Clorox for Toys

i have a home daycare so you can imagine the toys i have cleaned. my doctor told me to quit cleaning them unless someone had thrown up on them or slimed them. what?? lol...last winter was a tough one healthwise, for my own children and he suggested that i may be 'overcleaning' everything. just soapy dishwater, or a cloth works fine, he said.

1 mom found this helpful

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not use bleach on toys!!! Bleach is nothing but fumes and toxins!!!! You know what bleach does for cleaning, why would you want kids licking on that??

Plain old soap and water, use a non toxic soap, works the best. I am with Shaklee, and we have non toxic cleaners too.

PLEASE do not use bleach!!!!

T.
http://www.wellnessiseasy.com

1 mom found this helpful

I absolutely wouldn't use it. Clorox is bleach, after all. But I wouldn't use any chemical product, even if it's marketed for use on baby items. They put the craziest things in chemical cleaners. Most chemicals that have been created in labs have never even been tested for safety. What they say is, "never been shown to harm..." or whatever. What this means is, the tests have never been done. So the opportunity to prove harm was never even provided. Easy way out! And the cheap way out for them. Problem is, it's bad for us and our kids. This is why the younger generations are rife with allergies, asthma, ADD, learning disorders, etc.

I'd stick them in the dishwasher with an eco detergent or else boil the toys for 3 minutes, or - if softer plastic or fabric - I'd use just plain old vinegar. Vinegar is very potent! Kills mold and germs alike. Another option is to use tea tree oil. I'd use 5 drops per 2 cups of water. Again, very potent. Problem is, the taste will remain. It's an oil, after all. So, for toys like teethers and rattles that they stick in their mouths, I'd go with the vinegar.

Added benefit: it's way cheaper than any of those wipes or "disinfectants" :) Most of the time, I've learned, the simplest, cheapest and most natural method is by far the most effective. I love how that works out. All those guys in their expensive labs can just keep on playing with their toys. But not at the cost of MY child's health.

L.

PS here's something really creepy. Due to OSHA requirements, cleaning products in the workplace are better regulated and safer to use than products intended for household use.

But only marginally so. You can go online and search "natural cleaner" and find websites like care2.com that have entire sections devoted to safe, natural cleaners for your home, simple things that work just great.

1 mom found this helpful

Clorox Anywhere spray is safe around babies, foods, and mouths. I spray everything with this daily!! I also clean toys once a week in a clorox bleach/water mixture. Just remember to let them air dry COMPLETELY for 24 hours! I love love love love love the Clorox Anywhere spray. It is safe enough to spritz on a paci and stick in a babies mouth. You don't have to wipe it down or rinse it off, but you can, of course if you want to.

I second the recommendation for eco friendly soap, water, and white vinegar. What's better for the environment is better for the children, too!

A.
http://www.audreysallnaturalshoppe.com

M., I had asked the question about cleaning teething toys. based on all the responses, this is the one that worked for me...After reading the responses, I placed the toys he likes to chew on best in the pillow case in the washer with the gentle cycle on and double rinse. Then I placed them out to dry. They were much cleaner, he could chew on them happily and I wasn't worried (as much) as to what he could pick up on them. The rattles did not fill with water and they are fine. As for the Clorox wipes, I believe they have to be used on sealed surfaces. I did not use them on my son's hard toys, those I wash in the dishwasher where I know the soap is safe for injestion (double rinse). The washing machine gets the soft plush toys. I hope this is what you needed to know.

Hey M.! I have a 2 year old and we've used Clorox anywhere on all his toys and never had a problem. I use it to clean the countertops in my kitchen too. It's recommended for cleaning high chairs and children's toys. I always kept a small travel sized on in my diaper bag when my son was a baby and cleaned the diaper changing stations with it before I put down the paper to lay him on. I also used it to clean the tables at restaurants! Good luck! :)

PLEASE DON'T USE BLEACH! Check out ALL the products you plan on using around your kids (or even yourself):

National Institutes of Health Library of Medicine Household Products Database. You can search almost any brand of cleaner, personal care products, etc. you use, find out what’s in it, and uncover its links to health effects. Or search by chemical ingredients (see list below for some examples) and discover what brands contain it. The information may shock you.
http://www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/ingredients.htm

Chemical ingredients to look out for:
• Sodium hydroxide
• Hydrochloric acid
• Butyl cellosolve (2-Butoxyethanol)
• Formaldehyde
• Bleach (sodium hypochlorite)
• Ammonia
• Sulfamic acid
• Petroleum distillates
• Sulfuric acid
• Lye (potassium hydroxide)
• Morpholine

I wouldn't put anything containing bleach on something that might go into a baby's mouth. And trying to maintain a completely germ-free environment actually does more harm than good, as it cripples the immune system by not allowing it to do its job. When my daughter's toys got grody, I just washed them with natural soap and warm water. If it couldn't be washed, I sprayed it with plain white vinegar and wiped it down.

Hi,
I'm a mother of a 14 yr. old girl and 2 1/2 yr. old boy and very much a germ freak! I use the best thing for killing those nasty germs...VINEGAR and water. Yes, it's better at killing germs over bleach. They say 1 part vinegar/3 parts water. I like it a little stronger, 50/50! Plus, it's a LOT cheaper and SAFER around the kids, no waiting for it to dry.....Good luck!
J

Another cheap, yummy-smelling option is lavender oil. You'd have to look up the number of drops per how much water, because I don't remember off-hand, and I'm about to have to go either a) help my daughter make her bed or b) duct tape her to it to remind her she's supposed to be making her bed and not running down the hall, trying to wake the baby...

Lavender oil is a natural disinfectant, not dangerous (although you don't want a strong solution, since essential oils can burn if they're not diluted, and it smells WONDERFUL. Not to mention, using it in the bath makes for soft skin and hair on adults and babies, it's soothing, which is nice for those freak-out days, and a little goes a long way, making it nearly as cheap as the vinegar and water solution (without making me crave pickles... when I clean my bathtub, which is always with vinegar, water and baking soda, I always end up wanting pickles!).

M.
A large church nursery I helped keep straight always misted all the toys each week with a diluted "Listerine" mouthwash. Kills all bacteria, inexpensive, smells nice and isn't toxic! Also no 'bleaching' concerns.
Blessings
Gtami

I have owned a Child Care Center and have over 10 years in the field. We are required by DHS to clean the toys every day with bleach water to sanitize them. It's only 1 Tbs. to a bottle. It is safe to use. We took all the toy that went into mouths often and soaked them for a couple of minutes every day. Sometimes I would fill a huge tub and put in the proper amounts of water and bleach and soak tons of toys at the same time. Then they were put out on a towel on the dining room tables and let air dry. There are lots of alternatives out there but bleach is cheapest and easiest to get. Toys that can be washed in the washer can just be put in there. At home we put lots of toys in the dishwasher in a mesh bag and turn off the auto dry.

I dont get some of the responses ive read, i was going to mention the clorox anywhere spray also. My son is now 4 so i dont have to worry about him putting things in his mouth but when he was that age and played with toys, the teethins plastic ones i would hand wash with soap and water. But his other toys i would either wipe them down with lyson wipes or spray them with disinfecting spray, at night, when he wasnt about to put them in his mouth or near his face. I dont think it will harm your child if hes playing with a toy that was wiped with lyson wipes 12 hrs ago! Plus i never have used ones wiht bleach in them that would be scary!

Here is a site I ran across:
http://www.naturallyhealthyclean.com/

Hi M.
I am a mother of two beautiful. I use a botanical disinfectant. I love it~ I do not have to worry about it harming my little one. It is the only EPA approved botanical disinfectant that is 99.9% effective and a hospital grade. So I am not sure about the Clorox sprays because I stopped using those around my children over a year ago due to the harmful affects!
Thanks
C. Stork
www.forourkidz.fourpointmoms.com

If you look on the baby aisle in Wal-Mart or other stores similiar, you can find a spray bottle that has a picture of a stenciled baby on it. I can't remember the exact name. It can be used to clean all surfaces including toys that a child touches. It is safe to use anywhere. Generall,y I would use wet wipes to clean off the toys since my daughter was usually the only ones touching them.

Good luck!

One cap full of bleach to one gallon of water. Thats a safe sanitizing solution. I used this when I worked in childcare. Also I sometimes put them in the dishwasher.

I put all hard toys (teething rings, hotwheel cars, plastic pots and pan, most everything) on the top rack of our dishwasher and run them through. If they are too small, put them in a laundry mesh garmet bag and lay that on the rack. I do it a LOT in the winter, when viruses are more frequent. Stuffed animals go in the wash in the garment bag also, even if they say spot or surface clean only. I put them in the dryer on a warm/low setting for a few minutes then let them airdry. I feel this keeps everything sanitized and nice and clean. You will love dishwashing those toys ... they come out looking store new. I have never had anything that melted or warped.

I used Medela wipes that are used for cleaning breast pumps. There is also a Chlorox spray that is made for food surfaces. It is in a blue bottle. Read the label and it will say safe for high chairs. It has no smell and feels like water with no residue left on the surface.

There is a product out there called "Odo-Ban" that a couple daycare places I use have for cleaning/disinfecting their toys with.

Clorox will "bleach" out the colors if you use it a lot--even if you dilute it. Why can't you put them in the dishwasher?