How to Better Clean Toys

A safe solution is 1 gallon of cool water with a quarter cup of bleach. Just throw the toys in a bucket of the "bleach water", let them soak for 5 minutes, and then rinse and let dry. (this is only for hard toys, of course!)

If you follow the health department fuidelines for mixing bleach and water you won't have a leftover bleach smell...it's about 1 tablespoon to 1 gallon of water. You cannot have a bleach smell or residue on the toys if you follow these guidelines. Bleach loses it's strength because it gets exposes to sunlight in a bottle so it must be made fresh every day.

If it's a stuffed animal wash in the washing machine and dry it.

Thisone is how to mix a spray bottle for spraying down the toys plus doorknobs, crib rails, sink handles, etc....
http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_make-bleach-sanitizi...

This one is the guidelines about submersing the toys in the sink.
http://babyparenting.about.com/cs/healthissues/qt/sanitiz...

I agree with the bleach cleaning ( I do use some bleach in my home), but for a 10 mo old who is putting EVERYTHING in his mouth, I would use dishsoap like you are doing or vinegar. Vinegar kills germs and is completly non toxic. I would put the toys in the bathtub, get a spray bottle with about half vinegar and half water (maybe a little less vinegar than that), spray toys down completly and let them sit for awhile - maybe 30 mins? then rinse and dry.

Change the sch slowly; soap and water is fine.
best, k

Are you getting your own child's germs off or someone elses?? I never heard of removing your own childs. Let your child build an immune system instead of trying to sanitize everything. You will be glad you did.
Bleach is the WORST thing to use. Very toxic.

I did not care for the bleach smell left on the toys and it is very caustic, so I would wash the ones I could then I would spray with hydrogen peroxide. Do not get on your carpet or clothes! Tea tree oil is also a natural antibacterial cleaner.