How to Clean Mold on Children's Bath Toys

Bathtub toys make bath time go more smoothly for little ones, but they also pose a problem. The dampness of the bathroom encourages the growth of mold and mildew, and the use of harsh chemicals can pose risks for your little ones. Here's how to clean the mold in a safe manner.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bowl or basin
• White vinegar
• Kosher salt
• Bleach
• Toothbrush

1. If you have mold on your little one's bathroom toys, the first step is one you didn't take. That is, choose toys that have harder surfaces. The traditional rubber duckie is available in spongy material, but the wiser choice is a harder-surface vinyl. If you have mold on one of these old spongy duckies, replace it immediately with a newer, harder-surfaced one. The mold has grown down into the spongy plastic and you'll never get it out--and your teething toddler will enjoy the chewy new one after an initial period of adjustment.

2. If your little one's toy has a hard surface, try scrubbing the mold with Kosher salt on a moistened toothbrush. This solution is used on glass fish tanks, because the salt kills the mold and algae. Kosher salt is used because, like sea salt, it contains no additives.

3. Most of our little princes and princesses have at least one squeezie toy. These little squeakers can hold more than water when bath time is over. If there's mold inside one of these, fill a bowl with water and suck up a strong solution of Kosher salt and water or straight vinegar. Let sit overnight and rinse out in the morning with salt solution or vinegar. When you hold it up to a bright light, you shouldn't see any dark patches. If you do, that's mold. still clinging to an inside surface. You can try another overnight soak or give up and start substituting.

4. Your absolute last resort should be plain old bleach. It's been used on diapers (the kind your grandmother used before disposables that are coming back into fashion, also called "nappies") for years. Flush after scrubbing with lots of plain water, dump your rinse water down the disposer sink and scrub with salt or vinegar.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that whatever sits on the surface of your child's bath toy eventually goes in her mouth. When using cleaning products, rinse thoroughly.
• Prevention is always more successful that remediation. Rinse toys after use in white vinegar and make sure that squeezie toys are rinsed inside as well as out and squeezed as close to empty as possible. Keep them in a dry place like the nursery rather than the bath room so they have a chance to dry completely between each use.
• If there is any question of mold growing through a soft toy, gather your courage, find a new toy and discard the old. A few difficult bath times are a small price to pay for avoiding all the bugs and bacteria that a moldy toy can harbor.
• NEVER let bleach mix with other chemicals (like salt or vinegar) and use it only in a well-ventilated area.