So, my son's bath toys are getting kinda icky and I am not sure of the best way to clean them. I have heard that you can use a bleach and water mixture and have them soak, but a lot of them are water squirters that my son likes to suck on so I am scared that all of the bleach water won't come out of them. What is the best way to get these toys clean that I can do every couple of months?
Hi J.,
Have you tried boiling them? Like you do with baby bottles?
If they don't melt they are good....
Hope it helps,
Mariana Abadie
www.MyKidsFirst.com
I fill my kitchen sink with a mixture of warm water and vinegar. The solution cleans the toys, gets rid of soap scum and is non-toxic.
Hey J.,
There was a study on 20/20 or dateline (one of those shows), that studied cleaning bath toys. Even when soaked in bleach water the squirt toys still had a large number of bacteria in them. I now make sure that they don't have any water in them after a bath and throw them out after about 2 months. It seems kind of wasteful, but I just don't really buy the squirt toys anymore. I get plastic cups that stack or the bath toys that don't hide any water inside them.
Hope this helps.
Michelle
Well, vinagar kills most germs and gets rid of the film on them. Use white vinagar as other vinagars M. stain the plastics. I either soak them if i have the time or just scrub them if I don't. I do this once every 2 weeks but we have REALLY hard water. I hope that helps.
I use the bleach method and i just make sure that i wash them out really really well. i will even take a dark towel and swirt water out of them onto it to see if it dyes it colors. If it dyes it then i know i need to wash some more. or you can try and bleach them and then throw them throught the washing machine.
Hey J., I went through the same thing. The only thing I came up with was to through them away and buy new ones. I think your talking about when black stuff (mold) gets in the squitter toys and then they squirt water and mold. I became worried that could make my children sick and figured it wasn't worth it. I know the dollar stores carried them @ one time, hopefully this helps.
I would throw them out. I found out after 4 months they start growing mold inside them. I use to soak them in bleach and really clean them but after a while the bleach fade the toys and ate away on the plastic. I now get bath toys that can be taken apart to dry(pool toys). Then every few weeks just wash them in the Dishwasher.
Soak them in baking soda and water. Half a box to 1 gallon of water. It's a natural anti fungal agent and since it was used as a tooth paste for a long time it be okay if he swallows some.
A friend of mine superglues or tapes the hole shut, but that takes all the squirting fun out of it, heh. I use bleach water. I just fill the tub with water, pour the bleach in, and let everything soak for awhile. Clean tub, clean toys. I rinse the toys several times after with clear water.
Try running them through the dishwasher or some can even go through the clothes washer as well. Try the high heat or sanitary setting on either.
I also am leery of bleach. My mom helped me find a company that sells all of the household products a person could need (cleaning, hygiene, OTC pharmacy, etc.) All of their products are made with non-harmful ingredients, but use natural anti-fungal and even have a cleaner that is FDA approved for cleaning virus/bacteria up to HIV level. So, I use those products to clean my house and our bodies and feel good about the chemical level that is in my house. If you'd like info, I'll be glad to give it. Take care.
Hi! I just tossed Carlos' bath toys on the top shelf ofthe dish washer. You dont even hve to use soap. You can also stick them in the sink. Boil Huge pot of water and let them soak for a bit. They get icky with soap scum and stuff.
I use the bleach method followed by a good wash in the dishwasher. Then I let them continue to air dry a ful 24 hours before they can play with them. I usually do it in shifts so they still hvae toys for bathtime.
