When it comes to caring for your little ones, it’s crucial to ensure that their environment is clean. Not only should their room be regularly cleaned and disinfected, but whatever they touch as well. And yes, this includes their toys!
Because your babies and toddlers would pick up their toys, their curiosity gets the best of them, using their mouths to play at times! Because of this, you need to make sure that what they put in their mouths and hands are clean and without any germs that can contaminate their body.
Wondering what you can do to disinfect baby toys without the expensive products and gadgets? Here are the different methods to follow:
- Cleaning Stuffed Toys
What falls under this category? Stuffed animals and toys made of fabric. These would usually get a mouthed and most likely stain, especially when your little one loves to eat while playing with them!
Fortunately and usually, these toys are machine-washable, making it easier to clean. However, make sure that you follow the instructions on the tag to prevent it from damaging. If ever there isn’t any directions or you lost it, here’s a safe method to follow.
Throw the stuffed and fabric toys in the washing machine (if it’s made of cotton and polyester blend) and wash it on gentle cycle with baby-safe detergent.
If the toys are stained or soiled, then you can sprinkle it with a bit of baking soda and wash, adding three capfuls of white vinegar during the rinse cycle.
Whether it’s for toys for 0-6 months old babies or ones for toddlers, I show you how to disinfect baby toys with home remedies!
To dry the toys, make sure that you do so on low tumble.
- Wool Toys
For wool toys that are felted or made of felt, then you can follow the steps I mentioned in cleaning stuffed toys, just make sure that you wash it in a pillowcase of net bag.
However, if it isn’t felted, then you’ll need to take special care when cleaning these types of toys (this applies to all types of wool products).
I highly recommend spot cleaning, using mild wool soap and a damp washcloth. If ever the toy is heavily soiled or stained, hand wash using wool soap carefully, avoid creating damage by scrubbing too hard.
Also, take note that you should NOT tumble dry wool toys (unless felted), as this will cause damage. Instead, if washed, leave it out near a sunny window to dry.
- Removing Stains on White Materials
If your little one has a toy made of all-white material (like white teddy bears) and starts to look yellow and worn out, there are ways on how to whiten it WITHOUT using bleach (which can be harmful to your little one).
You’ll be surprised that laying the white toys under direct sunlight can help make the stains disappear after a few hours. This method can also work for cloth diapers or stained cotton onesies. Just make sure that you clean it according to instructions after, removing the dust and germs that may have incurred while it was drying under the sun.
If ever the stains are really tough to remove, then spraying a bit of lemon juice on the stain and “sunning” it will help remove it!
- Cleaning “Hard” Baby Toys
What are hard toys? These are your baby’s tethers, wooden, or plastic toys. Most likely, these are the toys that she’ll be putting in her mouth, which would be covered with saliva and residue, as well as germs from other babies if they just had a playmate!
What you can do to clean that up is through using a mixture of both water and distilled white vinegar.
All you need to do is to mix together both equal parts of water and vinegar, which creates an inexpensive cleaning solution for your baby’s toys.
Pour the solution in a spray bottle then spray a bit of it on a clean cloth. After that, use said cloth to wipe down all the toys. Not to worry about the smell, as it disappears completely after drying and won’t leave residue on the toys.
Wrapping It Up
You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on disinfectants and cleaners. While good purchases, they aren’t a major necessity as long as you know how to clean your baby’s toys properly and disinfect them with safe products.
I hope that this article on how to disinfect baby toys with home remedies helped you out. So don’t wait any longer and make sure that your baby’s toys are clean now!
If you have any questions or want to share your tips on disinfecting baby toys, then comment below. Your thoughts are much appreciated.
