How to Clean a Potty Seat or Potty Chair, at Home and On the Go

Here is how to clean a potty training seat. Move the stool into the toilet and flush. Wash your hands.

Clean the seat with soap, water and scrubbing. If you choose to disinfect, follow the product label. Then wash your hands again.

That is the whole sequence. The sections below explain each step and why the order matters.

How to Clean a Potty Training Seat: Clean First, Disinfect Second

The CDC’s home-cleaning guidance treats cleaning and disinfecting as two separate jobs. Cleaning removes most germs, dirt and impurities from surfaces. The CDC says to clean with water, soap and scrubbing.

Disinfecting kills most germs on surfaces and objects. The CDC says to clean first, then sanitize or disinfect if needed.

Applied to a potty seat or potty chair, cleaning is the step that always comes first. Disinfecting is your choice.

The order matters. The CDC says impurities like dirt may make it harder for chemicals to get to and kill germs. So soap, water and scrubbing come before any disinfecting product.

Here is the short checklist:

Empty the Potty, Then Wash Your Hands

Start with what is in the potty. While teaching a child that the toilet is where poop goes, MedlinePlus, from the National Library of Medicine, describes moving the stool from the potty chair into the toilet. It also describes having the child flush.

Picture this: your toddler finishes, and you carry the potty chair to the toilet. You tip the stool in, your child flushes, and the potty chair is ready for scrubbing. Planning bathroom access during potty training includes deciding where the potty chair sits in relation to the toilet.

Next, wash your hands. The CDC lists “after changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet” as a key time to wash. It says to scrub for at least 20 seconds.

If You Choose to Disinfect: Label, Contact Time, Wet Surface

Soap, water and scrubbing are the cleaning step. Disinfecting comes after, and only if you decide to do it.

The CDC’s home guidance lists an EPA-registered disinfecting product as one way to disinfect. It says to always read and follow the directions on the label of disinfecting products. The label is your instruction sheet.

The CDC also says to leave the disinfectant on the surface long enough to kill the germs. This is called the contact time. You can find it in the directions. The CDC says the surface should stay wet during the entire contact time.

Do not guess the contact time or borrow one from another product. Each label sets its own.

Gloves, Fresh Air, and Products Out of Reach

Disinfecting products need care. The CDC says to wear the recommended protective equipment, for example gloves or goggles. That protects your skin and eyes from potential splashes.

The CDC also says to ensure good ventilation if you use products indoors. And it says not to mix products or chemicals with each other.

Storage matters just as much when a toddler lives in the house. The CDC says to store and use chemicals out of the reach of children and pets. Keeping cleaning products out of reach also belongs in a bathroom safety guide for toddlers.

The National Capital Poison Center says cleaning products in spray bottles are now the leading source of cleaning products that poison children. It says spray bottles should be stored out of sight and reach of children. It also says the nozzle should be in the "off" position when the product is not being used.

If a child swallows or gets into a cleaning product, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (America’s Poison Centers). Call 911 if the child is not breathing, is having a seizure or is unresponsive.

Cleaning the Foldable & Portable Toilet Seat Trainer

The Baby Proof Me product page describes the Foldable & Portable Toilet Seat Trainer as made of durable ABS. It is foldable, compact and lightweight, and it fits most toilets. It also has a splash guard "to minimize mess and simplify cleanup."

As Baby Proof Me’s install video shows, the end of a use goes like this:

The product page and video do not say what to wash the seat with. They do not say whether to disinfect it, how to dry it, or how to clean the hinge.

The CDC’s read-the-label and clean-first rules above are general home-cleaning guidance. This page applies them to a potty seat. If you have a question the product page and video do not answer, email Baby Proof Me support at support@babyproofme.com.

One more reminder from the trainer’s own warning: it is not a substitute for adult supervision. Stay close to a toddler in the bathroom; more on toilet drowning risks is in our guide.

Clean a Travel Potty Seat on the Go

Picture this: you are at a rest stop, and your toddler has just used a folded-out seat on an unfamiliar toilet. The setting changed, but the job did not.

To clean a travel potty seat, the order stays the same as at home. The CDC’s rule to read and follow the label directions still applies to any disinfecting product you carry. So does its order of cleaning before disinfecting.

The CDC’s hand-washing key times apply too. They include after cleaning up a child who has used the toilet. Scrub for at least 20 seconds.

The product page says the trainer folds flat into its included travel bag. The install video shows the folded seat going into the drawstring bag. Follow the video’s sequence: lift it off, take off the splash guard, clean it in the sink, fold it, and bag it.

Wash Up Again and Teach the Habit

When the cleaning is done, wash your hands again. The CDC’s early care guidance says to wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds immediately after disinfecting. Its home guidance says the same.

Your child can learn the same habit. MedlinePlus says to be sure your child washes their hands properly every time after using the toilet. The CDC also lists after using the toilet as a key time to wash hands.

When they watch you wash after cleaning the potty, the routine makes sense. Handwashing is a core piece of household hygiene for families, and potty training is a natural time to build it.

The Order to Remember

Move the stool into the toilet. Wash your hands. Clean with soap, water and scrubbing.

Disinfect only if you choose to, and only as the label directs. Then wash your hands for 20 seconds.