Cleaning Baby Toys: A How-to Guide

Keeping your child's toys clean and disinfected is one of the best, but often unheard, bits of advice for new mothers. With a still-developing immune system, your baby needs all the help they can get when it comes to staying healthy. Between crawling on the floor, touching anything and everything, and discovering the inside of their mouth, your baby can pick up and spread germs and illnesses easily. A bit of advice for new mothers: Your little one loves to play but their favourite toy might be a hot spot for germs. Reduce your child's chance of getting sick and let us help you learn how to clean baby toys properly.

Your child's toys come in all shapes and sizes, so how to clean baby toys depends on the type. Before the cleaning process start, be sure to check thoroughly for washing instruction, in case your child’s toy isn’t water-proof, or needs to be washed in a specific way.

Small toys:

The dishwasher: Small plastic toys that don't have batteries can be placed in your dishwasher. With a little detergent and hot water, your toys will be both cleaned and sanitized.

By hand: For small plastic toys that do have batteries, clean the outside of the toy with warm soap and water, making sure to scrape off any stuck on food or dirt. Next use a antibacterial baby wipes to sanitize the outside. Rinse the toy with water and dry before handing the toy back to baby.

Larger toys:

Clean the surface with soap and water, wipe with a antibacterial baby wipes, and then rinse with water.

Fabric toys:

Wash in the laundry with soap and hot water.

Depending on the type of toy, you can either hang dry it or place it in the dryer.

If you're worried about its stuffing clumping, place it in the dryer with a batch of new tennis balls.

How often should you clean them?

Bacteria can live up to a month on surfaces. So if your baby's toys were exposed to cooking surfaces, or if you’ve had lots of kids over to play, you should consider cleaning toys right away to help eliminate germs.

Bath toys should be cleaned right after bath time, as remaining moisture can lead to mold and bacteria gathering.

Generally speaking though, if no one in the household or recent visitors have been sick, you can clean baby toys every couple of weeks.

This article comes from dettol edit released

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