Babies chew on their toys, put them in the mouth… Keeping your baby’s best buddies clean is a great way to prevent germs of uncleaned toys entering your little one’s body through the mouth and making him/her ill. How you clean the toys depends on the material from which the toys are made from. Read on and learn the different ways to clean toys safely, without using bleach.
#1 Fabric toys
The easiest option is to put stuffed animals, cloth books and other knitted toys in a washing machine. Be sure to put them all together in a mesh laundry bag and run it in a gentle mode to protect the delicate fabrics. For a deeper clean, pop fabric toys in a mesh laundry bag and spin in the clothes dryer on medium heat for 15 minutes. Also, you may clean them with your hands using baby shampoo and allow them to in the sun. Do not use your regular soap as your kid will be chewing, playing with them.
#2 Plastic
Small non-battery-operated plastic toys and teethers can usually be washed in the dishwasher. Put them on the top rack of the dishwasher, use the gentlest cycle, and allow to air-dry. You can also wash with a mixture of white vinegar and water. Mix 1 cup white vinegar in 2 cups water in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture on plastic toys, both non-battery-operated and battery-operated, then wipe them up with a towel. Make sure you remove batteries in them or keep the battery portion covered while cleaning them up.
#3 Wood
For a quick clean, natural disinfectant or baby wipes work well on wood toys. If you want to sanitise the toys, spray a mild solution of white vinegar and water. Make sure not to get them too wet and let them dry off quickly as excess moisture could stain or destroy the structure of the toys.
#4 Bath toys
Bath toys are usually wet and can quickly grow mould. The best way is to soak them in a 50/50 mixture of distilled white vinegar and hot water for 5-10 minutes every week. Then rinse in cold water and let them air-dry.
