Any one with good idea on how to sanitize a stuffed toy...have several non washing able with plastic and cloth and some with music inside... Has anyone come up with a way that they think does the job well. Appreciate your advice. I have washed lots of stuffed toys... and cleaned the just plastic... but not sure what to do to the ones that can't be washed.. yet they are sooooooooooooo nice.
Thanks,
J.
I toss them in the dryer on high for 5 minutes. They get quite hot. You can also spot treat them with a damp rag or throw them in a large zip-lock with a little baking soda. Then run through a dryer for a few minutes.
Clorox and Lysol (the normal kinds) are poison and shouldn't be used on the toys. Clorox does evaporate if left in the sun but I wouldn't use it if there's something better. There are a couple of options. You can get "food surface" sanitizer. This is safe for items that come in contact with food. We used lysol on stuff in day care but you are supposed to wash it off before use and we never did, even the high chairs. Look in the cleaner aisle for something that says "food surface." There may even be one that says for child items.
You can also look in the natural foods section at Kroger or HEb where they have cleaning products. They may have a ready made santizer or you can get a small bottle of tea tree oil (where the natural soaps are.) tea tree oil kills germs and is totally safe. Put a few drops in a small spray bottle of water. I use tea tree oil on my cloth diapers and it kills the germs and makes them smell, well, not like they've been pooped and peed in. LOL
S., mom to 5
www.greenerhomeproducts.biz
www.greeneroil.biz
I used wet ones antibacterial wipes, a wet towel and a dry towel. I would first wipe the cloth toy really well with the antibacterial wipe, go over it with a plain wet towel, then dry them off. Good luck!
Congratulations on that grandbaby! When I was working with infants and toddlers in a nursery, I would use Clorox wipes or Lysol and really wipe them down. Then, I'd wipe them with a soapy towel, to remove the Clorox and Lysol chemicals enough for them to play with the toys. At home, you can use some natural soaps. As much as I can, I try to keep the babies (mine and others) from playing with certain toys in certain areas or while they are eating, etc., to avoid most of the mess. I try to avoid giving them the ones that will be heard to clean, 'cause it's just not worth the hassle.
Hope this helps.
I would set them in the sun for a hour or so. The sun does amazing things, including sanitizing! Why is everyone so chemical happy these days?
Sunlight does the job beautifully - outside, not next to a window.
The safest way would be to heat them, but if they have any metal in them that means no micro wave. Sooo try the oven put them in one of those oven prof bags and bake for a few minute. This will not clean the dirt off of course but some carpet cleaner can deal with that. Good luck.
Hi J.,
I was watching "The Doctors" on TV and they said that you could put stuffed animals in the freezer to get rid of dust mites and allergens. I have no idea if it works but if it came from a bunch of Doctors then I would assume it does. Good luck to you!
Try a spray bottle of clorox and water mixture(I think it is 1:4 clorox to water)and spray them! Let them dry and you are good to go!
We used this in a daycare I worked in and we would spray the toys each evening before we left and they dried overnight, ready to be chewed on etc... the next day!!!
I will assume this method is approved by state licensing, because it is used ALOT by several daycares!
spray them down with lysol. That should take care of it.
Chlorox anywhere is really good. You can spray it anywhere...and it is safe to use. just let the stuffed animal dry before you give it back to the child.
Clorox is supposed to be child safe. I would use it all over the toy and then leave it outside for a day or two.
