all-natural and non-toxic cleaning products!

My toddler had a blast helping me spray the cleaner on the stroller and scrub it down with a small brush. Then we let it sit for about 3-5 minutes and went back outside to hose the stroller off.

“Stwoller all keen,” she said happily. “Yes the stroller is all clean,” I replied.

That’s how we got the poop smell out of the stroller. In the end, there was a happy child and a happy mama. Until the next big, smelly, unexpected accident….At least I know what cleaner I’ll use.