What Do We Do with the Potty???

I would clean it really good with bleach and/or peroxide and donate it. I would also mark it with a note that states that you cleaned it with bleach, etc. just so people will know that it's clean and germ free.

umm... you can simply fill you tub with hot water and bleach to clean it and then it is as good as new. Yes, you can donate it as long as it is cleaned, places like Goodwill and Value Village will sell them.

Haz Mat will not take it as it is not a hazardous material.

I see alot of them offered up on Freecycle.org. It is a group where you offer whatever you dont need anymore in an effort not to fill up landfills. I think as long as the potty seat is clean it is ok to offer. I have seen old toilets even offered in the group (ha ha).

Just get it really clean and donate it to Goodwill. Yes, there are tons of low income people that potty train on just the big toilet because they cannot afford the extra expense of a potty chair. They would be greatful for an inexpensive used chair.

I've seen these at kids consignment places many times (Kym's Kiddie Corner comes to mind) -- even bought one too keep in the car for emergencies. I'm sure they were cleaned thoroughly and I cleaned it myself, too.

M.,

We used ours as a step for our son, until he got too big and squished in the lid. I have seen the trainers at Goodwill/Value Village. Just make sure it's in good condition still, and clean.

Hope this helps,
Melissa

We just got a free potty/toilet ring from a friend in our parents group. I didn't even blink an eye to taking a free item they were in need of getting rid of and we were in need of having so we can slowly move from the potty chair to the toilet.

Here are some options: ask friends or family who might need one, donate it or list it on Craigslist (for cheep or free). Plenty of people need potty chairs and I'm sure it will get snatched up. :-)

Oh M., people will buy just about anything to save a buck! I know I would! I bought a grubby car seat for $15 just to have a spare one, and I was sure willing to clean the heck out of it instead of spending $150 on a new one. Just like another poster wrote, yes you can donate this, or sell it at a yard sale because as we all know, you ALWAYS can appreciate an extra, especially something like a potty seat. Bleach works wonders. =)

GOODWILL- a little bleach and water will kill the germs and WHALLA! a new potty for anther toddler!

Maria

I see Potty seats at consignment stores all the time. Like others have said, just sanitize it and donate it. As long as you have taken good care of it and it's not all stained, someone else would love to use it for their kids! :)

Goodwill does take them. Clean it with bleach and water. My sister-in-law poured a tea kettle of boiling water on hers to sterlize it before she gave it away.

You can also try craigslist--you'd be surprised at how many needy families would absolutely appreciate a free potty! Just make sure to advertise that is is clean. If you think about it, used high chairs could be just as gross if they are not cleaned well...it's all about cleaning it.

Actually people do donate them to places like Goodwill, it should be no problem if they are clean and sanitized. People also buy them at yard sales. The other option is to store it away in the attic, basement, garage etc. for the next child. My kids are pretty well grown so anything we (all of us) haven't used in one year's time is donated to our local church for their yard sale. (If we haven't used it in a year chances are we not going to use it, this gives you all four seasons) Although there will be no more babies for my husband and I, we have purchased used baby items at yard sales, second hand stores etc., as I babysit a cousin's son. I can't afford to buy all new (expensive) things for the little guy I watch a few hours on certain days of the week. When he has out grown their use, it can be used by some other child, as we do not have alot of storage room waiting for the first grandbabies to be born. We also rotate things through out family and friends that have a need. In our area we have a shelter for abused mothers and children, they happliy accept gently used, clean items of all kinds. Some churches accept the same for families that have low income, victims of house fires, etc. There are also consignment shops for baby and small children items, again gently used and clean.

Hello M., There are always people who have a low income and could use potty chairs. I disinfected mine really well and then offered it on Freecycle.com (which is a yahoo group). You would be amazed at the amount of people who responded to it. Within a day, I think that I had at least 5 emails regarding the potty chair!! Anyway, if you have a baby new and used store, offer it there or if you have freecycle.com in your area, offer it on there. I am sure that someone could use it!!

S.

I washed mine really well and gave it to a friend who had a younger child than mine, that hand't been potty trained yet. She appreciated it. Go ahead donate it, just clean it first.
Audrey D is wrong.

good question. I haven't had to deal with it yet because I have kept mine for my last child to use. Let us know what you find out. I really never thought about it.

Can anyone say GARAGE SALE!!

Donate it or sell it! I can easily buy one at wholesale prices for my daughter, but when I found one at the Salvation Army Store for $1.00, I couldn't pass it up! I cleaned the heck out of it and it works great and I know it's not ending up in the landfill!

A.

Have you called any local childcare centers to see if they could use it? That's what I did with mine.

M.,
Nobody takes them. Throw it in the garbage.

Cheers!

Do you have any consignment shops in your town? Clean it really well and see if they will take it.
Check around and see if your town has a 'freebies' section in the newspaper.
I threw mine in the garbage after three kids, but I know what you mean. There is too much waste (pardon the pun!).

I see them at yard sales all the time, and have gotten some myself that way. We don't run around replacing toilets in every place we've ever lived... You could "freecycle" it. Check out freecycle.com.

You could always sanitize it with bleach cleaner and save it for visiting children or give it to a friend/relative with a baby. If it looks clean and in good shape, many people will want it. I sold ours to a consignment shop (it had only been used twice before my dd decided she wanted to use the big potty). You might want to hold on to it also for using in public rest rooms.

If it is stained or really beat up you might just have to throw it away. You can't recycle most of them because of the type of plastic used, plus some of them are made with a mix of materials. You could always clean it and use it in a craft if you want to be creative! If you have a picture of your daughter on it, you could frame it with the seat (ha, ha)

Good luck

Definately pass them along. I bought one at a yard sale once. I also got one from a friend of mine. No reason to throw them in the landfill. Pass them along.

I inherited my potty seat from a good friend whose child had outgrown it and in turn passed it on to another good friend when my kids were through.

Do call metro- they have a master recycling event where they take all plastics; slides, broken pools, etc. I know they had an event in the spring but another can't be too far off. Way to save the world one plastic toilet at a time! :)

I didn't get a chance to read all of your responses, but I try to donate all my child items to domestic violence shelters...a mom starting over again could probably use itmes such as that.

i have just held on to it. sometimes we have smaller friends over who use it. one day i may have another kid...i've stuck it in an extra cabinet in the bathroom. it has been helpful on days when there have been a few kids here and they all seem to have to pee at the same time. also, i have seen them at the goodwills. i'm sure if you have bleached it or disinfected it, it's safe to pass on. please don't put it in the landfill...whatever you do. ~s

I'm not sure if I am just immune to the germaphobe craze, (I have 2 boys) but it should be perfectly fine if it is washed in hot, soapy water with bleach or sanitized with lysol or something after it's washed. I would donate it because since they are used for such a short amount of time, someone will be able to use it. They will probably re-sanitize it anyway. Just think, would you throw away all of the toilets in a new house you just bought? Do you plan to have other kids? Save it. I did. :))

Ooh, I never thought about that until now, and my daughter is at that point too. Not sure where you live, but we always take recyclables that aren't collected curbside to Far West Fibers community recycling center and they have a bin that's for rigid plastic (toys, etc.) i bet a potty seat would qualify. They are in SE Portland on 17th south of Holgate and On NE Marx off of 122nd. But Metro might be a good place to call too.

Ha ha! I was about to suggest Pass It On as well, but it looks like Jennifer beat me to it!

You can sell and buy just about anything there that has to do with kids (clothes, toys, furniture, and all sorts of accessories) and that includes potty seats. Do check out the web site for more info and to learn how selling works: www.passitonsales.com and if you are not in the Portlad metro area (I'm never sure where people are posting from) you can search this site for a sale in your area (listed by state) www.kidsconsignmentsales.com. Consignment fever is sweeping the nation! Just a reminder, Pass It On (same for most sales) accepts maternity clothes plus infant to preteen (size 12).

Oh, and I wanted to add that if you ever have a plastic toy or something that is not in good enough shape to resell, you can recycle it at the Plastics Roundups in the Portland area. They have them about every quarter (4x/yr) in 4 different locations around town. I'll ask my friend who is a master recycler when the next ones are (but I know they just had them at the beginning of May so it will be a while) and post a reminder here when the next ones are coming up.

Have you heard of Pass It On Sales? It's a twice-yearly children's consignment event. We do take clean potty seats/chairs and they DO get sold... almost all of them! Our next sale will be in September. You can save the seats along with all your out-grown clothes, toys, and other items to consign at the sale (go to www.passitonsales.com to learn more!), or you could post on craigslist or sell at a garage sale. I've boughten potty seats at a garage sell myself without any "heeby-jeebies" about it. I agree, the land fill is getting full!

hi well my family is a low income family and my daughter is getting to the age where she needs to be potty trained and im actually looking for someone to donate a potty seat or chair....and i would bleach it and clean it..well if anyone would like to help please email me at ____@____.com

I see them in consignment shops all the time. I know, it seems like it would be too gross to be lawful, but believe it or not, there are tons of used cloth diapers on the market. If you want to make a little money, sell it. Or to be charitable, you could post it as free on the "Babies & Kids" section of your local Craig's List.

We used our potty for the car. Just in case there wasn't a toilet in sight. We used it on road trips and thank goodness we had it during the winter when the park toilets are locked. I kept plastic grocery bags, maxi pads and wipes in the car. Place the grocery bag in the potty with a maxi pad inside to absorb the urine. Toss when done. The potty was in the car for a year and came in handy.

I have the same situation, although, our local DAV or place that you donate things will take items like that as long as they are disinfected. I also look to donating things to womens shelters because usually those women are not in a position to be really picky. I know it seems harsh, but as long as it's clean (and it gets cleaned again by someone else-I'm sure) then I know our organizations who take donation will take it.

I even sold a used one in a garage sale, and these people were more than happy to have it. I will keep one as I still have a little one to potty train. I'm sure it's fine to clean and disinfect it before you donate it. I would just to give myself peace of mind.

Kim B. (moving from Kansas to Oregon)

I bought both our potty chair and our "donut" at the thrift store. They looked new, and I used bleach water on them for sterilization. We save money wherever we can so that I can be home with our children, so we really appreciate those who give their things to Goodwill. I have passed mine back to Goodwill, along with lots of other things, so go ahead and give yours to charity as well. Now, I do draw the line at used undies.....

Well, actually there are people out there looking to save money and the environment by reusing stuff like that. I got all mine at yard sales, threw them in a tub with some bleach, and they are as good as new. When my youngest is done, I will sanitize them and send them off to goodwill.

I can understand your feelings about a used potty seat seeming like "hazardous waste", but really...it isn't.

Clean it up really well (I'm sure you already have), bleach it, and either give it to Goodwill or put it on your local "freecycle" list. Another good option would be to donate it to a preschool, or midwife's office (they usually have a free box for moms who need items). There a plenty of people who I'm sure would have no problem reusing the potty unless it's completely destroyed.

Fiora

I have sold them at yard sales. You probably can donate them as well (just check with the donation place first). I don't think it is a problem as long at it is sanitized properly and in very good condition.

I bought both of mine for way cheap on craigslist. They were clean when I got them (I don't even think one was actually used) and I scrubbed the heck out of them (with bleach)!
Try freecycle or CL, or even your local women's/children's shelter.

you could try putting it on freecycle someone out there may not care that it is used and may be desprate for one.