Blogger / 20 January, 2017 / Nanny Anita

Nanny Anita’s Advice on Cleaning Baby Toys

I am sure you have all seen the article doing the rounds about the mold build up in the Sophie The Giraffe. The photos are kind of disgusting, but IS there anything you can do about it? Well yes, and annoyingly, probably not. While you might be able to slow down the build up you might not be able to prevent it altogether.

During training at Norland we had it drummed into us how important cleaning toys is. We heard horror stories of how one of our teachers had to clean them using a toothbrush! Now, I am not suggesting that at all, but there are a few things you can do to help keep your baby’s and children’s toys clean. I follow this routine when it comes to cleaning toys for young ones.

A Weekly Wash in Warm Soapy Water

On a weekly bases I give them all a washing in warm soapy water. Dry them, and then let them stand. For toys that can’t get wet then I give them a wipe down.

Clean Toys After Your Child is Ill

If your child has had a cold and are all snotty then I tend to give the toys a quick wipe down with a wet wipe after the toys have been played with. This isn’t to kill the germs but more to get rid of the nasty build up of snot on them. Remember clean toys are more appealing to play with.

Once A Month Clean with Dettol

Once a month I clean them using Dettol. If they are bath toys, or ones like the Sophie the Giraffe, then a try to get the Dettol on the inside, give it a swish around and then get rid of it all.  Let them stand for a while.  Then give them a final wipe down with a wet flannel.

You will often see big masses of that black gunk come out. Yuck! This won’t affect the majority of children, however, those with cystic fibrosis or a compromised immune systems, mould can be really bad for them. Mould grows where there is moisture, so after baths try to get all the water out. As I said at the beginning, this may help slow down the growth of it but it is unlikely to stop it.  I highly recommend that you replace bath toys and other toys that are exposure to moisture, every once in a while.

Older Children

I give their toys a big clean once a year (unless they’re really dirty). Last year I spend two days cleaning every toy that EC and YC own! This is a great time to go through and sort out toys that had lost or broken parts to them.

Top Tips to Help with Cleaning

• Get your little ones to help. In my experience, children always love helping wash toys down with soapy water.
• If you want to stop water getting into your bath toys then use a glue to seal up the hole. Keep checking it though to make sure that it isn’t coming off and posing a choking risk.
• Put toys like Lego, Duplo; pretend food (make sure these don’t melt though) and kitchen toys into the dishwasher. Put them in a mesh laundry bag.

For professional cleaning services in London we recommend www.cleanerslondon.com.

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