How to Disinfect Soft Toys
Keeping your child healthy involves keeping your home and their play area clean. This requires you to disinfect their toys every few weeks. Disinfect them more often if your child is sick or if they have been playing with a child who is sick. While you can run hard plastic toys through the dishwasher, hand clean and disinfect certain soft toys that might get melted in a dishwasher. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Soft Plastic Toys
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1
Plug your sink and fill it with hot water.
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2
Add 1 tsp. liquid dish soap while the water is running. This will make the water sudsy.
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3
Put the soft toys in the sink and let them sit there for at least 2 minutes.
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4
Scrub each soft toy with a toothbrush to clean the crevices. Dip the toothbrush into the soapy mixture as needed to remove any built-up dirt.
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5
Remove the plug and let the sink drain.
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6
Rinse each toy under clear water.
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7
Fill a bucket with 1 gallon water and ¼ cup bleach. Do not use your sink for this process as bleach could damage stainless steel or other metal or stone sinks.
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8
Put the toys in the bucket and let them sit for 20 minutes. This is long enough to remove the rest of the bacteria on the soft toys.
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9
Remove toys from the bleach and rinse them well under clear water.
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10
Let the toys air dry.
Stuffed Animals
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11
Fill your washing machine with hot water.
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12
Add the proper amount of laundry detergent for the amount of water in the washing machine, depending on the directions on the laundry detergent you are using.
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13
Put the stuffed animals in the washing machine and run the cycle as normal.
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14
Hang the stuffed animal to dry on a clothesline.
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1
Tips & Warnings
If you don't have a clothesline, clip the stuffed animals to the bottom of a hanger and hang the hanger outside where it will air dry.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
