Best Easy-to-Clean High Chairs
I remember researching high chair options while I was pregnant with my first son. At that time, my priorities were that his high chair took up little to no space, was relatively stylish, and was, of course, safe.
After experimenting with a multitude of high chairs, booster seats, and more, my high chair priority list changed and “easy-to-clean” made its way to the top. Babies are MESSY! And moms are BUSY! Some high chairs can take 30 minutes to clean properly, from the high chair straps to the layers of padding to the hard-to-reach crevices.
High chair cleaning doesn’t have to be a huge time and energy suck at the end of your day. Give yourself a little break and consider one of these safe, easy-to-clean high chairs for feeding time with your precious little one.
Shop My Favorite Easy-to-Clean High Chairs
- Best Overall: ANTILOP Ikea High Chair
- Best Convertible Design: Stokke Steps High Chair
- Best Wooden Design: Tripp Trapp High Chair from Stokke
- Best Booster Seat: OXO Tot Nest Booster Seat
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What to Look for in an Easy-to-Clean High Chair
Here are the easy-to-clean features you should consider before purchasing a high chair.
Wipeable Material
Plastic is arguably the easiest high chair material to clean when it comes to wipeable high chairs.
Wood is another great high chair material – the only difference is you want to keep sticky or acidic foods from sitting on wood for long periods of time.
Most soft foods and purees will degrade the wood finish, and your beautiful high chair could start to look permanently grimy. If you’re a diligent cleaner, then wood is a great natural high chair material.
Vinyl fabric is popular in some high chair designs, but it doesn’t wipe clean as easily as smooth plastic or wood. I know this from personal experience.
I was generously gifted one of those counter-mounted baby seats with a vinyl sling seat and it got nasty and smelly within months – even with daily cleaning!
Minimal Crevices
Speaking of nasty and smelly, choosing a high chair with minimal corners, crevices, and padding is essential to avoid mystery food pockets in your child’s high chair.
Mushy food will inevitably get mushed into every single corner of your child’s high chair.
If one of those corners gets overlooked in your daily cleaning (think on the sides of the seat, under the tray, where the tray connects to the seat, etc.), you will eventually be faced with a smelly, moldy, messy project you never asked for.
Simple, Removable Parts
When it comes time to deep clean your child’s high chair each week, you will want the ability to remove every component of the high chair.
Look for high chairs with removable straps that can be machine washed in a mesh bag.
Test the high chair tray to ensure it is removable with minimal effort. A tray that firmly snaps off will result in leftover baby food flying off the tray and onto your floor. I know this from personal experience.
If you ignore my advice and invest in a high chair with a padded seat insert, make sure that thing is easy to remove to thoroughly clean and dry at the end of every day.
Longevity
Think about how long this high chair will be usable for your child. Consider designs that can be converted into toddler or booster seats.
High chairs that are sturdy enough for a toddler to climb into them by themselves are a DREAM for kids and parents who both crave more independence.
At some point, your child will no longer eat on the attached tray and instead prefer to sit at the big table with the rest of the family. Measure the height of the seat to confirm that it will easily slide underneath your dining table.
Best Easy-to-Clean High Chairs
Here is a list of tried and true easy-to-clean high chairs perfect for various budgets and home decor styles.
Best Overall: ANTILOP Ikea High Chair
Image via Ikea
After I tried a long list of high chair styles for my boys, we finally landed on the ANTILOP Ikea high chair. This high chair is as basic as they come. You have a basic seat, straps, and tray – all of which are removable for easy cleaning.
The high chair is extremely lightweight and easy to move around the home. The legs can be removed from the seat for easy storage or travel.
Even the messiest meals are no match for this high chair. It wipes clean SO easily… and have I mentioned that this high chair is currently sold for less than $30? It is so budget friendly that I was able to purchase a second one for my mom to keep at her house when we visited.
With that said, for this price, you do not get any bells and whistles with this chair. While it is arguably the EASIEST to clean high chair out there, it does not have a toddler footrest or step ladder to enable safe, independent entry and exit for your child.
The tray snaps on the seat so firmly that when you try to remove it, you are almost guaranteed to spill whatever food is still on the tray. I have accidentally flung puree and mashed banana while trying to remove and clean this tray more times than I’d like to admit.
I recommend wiping the tray down while it’s still attached to the seat before removing it for deeper cleaning underneath.
If you’re looking for a simple high chair that is practical, budget-friendly, super easy to clean, and not visually offensive, then this is your high chair.
Pros:
- Budget-friendly
- All parts are removable for deep cleaning (seat, tray, and straps)
- Lightweight and easy to move around the home
- Stackable for easy storage, making it a great option for families with multiple children still in high chairs
- 3 point harness
Cons:
- Tray table snaps off with force and can make a mess if food is still on the tray
- Angled chair legs can become a tripping hazard for adults
Specs:
- Weight Limit: 33 pounds
- Height Adjustable: No
- Foldable: No, but legs can be removed
- Convertible: No
- Available in Multiple Colors: No
Best Convertible Design: Stokke Steps High Chair
- 5-IN-1 SEAT – Stokke Steps High Chair is a seating system to accommodate your baby through childhood. The high chair is best for babies and toddlers 6-36 months. Once your little one outgrows it,…
- ERGONOMIC & STYLISH – With a modern design, it will never go out of style. It’s easy to clean with a convenient, tool-free design. Includes adjustable back and footrest for optimal support & is…
- SAFE & CERTIFIED – Featuring a five-point safety harness, Stokke Steps High Chair is free from phthalates and made without harmful substances. Plus, the chair is JPMA and Intertek GS certified and…
The Stokke Steps High Chair is an excellent easy-to-clean high chair. The seat has minimal crevices, and the toddler harness attachment is easy to remove for deep cleaning. The backrest for the toddler seat is adjustable to suit the size of your growing child, and the footrest is also adjustable for ergonomic positioning.
It can be used for every single stage of baby and childhood. If you invest in the Stokke Steps Bouncer, you can attach the bouncer seat to this high chair to include your newborn in meal times.
The Stokke Steps Baby Set includes a toddler seat and a five-point safety harness to keep your little one safe from 6 months old. You can also invest in a baby set tray for those early days of purees or baby-led weaning.
Once your child is old enough to sit properly without support, the chair can be used without attachments for children/people up to 187 pounds.
The footrest is adjustable to your child’s height at every age – and no tools are required to adjust the height. It is also safe for older children to climb into the chair using the footrest for more independence at meal times!
Overall, this easy-to-clean high chair is perfect for families that want their high chair to grow with their developing child.
Pros:
- Convertible attachments available to use with newborns, toddlers, and children
- Footrest is adjustable based on your child’s height
- Adjustable seat back on the baby insert provides multiple options as the child grows
- 5-point safety harness for extra stability
- Tray is easy to attach and remove
Cons:
- Expensive – the high chair, baby seat, and tray are sold separately, and each is on the high end price-wise
- Legs extend wide in the front and back, posing a tripping hazard to adults
Specs:
- Weight Limit: 187 pounds
- Height Adjustable: Yes
- Foldable: No
- Convertible: Yes – options to use this chair from newborn to toddler to child
- Available in Multiple Colors: Yes
NOTE: If you like the design of this high chair but it’s not currently in the budget, I completely understand! Consider the Munchkin Float High Chair. It offers similar features and is foldable for easy storage at a more approachable price.
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Best Wooden Design: Tripp Trapp High Chair from Stokke
- A CHAIR FOR LIFE – The Tripp Trapp High Chair brings your child right up to the table. The Baby Set is best for children from 6-36 months, but the beech wood chair can hold up to 300 lbs, so your…
- BABY SET – The included Baby Set features a five-point safety harness and an easy-to-clean seat. When your kid outgrows the set, simply remove and adjust the back + foot support to achieve the ideal,…
- TIMELESS DESIGN – Tripp Trapp Chair was specifically designed to allow freedom of movement as your child grows. Plus, it’s available in a wide range of colors & two wood finishes, guaranteed to look…
While I have not personally experienced the pleasure of feeding my child in the Tripp Trapp High Chair, one of my closest friends has and swears it’s amazing.
The high chair doesn’t take up more space than a typical dining chair. It’s designed with family meals in mind and is easy to push up to any dining table for meal time. This is the high chair for families who love options.
With this high chair, you can adjust the footrest to the exact height of your child at any stage of development. If you want to include your newborn at meal times, you can invest in the newborn set that attaches to the chair. This could work well for bottle-fed babies.
For babies old enough to sit upright, you can use the removable baby set and harness to keep them steady between 6-36 months. There is also an option to purchase padding for the seat, but if your goal is easy to clean, then skip the padding.
There is a detachable tray for the baby feeding phase to protect your dining table from baby food messes.
My recommendation? Skip the newborn seat, skip the tray, skip the padding. Spend your money on the high chair and the harness for your little one, then push them right up to your table each meal to create a family meal-time routine.
Pros:
- Highly customizable at every stage of baby, toddler, and child feeding
- Options to purchase baby and toddler seat and feeding tray
- Footrest is adjustable based on the toddler’s size
- Holds up to 300 pounds and can be used comfortably for toddlers, preschoolers, and bigger kids as well
- Compact design requires a small amount of floor space
- Natural wood material
Cons:
- The seat and footrest can get grimy in the side crevices where they attach to the seat supports – they need to be detached for proper cleaning
- Expensive
Specs:
- Weight Limit: 300 pounds
- Height Adjustable: Yes
- Foldable: No
- Convertible: Yes – options for newborn, toddler, and child
- Available in Multiple Colors: Yes, multiple wood finishes
NOTE: If you love this high chair’s features and aesthetic, but it just doesn’t fit your budget, consider the Hauck Alpha+ Grow Along Adjustable Wooden High Chair. It’s a less expensive high chair with similar features and excellent reviews! (Shop Amazon / Shop Walmart)
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Best Booster Seat: OXO Tot Nest Booster Seat
- High back and sides cradle child for support and comfort on most grown-up chairs
- Boosts little ones to table height for family meals
- Back and bottom chair straps are adjustable for a secure fit on different chair styles and sizes
I have personal experience with this booster seat, and it is fantastic. Our kitchen has a peninsula countertop with bar-height seating. I like to feed my older son his lunch and snack at the counter during the day, but it was always a project to bring the big high chair in and out of the dining room for my younger son to participate.
I purchased one of these booster seats for my youngest, and it worked great! Each element of the booster seat was detachable from the base, making it easy to deep clean. After each meal, I could clean the seat and straps with a damp cloth.
With that said, booster seats can easily hide messy food in the space between the booster and the chair seat. I had to unclip and lift the booster seat off the chair at the end of every day to wipe away the hidden crumbs and grime caught underneath.
That extra step of physically removing the booster from the chair somehow felt like significantly more work than simply wiping down a high chair seat and washing the tray.
Speaking of trays, some booster seats come with a detachable tray… don’t waste your time. They’re almost always tiny and more work to clean than they’re worth.
This booster seat is tray-free. Just put a bib on your toddler and push them up to a table.
The OXO Tot Nest Booster Seat is excellent for families with toddlers (9 months and older) who have excellent neck strength and sit up without assistance. It’s portable, so you can easily toss it in the car if you want a high chair option on road trips or at grandparents’ houses.
Pros:
- Low profile, doesn’t require any additional floor space
- Portable, easy to bring on a road trip or to grandparent’s houses
- Seat insert and straps are all detachable for easy cleaning
- 3-point harness for safety
Cons:
- Must detach from the chair in order to thoroughly clean each day
- Not compatible with all dining chair designs
Specs:
- Weight Limit: 50 pounds
- Height Adjustable: No
- Foldable: No
- Convertible: No
- Available in Multiple Colors: Yes
NOTE: Do you like the idea of a booster seat, but your current dining chairs are not compatible with the safety straps? Consider the KABOOST Booster Seat that goes UNDER your dining chair. It pressure-snaps onto chair legs and lifts the dining chair either 3.75″ or 4.5″ higher, depending on your chosen setting.
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Product Comparison Chart
FAQs
Depending on the design of your highchair, it’s a great idea to give it a thorough wipe-down after every use. First, clear away larger food pieces, then wipe any sticky smudges with a wet cloth.
Then give the high chair a spray with your natural cleaner of choice. I alternate between soap and water (⅛ tsp soap mixed with 2 cups water) and a vinegar cleaner (1 cup water mixed with 1 cup distilled white vinegar).
Let the cleaning spray sit on the high chair surface for a few minutes before wiping it with a clean, dry cloth.
The simplest way to keep your floor clean under a high chair is to use a wipeable or washable mat. I have used all manner of materials for this purpose, from old beach towels (shake them into the trash, then toss them into the wash) to dedicated wipeable mats (primarily these mats by Gathr).
With that said, a high chair mat adds an extra step in the meal cleanup process and rarely ever contains ALL of the food debris that ends up on the floor. You could also keep your high chair on a hard floor surface and commit to sweeping and cleaning the floor right after each meal.
Most plastic high chair trays are dishwasher friendly. Some high chair trays are made from materials like wood, which would not fare well in a dishwasher. Follow manufacturer cleaning instructions for your specific high chair model.
High chair straps can be sprayed with a cleaning solution and wiped clean after every use. Some high chair straps are removable for deep cleaning and can be machine washed in a mesh bag.
I like to use a DIY disinfecting solution. Here are two of my favorite disinfecting solutions:
½ cup water ½ cup white vinegar
1 cup water ¼ cup hydrogen peroxide
For either solution, spray it on the surface of the high chair and allow the mixture to sit for at least 5 minutes before wiping it dry. This allows the mixture enough time to kill unwanted germs and bacteria.
If mixing your own disinfectant intimidates you, Force of Nature is an EPA registered disinfectant that is free of fragrances, preservatives, quats, dyes and surfactants. The technology behind their formula is impressive and effective – one that I would feel safe using on toddler furniture.
This will depend on how often your child uses their high chair! A good rule of thumb is to sanitize their high chair at the end of every day. Once all food residue has been wiped away with a wet cloth, spray the high chair with your preferred disinfectant. Let the cleaning solution sit on the chair for five or more minutes, then wipe it clean.
