Cleaning Solution for Infant Toys?

OH PLEASE J. - NO BLEACH, CLOROX, OR LYSOL!! THE ONLY ONE WHO WILL CLAIM YOU THAT THOSE THINGS ARE SAFE IS THE COMPANY THAT SELLS THEM! CAN YOU READ & UNDERSTAND THOSE LABELS? TRUTH IS, BY LAW, UNLESS A PRODUCT IS MEANT TO BE INGESTED, THE COMPANY DOES NOT HAVE TO TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT THE TOXIC CHEMICALS IN THE PRODUCT!

PLEASE READ THIS FROM THE EPA:

Bleach (Liquid)
Danger! Causes severe eye injuries. Can burn the skin, mouth, throat, and stomach.
Vapors irritate the nose, throat, and lungs.
Chlorine’s by products are organochlorines and dioxin – dangerous to health and the environment.
Dioxin is 300,000 times a more potent carcinogen than DDT. It bio-accumulates in the body
– we cannot detoxify it.
Vapors have been shown to interfere with brain function. Vapors have been shown to aggravate heart conditions and asthma. Suspected to affect the reproductive system.

All Purpose Cleaner (409)
Warning! Strong lung irritant. Can cause mild to moderate damage to eyes. Fumes can cause weakness and dizziness.

Contains:
Ammonia
2-butoxy ethanol
Ethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether: listed by EPA as a possible human carcinogen
Central nervous system depression, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, abdominal pain,
lesions may occur in brain, lung, liver and meniges and heart. Possible bone marrow depression.
Irritant of eyes, nose and throat
Phenol

Linked to cancer, reproductive disorders, kidney and liver damage. Can cause chronic lung irritation.

Lysol Disinfectant Spray
• Registered Pesticide
• Denatured Ethanol
If inhaled or ingested causes Central Nervous System Depression
Irritant to eyes and mucus membranes
• Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride
Disinfectant
Biocide
Pesticide
Harmful by inhalation, ingestion & skin contact
• Orthophenylphenol (OPP) Carcinogenic, moderate skin irritant, immunosuppresion, headache
• , nervousness, blurred vision, weakness, nausea, cramps diarrhea, discomfort in the chest including sweating, miosis, tearing, salivation and other excessive respiratory tract secretion, vomiting convulsion, coma, loss of reflexes, cardiac arrhythmias, heart block and cardiac arrest
It is suspected that phenols are contaminated with Dioxin (Agent Orange) a known carcinogen.

Central Nervous System Depression Includes: Damage to Brain Function and the Spinal Cord, Epilepsy, Migrain, Parkinson’s Disease, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Schizophrenia

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes
• Dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride
Pesticide
• Dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride
Pesticide

FOR A MUCH BETTER, SAFER, HEALTHIER OPTION, PLEASE CALL ME AT ###-###-#### OR REPLY TO MY EMAIL:

____@____.com

AND I WILL BE GLAD TO GIVE YOU INFORMATION ABOUT A MUCH BETTER ALTERNATIVE FOR YOUR HOME AND FAMILY!

I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.

B. K
ELGIN, IL

1 mom found this helpful

I work in a daycare and the proper way of cleaning toys s 1/4 tsp of bleach to the rest hot water. I use it everyday in spraying down my changing table to disinfectiong the toys. I hope I answered some of your questions. Good Luck.

I sanitize toys at the daycare where i work. I use 1/4 cup bleach for each gallon(I do this in a big sink). No need to buy anything special.

I meant to say "1/4 per GALLON of water.

I read the directions and the state standards. No one is made sick by this because we take the proper precautions. I sanitize the toys when there are no children in the room. When it is mixed properly there are zero fumes. We also rinse the toys in fresh water to remove any bleach residue.
If you have questions about how to properly sanitize toys and surfaces for daycares I suggest you contact your state health department.

I use clorox anywhere spray.

one teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water and let the toys air dry

I also use Clorox Anywhwere. We use it for everything, especially the baby stuff!

I have only used bleach water to clean all my toys.. I too have worked in day care facilities that only use the solution that someone here has mentioned. It is the safest and best thing to clean and sanitize kids toys/equipment with.

Bev,
I don't agree with your lashing out against using bleach water. We are not using it full strength to clean childrens toys that will eventually end up in their mouths.

You do have the right to your opinion, though we are ALL aware of the dangers.. which is why only a 1/4 teaspoon is used per every 1 gallon of water.

Kuddos to the poster that uses it at their day care facility (as most do already) and to all the moms out there that use it too! I personally use bleach water.. more than 1/4 teaspoon though, to clean my bathroom.

Hope this helps!
~Kim (Winfield)

i use a steam cleaner.....it sanatizes and disinfects with just using water no chemicals. i think its worth it cuz you can also clean stuffed animals and toys that are cloth

An tsp of liquid bleach in a bucket of water will do the same thing for plastic toys. (You can just wash soft toys in the washing machine) Make sure you do not over do it with the beach- you should NOT be able to smell bleach in the water if it is mixed correctly.

This is what all state licensed daycare centers use to clean toys. Bleach disapates as it dries, so make sure all the plastic toys are thoroughly dry before you give them back to your child.

I am not sure about anything from a commercial, but in day cares they use bleach water which I think is 1 teaspoon bleach to 1 gallon water - I would research that amount though before using. Beware of toys with holes in the bottom like Fisher Price Little People because if you soak them, water will get inside and is almost impossible to get out

Bleach and water - don't buy anything special. They are just trying to make money with scare tactics.

Vinegar and water. There are 1001 uses for vinegar and this is just one of the cleaning uses for it.

J.,
I work at a DCFS licensed daycare and we sterilize our toys daily. What we do is make a Bleach water solution on a daily basis. It is one gallon of water and a 1/2 teaspoon of bleach for sanitizing toys and tables. We use a stronger solution for our changing table, which is one gallon of water and a 1/4 cup of bleach. We make the solution fresh every day. We use a cleaned out milk jug, and empty and remake daily. Each classroom has two spray bottles labeled with the contents and the mixture ingredients. We also keep all chemicals in a locked cabinet to prevent any injury. How we clean our toys is, we fill our sink with water and kitchen dish soap, we use Dawn, and wash them with a regular paper towel, rinse, place on a towel, and when we are done we spray the toys with the bleach solution and let sit until dry. For battery operated toys we spray with the bleach solution and wipe clean with a paper towel.
I hope this helps!

I always washed in the machine all washable toys and used some clorine bleach to sanitize. I would say an ounce of bleach to a bucket full of water for 10 minutes is pleanty. Rinse well afterward.

If you are concerned about using chemicals, you can always use plain vinegar. I use it full strength, but you can dilute it too, if the smell bothers you. It disapates (?) quickly.

Also, if you spray vinegar, then spray hydrogen peroxide, and then wipe with a paper towel, it has the same cleaning and disinfecting properties of bleach, without the harshness. You can't mix the two in the same bottle and spray though. I don't know why, it's just what I read.

I've been using this method to clean for several years now. it's so much cheaper than buying the special cleaning sprays, and just as effective. Plus, I don't have to worry about spraying it when my kids are right there.

you could use bleach or lysol. dilute according to package directions and leave for the specified amount of time. good luck

Dishwasher whenever possible.

I agree with the vinegar and hydrogen peroxide option that one of the other mamas has suggested.

I typically just pour some white vinegar in some hot water (I just kind-of eyeball it, but I assume it's somewhere around a half to whole cup per gallon or something like that), let the toys sit for a few minutes, rinse them off, and we're good to go.

You could probably even do a vinegar and baking soda mixture in water, too. That would get dirt and grime out of things a little better.

i haven't read any of the other posts but if you have a dishwasher you can put any baby toys that can be submerged in water on the top shelf and they will be sterilized.

HOT WATER and soap is what I suggest. I try and stay away from the chemicals. The clorox stuff stays on the toys even after you rinse it. You can also take a large lingere bag and toss your toys in the washing machine. (Of course only the toys that are made to go into the water) I've been doing at home daycare for over 5 years now. I find that if I pull the toys out of the playroom after the kids 'mouth' the toys and then wash them at nap time, everything is fine.

You can also steam clean them if you own a steamer. But vinegar and water also in a natural way.

I've always used just soap and hot water. I used an Earth friendly more natural soap to try to stay away from the chemicals.
I understand just plain old Clorox mixed with water is not harmful to kids either. Just to be safe though, I waited until after my daughter was a year old to start using the Clorox. And even then, I only use it for dirty hand-me-down toys.