Covers that come off, and covers that come off easily
Nearly every seat cover is described as removable. The useful distinction is between a cover held on by a few snaps and one threaded through the harness and around a frame, which takes ten minutes each way and gets done once.
Where a maker gives washing guidance it is worth reading before the first meal rather than after the first disaster, because a cover that shrinks on a hot wash does not go back on the frame.
Trays are the part that decides a high chair
A tray that lifts off with one hand and fits in a sink is worth more day to day than any other feature on a high chair. A tray that needs two hands while the other two hands are holding a baby is a design that was never used by anybody with a baby.
Double trays, where a dishwasher safe insert sits on a fixed base, solve this well and are common in this section.
The parts that cannot be washed
Straps, foam inserts, motors, and battery housings usually cannot go anywhere near water. That matters because these are also the parts that catch food. Spot cleaning the harness after every meal is less work than trying to rescue it later.
Cleaning as a buying decision
If two pieces are otherwise equal, the one with a machine washable cover and a sink sized tray will last longer, look better, and be handed down rather than thrown out. That is a slow, boring advantage and it is the one that shows up a year later.
The short version
- Snaps beat covers threaded through a harness and frame.
- A one handed tray release is the feature you use three times a day.
- Straps, foam, and battery housings do not go in water.
- Follow the maker wash guidance: a shrunk cover does not go back on.
