How Often Do I Clean Baby Toys?

I was once told by my dentist that I could wash toohtbrushes in the dishwasher so I tried it with plastic toys too...I would be leary of the "softer" plastic, but hard plastic items I've put through. Most soft toys can be washed in the washer and I used to do those oftem, especially if they spit up on them because there are germs there. I also just used plain wipes to at least get them cleaner than doing nothing at all.

I would just clean them when they start to look dirty, or if there were other kids over playing with them. You don't want to go too crazy with the anti-bacterial cleaners because you want your child to develop immunities. They say that children who more colds when they are young, spend less time sick as they get older. I don't use anything anti-bacterial, I'm a teacher who is exposed to all kinds of germs every day, and I rarely get even a cold, and neither do my two kids.

*Warning*This opinion might be controversial for some*
I know that it seems gross for your child to put things in his mouth and touch everything with germs on it, but honestly, he'll be fine. I am a firm believer that kids need to be exposed to a small amount of germs for their immune systems to function properly. When the body is exposed to germs it then makes antibodies-similar to a vaccine. Of course, be smart about it. Playing in the toilet is still a big no-no! :)

Besides, think about the big picture-- for all of human history babies and children have been playing in the dirt, touching questionable items and mouthing "dirty" items. Barring things like the Plague and other serious diseases, most kids have been fine.

To answer your question, I use my judgement on whether or not to clean a toy. If it's dirty as in dirt on it, I clean it, unless it's a sandbox toy. If it's been handled by a child who has a cold I clean it. Really, that's pretty much it. A completely sterile world is not healthy.

N.

I never cleaned Izzy's toys. I mean, I did if they were dirty or got spit up on, and cloth ones I would toss in the washer every once in a while, but your child's own germs don't pose much of a threat, and I think we as mothers try to oversanitize everything. However, if there are other children around who play with your child's toys, then they may need to be sanitized. If you are still wary, give them a spray with Lysol Hard Surface Sanitizer, let it sit for two minute, then rinse well. Other than that you would have to use diluted bleach, which could be worse than the germs themselves.

I liked this question.....I totally felt the same way with my first...now I barely clean them with my second. I am a bad mom. The plush ones I never bothered with much. The plastic ones I would wash down with half strength cleaner or clean forst with cleanser and then rinse with water. I also put them in the dishwasher. I always cleaned them after friends were over.

My 3 yr old daughter was/is the same way I clean them as often as I can espically if other people have been over. I use the lysol wipes or I put the smaller ones in the dishwasher. Babies R Us sells a shopping cart cover that covers the entire basket area. It's even big enough to cover the double seat carts at Sams club/Costco. That's what I use for the germy carts.

I used to work at daycares and pre-schools before I had my son. When I worked in the infant/toddler room this is the rule we used. We soaked every toy that could be, not fabric toys, in bleach water once a week. Put just a little, little bit of bleach in a big bowl or bucket of water. If there is another child that puts the toy in his/her mouth clean it right away, otherwise once a week should be fine. Oh I let the toys soak for about 10 minutes, then let them air dry on a clean towel.

this behavior is totally normal. Clean the market cart with a quick wipe before putting him in it. As far as your own toys are concerned, our society has become OVERCLEAN and obsessive with sanitizing things this has caused a decrease in our "good" bacteria and a rise in "resistant" bacteria. Unless he has been sick or there has been lots of other kidlets chewing on his toys, clean them about one time a month if you are overly concerned or they get stinky. People will disagree, but that's okay!

with a baby that chews his toys once or twice a week is probably a good time to clean them expecially if you have company with other little kids but nomadder what kind of toy its once or twice a week is probably good

DO NOT use clorox wipes or LYSOL spray!!!! Especially if he's at that age when he puts everything in his mouth. Clean up after any visitors and after he's been sick.

Here's what I use, it's totally botanical and uses thyme as it's main disinfectant.

http://www.melaleuca.com/ps/index.cfm?f=ps.productDetail&...

Best wishes,
C.~

http://www.TotalWellnessInfo.com

Don't streilize everything. We need germs to build our immune system. Grocery carts are one thing, but at home toys can slide from a cleaning everyday. Do be VERY CAUTIOUS of small parts. My youngest son choked on a small plastic toy (which older brother pulled back out of the trash) and had to perform the heimlic manuever. Scary, scary, scary stuff seeing your child that way. I would be more concerned about small parts on anything, as opposed to a little dirt on his toys.

Clean it as often as it won't stress you out. And remember that a little dirt and germs are quite good for building up the immune system. As far as grocery carts go, Oprah did a special on how the carts are really horrible due to salmonella so you actually should rub it with the antibacterial wipes. Her special said that every thing else (toilets, floors, toys) wasn't hurtful to you so not to stress too much about it all. Just grocery carts!

Hi L.,

I didn't have a regular schedule for cleaning my children's toys when they were babies.. I ran a dish-soaped hot towel over them when even ever I got a chance and "disinfected" them when they spit up on them. They could be on the floor, toy chest for a few days before I got to them. Looking at it now, all the things you read about disinfecting everything on a regular basis it probably sounds like I didn't keep up on it as much as I should have, but I'll say this: I believe it helped give my kids a better immunity that some people who I know are "very clean" and did disinfect on a regular basis. My kids are both very healthy and they've never has any problems with infections of any kind. So my advice, unless there are other kids or pets in the house that might come upon the toys, the only germs on them are you baby's. Hope that help.

Do you have the Buggy Bag cart cover? If not, you should try it. There is no way the baby can touch the cart and it is by far the best one on the market. Really easy to use, has storage for diaper supplies, bottle etc. My daughter was sucking on any part of the shopping cart should could get to...this did the trick. Once they seem dirty (judgment call), I put plush toys in the washer with environmentally friendly detergent and hand wash the plastic toys with environmentally friendly dish soap.

Hi,
I have a six month year old little boy. He is constantly putting things in his mouth. For the plastic toys I put them in the dishwasher and just use cascade. For the plush toys I put them in the washer using Dreft and air dry them.If they have music features hand wash them not submerging them in water all the way. I have only done this a few times but it seems to get everything nice and clean. I hope this helps!!!

As long as it's just your son chewing on the toys, I wouldn't worry about cleaning them more than once every week or two. I run a home daycare and there are multiple kids chewing on toys. I run the plastics through the dishwasher every night. It's really easy. And cloth toys go into the washer once a week. As far as I'm concerned though, a few germs are good for our kids. Happy washing! A.

hi there,
i too have a 5 month old so clearly i am no expert, but here's what we have been doing. first of all germs are helpful in building up their immunity. i keep that in mind when i start to freak out about how gross some of the things she puts in her mouth are. also, about once a week i take all of her toys, wooden, rubber, fabric, and i spray them with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water. our pediatrician says to use this to clean all her stuff. it's non-toxic!
have fun!

In many preschool settings a little bleach water is used to clean the toys and items that infants and children use on a daily basis. Also, those mesh nettings that you use to wash delicates in can be used to put his plush toys in the washer and fluff dryed. Those that have hanging things from them can be soaked in a little bleach water and hand washed and risensed and layed out to dry.

In the preschool setting we try to do this cleaning on a friday. We get the parents to take the sleeping cot bedding home to clean every friday. We wipe the tables, chairs, large play items down with a bleach water solution after putting the chidren down for nap time. Also, if you carry the purse size wipes you can take a wipe and wipe down the shopping cart before putting the child in the cart, you can also, keep a wipe in hand as you go about shopping to wipe down anything as needed.