How To Clean Children’s Toys

When you have small children at home, there’s no end to the cleaning. Disinfecting pacifiers and bottles, washing our hands time and time again, cleaning a constant stream of plastic dishes. But we rarely pay as much attention to how clean our kids’ toys are. Children are often inseparable from their favourite toys, and have no problem both playing with them and putting them in their mouths regardless of where they’ve been. The floor, the bathroom, the garden – no amount of dirt will put a child off their toys!

Of course, just cleaning off visible dirt isn’t enough. Toys pick up bacteria and other nasty things, and superficial cleaning won’t kill them off. So we’ve put together top tips and tricks on how to thoroughly clean different types of toys, meaning you can rest easy while your children play safely.

Table of Contents

1. Plastic toys

These are the easiest type of toy to sterilise, and there are a few different ways it can be done:

Create a mixture of equal parts water and white vinegar and fill a spray bottle with this. Spray this mixture on the plastic toys and leave to sit for 15 minutes before wiping them down with a clean, damp cloth. Pro tip: you can even fill a little travel bottle with this mixture to use on-the-go for when toys get dropped on the floor.

Fill a large bucket or container with water and add a few tablespoons of baby bottle cleaner. Submerge the toys in this mixture and let them soak for three hours. They’ll emerge clean as a whistle.

Use your dishwasher to clean plastic toys effectively. Wipe off any visible dirt with a clean cloth, then place the toys in the top rack of the dishwasher and set it to the drying setting. The heat will kill off any germs. Make sure the toys are heat-resistant first though, so you don’t end up with a melted plastic mess and an unhappy child!

2. Fabric toys and stuffed animals

Soft toys spend a lot of time close to your child’s face, and often get dragged around wherever your kid goes. You may experience some resistance and complaints of “but it won’t smell the same!” from your child when the topic of washing their cuddly toy comes up. But this brief tantrum is worth it to protect your little ones from the germs and grime building up of their favourite soft toys.

Place the fabric toys in a sealed plastic bag and freeze for 24 hours to kill any mites living on them.

Clean fabric toys using the washing machine. Double check any labels, but toys made of cotton or polyester blends should have no problem taking a tumble in the washer.

If the toys have any heavy stains or soiling, sprinkle baking soda on the affected areas before popping them in the washing machine. Add three capfuls of white vinegar along with your usual detergent. The combination of vinegar and baking soda will lift off stubborn stains while the machine does its work.

3. Teething toys

These toys are guaranteed to go in your child’s mouth – after all, that’s what they’re made for! So it’s extremely important to kill off the nasty germs on these toys.

For heat-resistant toys: boil a large pot of water and place the teething toys in it for ten minutes. Remove carefully with clean tongs, and cool off thoroughly before returning to your kiddo.

For toys that aren’t heat-resistant: simply use liquid dish soap and water as hot as the toy can handle. For a natural alternative, cover the toys with salt and rub thoroughly with the cut side of half a lemon. Be sure to get in all the nooks and crannies. Leave the salt and lemon concoction on the toy for at least 15 minutes before rinsing off with clean, hot water.

So use these simple tips to give you peace of mind that your child is playing safe and happy. No more nasty germs and no more dirt. The very definition of good, clean fun!

Author bio: Natalie has picked up plenty of home cleaning tricks and tips working for Helpling, a platform matching Australians with vetted and insured cleaners in Sydney and Melbourne. When not writing, she loves walks in the park and daydreaming of having a dog to take along with her.