Question by Kelly: Cleaning baby toys from garage sale..?
my mom got me a bunch of toys for my daughter from a garage sale.. what do you recommend cleaning them with.. something that is okay to clean them with and then have her put them in her mouth? some of them have batteries in them so they can’t be soaked or thrown in the washer..
Best answer:
Answer by Timid Women Rarely Make History
Clorox or Lysol wipes should do the trick. After that just wipe them really well with a damp paper towel to get rid of the excess residue and let dry.
What do you think? Answer below!
I would just use warm water and soap or dish washing liquid on a rag. The soap/dish washing liquid can’t hurt your daughter.
I avoid stuffed animals etc. that are used. Things I don’t want to put in the washer but have cloth parts.
The hard things I wiped down with a weak bleach solution and gave plenty of time to dry.
The things that can go in the washer go in the washer.
Stuffed animals can be washed in the washer, either on a ‘hand-wash’ cycle or you can put them in a pillow-case, tie one end of the pillow case (with either a sock or just tie it in a knot) and put it in. Don’t put them in the dryer, that will burn some furs, but put them outside hanging on a clothesline if possible to dry. The sun will kill any bacteria that may still be there.
Hard toys with batteries can be wiped down with chlorox or lysol wipes, or a weak solution, and then put them in the sun. It may fade the plastic’s colors, but it will also kill the bacteria left on them.
Soft toys with batteries, it depends on how cool they are. I’ve cleaned them successfully with a gentle chlorox mixture or the wipes and putting them in the sun.
If you worry about the chlorox and your child putting it in their mouth, then do a rinse with normal water afterwards. Maybe a little vinegar to cut through anything left behind.
You can spray them or wipe them down with disinfecting spray/wipes. Or you can soak them ina clorox bath. 3 parts water 1 clorox. If they are stuffed animals and such just throw them in the washer with really hot water, detergent and some Clorox for normal clothes. Not the bleach kind. They should be ok. If you can’t put them in the washer, get a toothbrush or cloth (depeding on how big it is) and just scrub with hot water and soap.
I use a mixture of bleach and water to disinfect. Remove the batteries before cleaning. Allow to dry completely before reinstalling batteries.
For stuffed animals, place into a pillow and seal with some safety pins. Wash using Simple Green on cold in the gentle cycle. I usually air dry, but some toss into the delicate heat cycle of the dryer. Brush up the fur with an old, clean hairbrush.
BTW, I use cold water, not hot. The cleaner is what kills the bacteria as the temperature of most hot water in N. America is set to no more than 120 F. At the hospital, they autoclave the toys that I make and donate. This is really the only way hot water kills bacteria and spores and such.
Some toys really aren’t very cleanable.