7 Tips for Cleaning Children’s Toys

As a grandmother to two darling little grandchildren it’s important to me that I always keep their toys clean. By keeping them clean, I prevent the spread of germs and I prolong the life of the toys for other children to enjoy once my grandchildren outgrow them.

I clean my grandchildren’s toys once a month and some of their most played toys get cleaned bi-monthly. I use a variety of methods to clean them…which I’m sharing a few of those cleaning methods with you today.

1. The dishwasher can be your best friend! All toys that are made out of hard plastic are washed in a solo-load in the dishwasher. I do NOT wash them with dirty dishes. I put a load of toys into the dishwasher and wash them on a gentle cycle, not the pots & pans cycle and air dry them. Do not use the heat setting!

2. The washing machine can be your second best friend! I use three old pillowcases to wash toys in our washing machine. I place all stuffed animals into one pillow case and tie it shut. I place all cloth dolls, doll cloths, doll blankets, etc. into a second pillow case and tie it shut. In the third pillow case I place other soft toys and tie it shut. I toss all three pillowcases into my washing machine and use a liquid baby laundry detergent (Dreft is my favorite) and wash the toys on the gentle cycle. I remove them pillowcases and toss into my dryer on the low heat setting. Once done, remove toys from the cases for freshly cleaned toys!

3. The Bathtub is a great way to clean all of your child’s larger sized items that need to be cleaned. I fill up my bathtub 1/3 of the way with warm water and a mild liquid soap. I place toys into the water to soak for about 15-20 minutes. If needed, I will light sponge-clean them to remove any stubborn dirt or debris. Drain out the water and rinse each item under running water from the faucet. Place several folded up towels on the floor and lay the items out onto the toys to air dry.

4. If you have stuffed animals and cloth dolls that have stinky odors to them…you can safely clean them one of two ways. Place the item into a large plastic zipper closure bag and sprinkle baking soda into the bag. Seal up the bag and let it sit like that overnight. The next day open the bag, shake off the baking soda and use your vacuum clean to finish removing the “powder” off the stuffed animal. The odors should be gone. If that doesn’t work…try using cornstarch instead of the baking soda.

5. Vinegar and water makes for a great non-toxic cleaner for toys! I fill up a spray bottle with water and add 1-2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the water. Keep this bottle handy for daily clean-ups when you need to spray down a toy with the solution and wipe clean with with towel.

6. For larger toys like bicycles, play kitchens, outdoor toys, etc. take them outside for cleaning! Spray them down with a non-toxic cleaner of your choice and then hose them down with the garden hose. Let them air dry thoroughly before bringing them back inside.

7. Hand-Held Steam Cleaner is an excellent way to sanitize larger stuffed animals, bean bag chairs, throw blankets and other items that you don’t want to clean the traditional way. These cleaners use the power of extremely hot steam to sanitize items…removing harmful bacteria and germs.

If you keep after the toys on a regular basis…consistently cleaning them will become easier and a much quicker process. By keeping things clean you’ll cut down on the spread of germs and prolong the life of the toys.

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