Dry Clean Only...

Technology has brought us so far in creating quality fabrics of all kinds and simplifying the means to clean them.  We now have stain resistant everything in our homes, carpets, furniture...well, that's about it, but it is more than we used to have.  I can even wash my husband's nicest dress slacks in the washing machine without ruining them now!  It amazes and thrills me.  So, with all of this nice technology you can only imagine my surprise when I decided that after several months of use it was time to renew the look of the seat cover to Fuss' highchair, and found that the care instructions were "Dry Clean Only."  Seriously, when making this adorably cute highchair that matches the colors of my kitchen, did the manufactures forget the age of the children that would be using it?  Have they never seen a child eat?  Were they more worried about the rounded fit of the seat that would hold the cute little bottom in place, and the convenient lift-off-the-tray-to-wash top, that they forgot about the arms that would throw Spaghetti-O's and juice from above the tray?  Did they not even take the time to consider that it was even a possibility that any of these items might actually land or splash onto the seat cover itself?  Who are these people that while bringing joy to the decorative accessory of the kitchen, also cause greater anxiety by these care for instructions?  I can see why they may not think this is such a big deal, I mean as a mother I have plenty of available time to load my children into the car, drive to the dry cleaners, pay for same day service, drive home, sit around doing absolutely nothing but waiting for the chance to leave my house again, reload the kids in the car, drive back to the dry cleaners, drive back home, and replace the adorable seat cover that I will stand to admire for hours on end...seriously, no inconvenience whatsoever??    And since my child rarely spills on his highchair, if I were to actually do this activity as needed, it should only cost me about $100 a month for the gas and the cleaning.  Now, I know I do have the option of not paying for the same day service, but in the time that the highchair seat is not in position, where do they expect me feed my child?  Should I feed him in the $600 stain-resistant recliner, or do I opt for the couch, since the slip covers can easily be removed and thrown in the washing machine (What a novel idea--a seat cover that can be washed in a washing machine, in my home...).  Or perhaps I can set him on the bar stools that are too high for him to sit on safely, but at least he would still be over the tile floor where spills are most easily wiped up.  I could let him sit on the floor, we have stain-resistant carpet (or so that manufacturer tells us, but that is another whole story).  There is always the option of holding him on my lap at the dinner table, since that is a very enjoyable way for me to have my dinner.   I have no solution for this, but let's just say that I do know through my own sources, that if you were to protest these "care for" instructions, and forego any warranty that the highchair may or may not have, and actually just wash the seat cover in the washing machine, any damage that is done to it is internal and will never be noticed by the diaper clad butt of a 1 year old.  You might also be rewarded by the curiosity of your 1 year old realizing for the first time that there are cute animals on the back fabric of his chair--they just needed a bath.