Keeping Kids Bath Toys Clean and Mold Free

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bathtoys

Have you ever really examined your kids bath toys?  Unless you clean them regularly and can keep them dry they are the perfect breeding ground for mold and bacteria.  The worst bath toy of all?  The Squeaky toy!  Yes, that innocent looking little rubber ducky, frog or train that has the little hole in it might be just be hiding mold in it as you read this!  Don’t freak out.  Stay calm.  You can do something to prevent this from happening.

Step 1 – Clean your existing bath toys.
Time to give the bath toys a soak of their own.  Soak the bath toys in a combination of 1/2 cup bleach and 1 gallon of water.  Soak for at least 15 minutes (longer if mold is bad).  If you are wanting a more natural way to go besides bleach, use 1 cup white vinegar for each 1 cup of water to soak the toys in.  Once finished with the soaking, it’s time to squeeze out as much water as you can.  Using a towel dry off what you can and then let them air dry overnight to make sure the inside is dried out.

Step 2 – Close up that hole.
Now for all those squeaky or other bath toys with holes in them,  it’s time to fill it up.  The best way to do this is to use a glue gun.  It’s as simple as putting a small dollop of glue over the hole and let it dry.  Now if you don’t have a glue gun (and if you are like my wife there are a million other uses for them, go buy one!) you can always use some super glue.  Just squeeze in a small layer of glue over the hole so that the surface of the hole is completely covered.  You are done!

FILLTOYHOLEWITHGLUE

Now you can go about your day knowing that your kids won’t be swimming with mold and bacteria for today’s bath.  And best of all the next time your little toddler picks up that squeaky toy and tries to drink water out of the hole (that formerly had lots of gross mold in it), they will be getting nothing!

 

Thomas Brogan

Thomas Brogan, a native of Des Moines, was the original founder of Des Moines Parent and is a father to a 12 & 14-year-old. In his free time, he likes to explore nature, try new local restaurants, and enjoy life as best as he can.

3 thoughts on “Keeping Kids Bath Toys Clean and Mold Free

  1. I teach at a daycare center with toddlers. Before using any toys in the water table I always use a glue gun to seal the holes. Works great!

  2. Fantastic article. Brilliant suggestion. We suffer from this moldy toys problem in this house. The glue gun trick is genius I love it and am going to do it.

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