How do you clean your children's toys?

[lisamai]

I just realized that I haven't ever really cleaned my 3 year old's toys. But now that my 6 month old daughter is putting everything in her mouth, it's making me worry! What's the best way to clean them all easily? I was thinking of putting them in a bathtub, but what soap/cleaner would be effective in getting grime/dirt/germs and whatever else is on there off, but still be safe to put in a baby's mouth?
I'm talking about little action figures, legos, cars, animals - mostly plastic items.

[whalvo]

I don't clean them unless they're visibly dirty, like if they have food smeared on them or something. Then I just wipe them down with a diaper wipe. I don't feel the need to sanitize unless a friend's kid comes over with a runny nose and starts mouthing stuff.

[KatieGrace]

Everyday germs are our friends. I never cleaned Katie's toys since birth unless they were visibly dirty as a pp has said or if we were out and about somewhere and a toy fell on the floor at the mall, dr office, or anywhere out in public. I just stick the toy in the diaper bag and when I get home I just wash it with hot water and natural dish soap. I never use the antibacterial cleaners...There are studies coming out now that actually show they are doing more harm than good and regular soap does a better job anyways. I would say don't worry unless a toy gets dropped in public or they are visibly dirty.

[Okmommy06]

I've never washed DS's toys unless they are visibly dirty like pp mentioned.

[nini02]

Here's a good article that was posted in the current events forum recently. I'll echo the others who said we only clean them when they are visibly dirty, and then we just wash with warm water & soap.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/he...?_r=1&emc=eta1

[lisamai]

I understand that germs are normal and everywhere, etc. My concern is other things - like dirt that I can't see, or especially bugs from us being sick. We've all had a horrible stomach bug this week, and I feel like it's all over everything, and now everything she puts into her mouth is just going to infect her again. I don't know how to get rid of that kind of stuff through the whole house!

[cedricsmom]

I worked in a kindergarten and twice a year we cleaned all of the toys, we cleaned toys the other times when they were visibly dirty. Blocks and Legos we put in a pillow case and put it in the washing mashine. I would say wiping off toys with water and soap will do.

[PASTDUEMOM]

I just fill the kitchen sink with water and a small bit of bleach and let them sit for about 15 minutes then let them dry over night after rinsing them off! Just like brand spankin' new!

[Nanner99]

What? Clean their toys?



If they have been in the yard, they take a bath with the boys.

[tonewinwy]

If you don't want to use bleach to disinfect the toys you can also use Vinegar. To clean and disinfect baby toys add a good-sized splash of white distilled vinegar to soapy water.

Clean vinyl baby books or board books by wiping with white distilled vinegar. Wipe clean with a damp sponge or cloth.

We use Vinegar for pretty much all cleaning even in Laundry.

http://www.vinegartips.com/cleaning/