Keep your child safe and healthy! As a parent, that task is one of your most important jobs. For any number of reasons, it can be tricky. Kids are constantly doing the following:
- Chewing on their toys
- Crawling around on dirty floors
- Playing in dirty sandboxes
- Eating with their hands
- Forgetting to wash their hands
- Putting things in their mouths
- Sharing with friends
- Are constantly on the go and exploring
… and generally getting into trouble of all sorts!
For the reasons above, it becomes very important to know how to disinfect kids’ toys. Granted, some germs are not only harmless but considered somewhat "beneficial". On the other hand, they can spread things like the norovirus, flu, colds, and truly dangerous illnesses. To prevent the spread of germs, it's important to know how to disinfect toys appropriately.
DISINFECTING TOYS – HOW TO DO IT
For up to 48 hours, and potentially infectious, the flu virus can stay alive on the surface of a toy. For days or even weeks, a common cause of stomach bugs – norovirus – can linger in an area. That's a scary thought! Never hesitate to disinfect your child's toys – especially if a sick child (a playmate or your own child) has been in the picture. Here are some methods of disinfection:
- Never take your washing machine for granted – Cloth books, blankets, stuffed animals, and more (fabric toys) – on the delicate cycle – can be cleaned in your washing machine. Anything with noisemakers or battery packs should not be laundered. Before you launder it, place a toy in a pillowcase if you are worried about it surviving the wash cycle.
- Your dishwasher provides excellent disinfecting – Throw a toy in your dishwasher, as long as it is dishwasher safe, for a deep clean about once a week. This works well for bath toys, plastic shapes and blocks, rattles, etc. Use a lingerie bag or place the toy in your silverware holder if it's small. You don't want it falling through the cracks. If it contains batteries, buttons, or fabric, don't use the dishwasher.
- Good old water and vinegar – An eco-friendly, time-tested method for washing toys is a solution of vinegar and water. The water to vinegar mixture can be a 50-50 solution. Don't soak the toys in it, just wipe them down.
- Bleaching – Bleach can be used on nonporous, washable toys. In 1 gallon of water, add about half a cup of bleach. For five minutes, let the toy soak. After thoroughly rinsing with water, the toy can be left to air dry.
- UV Rays – Around the world, sunlight was killing bacteria long before cleaning products were invented. Place a toy within the sun's direct rays in a room that gets a lot of sunlight through the window. If it's a beautiful sunny day, leave your kids toys outside in direct sunlight. Lingering odors may also be refreshed in toys left out of doors, as well.
WHEN IT'S IMPORTANT TO DISINFECT
Naturally, during regular play, you will still want to disinfect your child's toys on a regular basis. But there are times when it becomes absolutely essential to make sure that your child's toys are disinfected. Here are some instances where that applies:
- The toy has mucus, vomit, milk, or food on it.
- At your child's school, an illness is spreading.
- One of the playmates of your child has been sick.
- A sickness is being experienced or has recently been experienced by your child.
KIDPOWERED HAS TOYS GALORE!
At Kidpowered, we provide toys that span dozens of themes. Numerous occupations, people, animals, and more are represented by our wide array of toys. From dragons to dinosaurs, from emergency medical workers to farmers, and from cars to tractors, we've got individual toys and groupings/set ups that will entertain your children for hours.