To avoid soap scum, grime and – yuck – mould building-up, here are nine practical ways for cleaning bath toys without reaching for the bleach. (image via Forever Organised)
1. V is for victory! (And vinegar)
Normally associated with hot chips, vinegar is more than just a friend for deep-fried spuds. It’s also a power cleaner. Give the bath toys a bath of their own in a vinegar and water mix – a couple of cups in a sink full of water should do the trick. Natural cleaning win!
2. A family favourite
All hail the dishwasher. Our love for this household appliance is only matched by our lingering fear that it might break down. Until that happens, you can happily clean dishwasher-safe bath toys in the appliance (just stick with the top shelf). Did we mention that we love dishwashers?
3. Get hands on
For delicate or foam toys, it’s best to clean them by hand. Washing up liquid and elbow grease should do the job on general grime. But if you suspect the mould monster is lurking within, you’ll need to team this one up with another solution.
4. Clean machine
Hard-wearing bath toys, like rubber duckies, will sparkle after a stint in the washing machine. Put them in a delicates bag and watch ducky hang 10 in the barrel! Hint: add some towels to the wash for a quieter spin cycle.
5. Plug the problem!
When water gets trapped inside squeaky, squirty bath toys, mould soon crashes the party. To stop water getting in, clean each toy and allow to dry, then use a splodge of hot glue (or water-proof silicon) to seal the hole at their base. Or better still, plug the hole before new toys make their bath debut.
6. Fizz for the cleaning whiz
Hydrogen peroxide (3%) is non-toxic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-mould. It’s basically a miracle solution. So it is a great option for cleaning kids’ toys, including hard bath toys. They’ll fizz like crazy in a bucket of peroxide and come out clean!
7. An Aussie solution!
Tea tree oil (from the Australian native, Melaleuca) is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. To unleash the ‘Mould Buster from Down Under’, add about 10 drops of tea tree oil to four cups of water and spray it on grubby bath toys. Wipe dry and the toys are good to go!
8. An unlikely ingredient
Although it goes against every bone in our body to clean kids’ bath toys with vodka, the word on the web is that this really works. Vodka is a natural disinfectant, so pour some into a spray bottle with water and spritz those surfaces! After you’re done, remove any residue with a cloth.
9. And last but not least…
Prevention is better than a cure, so the best way to stop mould growing on toys is to look after them. After your kids’ bath, scoop up the toys, squeeze the water out and dry them off in a sunny spot. Our bath toy storage ideas will help you keep grime to a minimum. Problem solved!
Read next…
Now that you have the bath toys sorted it’s time to find somewhere brilliant to store them in these next articles.
• 15 brilliant bath toy storage solutions
• Rub a dub dub: 10 alternatives to the baby bath
• 17 bath essentials for time in the tub
