Baby toys require extensive cleaning to keep your children out of harms way.
Introduction:
Toys play a vital role in the life of kids. Toys can help a children grow; they escalate and enhance their senses. But, how to clean baby toys can be a tricky task if, you are unaware of the basics. Fret not, as we are going to discuss different ways via which you can learn how to wash baby toys.
Why Should you Clean Baby Toys?
The initial development of the brain of children highly depends upon toys. They help the children learn, explore new things, provide a continuous source of entertainment, and keep them occupied. Babies tend to explore things usually by touching or tasting them. What they basically do is, throw the toys on floor, drool on them, pick them up again and taste them. Because of this nature of babies, it is extremely important for parents to know how to clean baby toys. All these little adventures are crucial for the proper development of your baby so, you should encourage them to play. However, babies can easily pick up germs from unclean toys that can transmit sickness. So, it is very important to make sure that baby toys are clean. Accordingly, regular cleaning of toys is very important.
Different ways of how to clean baby toys:
Every child owns different types of toys and the method of cleaning every type of toy is somewhat different. Here are some little and easy steps for cleaning the toys that might be helpful in keeping your child safe and healthy. Using these easy-to-follow methods, you can learn how to clean baby toys without any hassle.
How to Clean Plush Toys:
Plush toys can also be referred as Stuffed Toys. The use of soft fabric and cotton is common for the making of these toys. They are easily washable using common washing machines at home. Usually, your loved ones are in practice of sleeping along with their gems (toys) Because of this reason, it is important to wash them at least once a week.
How to clean electronic toys:
Electronic toys are the toys that run on a power source, usually batteries. These toys are more capable of catching germs as most of them usually operate on the ground. The cleaning of electronic toys can be a very tricky task. But, using this simple how to clean your baby toys method, you can clean them effortlessly. Also these toys usually have a metal surface which makes them more prone to catching germs and infections.
It’s not safe to wash them directly in soapy water as they come with batteries or lights which may lead to short-circuiting. At First, you need to clean or sanitize them with a mixture of water and bleach. Afterwards clean it up with a dry cloth and this ought to be done every week.
Image Credit: Pixabay
How to Clean Bath Toys:
It is a common perception that bath toys don’t require cleaning. But this school of thought is utterly wrong. Bath toys, like all other toys do require cleaning. They can not get clean by themselves each time your little one sits in bubbles and plays with them. You can easily clean them by putting them in a mixture of hot water and some disinfectant. After this put, the toys in direct sunlight. This can help in making the drying process fast.
Image Credit: Pixabay
How to Clean Fabric Toys:
The toys that your baby mostly use are the fabric toys. Babies always tend to put them in their mouth and keep dropping them on the floor. You need to clean these toys regularly either by hand washing them or using a washing machine. But, make sure to read the labels on the toy; wash it in the machines only if the label recommends to do so. You can also add a softener to prevent the toys from getting hard.
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How to clean Board Books:
Again, these are also one of the toys that are quite easy to clean. Try cleaning them with a cleaning wipe to make the process easy and fast. Stand the books up and wait until all of its pages dry.
Image Credit: Pixabay
How to clean Plastic Toys:
Plastic Toys can be hard plastic toys or soft plastic toys. For softer plastic and rubber toys, try not to wash it in the dishwasher. As the material is might on the risk to melt in the hot water in the dishwasher. You can add a drop of dish soap to Luke warm water in the sink or a bucket. Then, clean it with either by an old toothbrush or a soft cloth.
For hard plastic toys like Legos and rattles, it is better to place them first in a delicate bag and then the dishwasher.
Image Credit: Pixabay
Difference Between Cleaning and Sanitizing the Toys:
It is also very important to understand the difference between cleaning and disinfecting. Cleaning the toys means removing all the dirt and dust the toy gets over time. But disinfecting the toy means removing the germs or microbes, present ubiquitously around the toy.
How Often Should You Clean Your Baby’s Toys?
You need to clean toys often. Not only when they get dirty but, even if they are looking all clean and tidy. It is a better approach to clean them at least once a week.
- For everyday baby toys that are always in the mouth of your little ones, their travel toys, teething toys, and the ones that sleep with them require the most attention.
- If your baby has been sick, the first and most important thing you can do is to disinfect the toys, this will kill all the germs and bacteria. It is better to clean the toys initially with water and bleach mixture and then disinfecting them.
- Moreover, it is quite essential to clean the toys after your child’s play date, as there is always a chance that these toys got a bite or two from other children.
- Toys that are seldom used might catch bacteria and thus, it is better to wipe off the germs before, giving it to your child.
How Play Areas Spread Germs:
It’s a common observation that children often get sick after returning from a play area. Play areas could be an imminent source of spreading germs. This spread of germs is largely due to kids not knowing how to prevent the spread of germs. For example; adults do know how to cover their mouths after coughing, children may not. Adults also know to wash their hands properly after using the washroom, but kids do not usually bother unless taught to. This can happen anywhere; playgrounds, day care centers, or children’s museums.
It is quite impossible to sanitize all the play areas daily due to such high traffic. But, what we can do is, to make sure that children exposed parts are sanitized efficiently.
Importance of Cleaning the Toys:
For a kid, toy is the only true friend in life. The garish colors and exciting sounds are what makes him take around the toy everywhere. This is one of the major reasons why keeping toys clean is important. They have a direct impact on your children well being.
Conclusion:
To cut it short, in order to keep your children healthy you should regularly clean their toys. If you want to keep your child safe, healthy and disinfected, it is essential to understand the importance of cleaning toys. Let’s aim to get protected your child from germs, infections and other harmful substances. Hope these ideas help you to give your child a secure and better life atmosphere to spread his wings.
