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Did your baby’s toys lose their sparkle? Do you remember the day when you first bought them and how cute they used to be? And now they look a bit worse wear? Keeping the baby toys clean is extremely essential but it is sometimes underestimated. The immune system of the little one is still in a process of development and every parent must take additional care when it comes to the baby’s health. Kids will be kids. They love crawling on the floor, putting everything they see in their mouth, investigating the surrounding areas by touching everything and then looking at you like the sweetest little angel. It stops being funny when they pick up germs and get ill.
Every kid loves to play but their toy can be a favourable habitat for harmful bacteria. I will share with you bits of advice on how to clean your baby’s toys in order to make it less possible for it to get sick. Most children’s health experts advise parents to clean and disinfect the baby toys on a regular basis which would mean at least once a month.
Not all baby toys are alike. They vary in sizes, shapes and types on which it actually depends how to disinfect them. First, you need to make sure if there are any washing instructions because there are toys which should be cleaned in a particular way or there are others which are not water-proof.
Small toys
Here we are to the first trick which I found out from a friend of mine who has three kids already and I always trust her when it comes to “baby related things”. She told me that I could place small toys directly in the dishwasher. Make sure that the toy does not have any batteries. Put a little dishwasher detergent (it usually includes a disinfectant) and let the dishwasher do all the job. The hot water will deeply sanitise the toys. Set the heated cycle in order to dry the toys off.
For those toys which have batteries, you can easily clean them by hand. It is better to take the batteries out prior to cleaning. Just use warm water and dish soap, and wipe the surface of the toy down till you remove any specks of grime. Antibacterial wet wipes always come in handy as well and do a great job. To make sure that all the soap is gone, rinse the toy.
Big toys
See if there are any washing instructions again. If there is nothing specific mentioned, the procedure is not a lot different from the aforementioned one. Again clean the toys with warm water and soap. Let them dry and that’s it. There is a range of cleaning products on the contemporary market so next time when you are shopping, check for a anti bacterial surface agent to sanitise the surface better. After you use it, wipe with a wet wipe or rinse with warm water. A more inexpensive way to sanitise the kids’ toys is to use a diluted bleach. Cheap and effective.
Fabric toys
Most toys can be washed directly in the laundry with a soap. Let them air dry or place them in the dryer but only after you check the instructions because you do not want to damage your baby’s favourite toy, do you?
Even though sometimes keeping everything in order and clean feels challenging, it is not impossible. Having in mind how much kids love their toys and how much you love your kids, then taking your time to sanitise and disinfect their toys is a must in order to keep your baby healthy and protected.