Kids Toys: When and How to Disinfect Them

Everyone knows kids can never keep themselves clean, so it’s up to their caregivers to clean their toys for them

a stuffed bunny toy in the dirt

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Jan 21, 2021

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Anyone who has ever been around children knows they’re not the most health-conscious people in the world. Whether it’s running around outside all day, coming home soaked with sweat and mussed with mud, or sticking their favorite plushie in their mouths to just chew chew chew, kids tend to leave everything around them devastated with dirt, spit, and despair.

As a parent or other caregiving figure, you’ll want to do everything you can to keep your children healthy, safe, and clean, and one of the most important ways to do that is to sanitize the things your child always touches--toys.

But there are lots of things that can be considered toys. And there’s no way you disinfect a soccer ball the same way you do a stuffed animal, so it can be hard knowing just what you need to do. Thankfully, that’s what this guide is here for. Here, we’ll cover some tips for:

  • The difference between cleaning and disinfecting
  • When you should wash your child’s toys
  • How to handle different types of toys
  • What you can use to clean various toys

Cleaning vs Disinfecting

What is What and When Should You Do It?

Since the terms cleaning and disinfecting are often used interchangeably, it’s easy to forget that they actually mean significantly different things.

  • Cleaning: the physical removal of impurities, such as germs and dirt, using soap/detergent and water
  • Disinfecting: the killing, but not necessarily removal, of germs using chemicals

Though these two processes both reduce the risk of infection, because they accomplish different things, it’s important to clean before disinfecting so that germs are both killed and removed.

How Often Should You Clean?

When does Dirty Become Too Dirty?

How frequently a toy should be washed depends on how frequently it’s played with. In general, however, Karen Sokal-Gutierrez, a Clinical Professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health, recommends cleaning toys regularly at the end of every month.

However, some circumstances may increase the need for disinfection. You may want to clean toys more often, say every couple of days, in the following situations:

  • Your child has been sick
  • The children around your child have been sick
  • There is food, milk, vomit, or mucus on a toy
  • If your child regularly puts a toy in their mouth
a newborn infant in a brown onesie holds a yellow duck-shaped soft toy in his mouth
In certain situations, such as if your child regularly puts a toy in his/her mouth, it may be wise to clean a toy every couple of days to be safe. Younger children, who are the most likely to do this, are particularly at risk.

How to Clean Certain Types of Toys

Plastic Toys

Plastic toys are the easiest to clean as they’re not easily damaged. The most effective way to clean them is to put them inside the dishwasher. Secure larger toys between the tines and put smaller toy pieces in a mesh bag to prevent them from being thrown around. The best settings are the normal or sanitizing cycle and heated dry, and be sure to hand or air dry any toys that are still wet when finished.

Other methods to clean plastic toys include:

  • Clorox or Lysol wipes
  • Keep the toy’s surface wet for at least 10 seconds
  • A 3% hydrogen peroxide solution
  • Keep the toy’s surface wet for at least 10 seconds
  • ½ of chlorine bleach and 1 gallon of water
  • Keep the toy’s surface wet for at least 5 minutes
  • Make a new solution each time you wash toys

After all three of these, let the toys air dry. And though these methods are safe, it’s important to rinse them with warm water and air dry one last time to guarantee removal of the cleaning agent.

Things to keep in mind:

  • Check for batteries and easily damageable parts before putting toys in the dishwasher
  • Rubber may melt in the heat of a dishwasher, so avoid disinfecting toys with rubber that way
  • Mold can grow inside bath toys with holes if left wet. Be sure to squeeze all the water out and dry thoroughly

Fabric Toys

If you have a soft toy that’s washable, the washing machine is a viable option. Simply toss it in with the laundry, or put it in a tied pillowcase, whenever you need to, and it should be good to go. Ideal settings include gentle cycle, warm water, and slow spin, and the dryer is best set to low-heat. If your dryer has a rack, placing the soft toys on it is also a good way to dry them without tumbling. Using a hairdryer to dry can also fluff up a toy’s fur, starting out with the low settings before rising to medium when the fur is more damp than wet.

However, not all fabric toys can be machine-washed. Some can only be cleaned by hand. In those cases, it may be best to do the following:

  • Rub over the entire toy with a cloth dipped in a soapy solution
  • Rinse out the cloth with water and wring it out
  • Let the toy air dry or dry it with a hairdryer, which will speed up the process and help fluff the fur

Also, if you do not wish to completely wash a toy, you can eliminate some bacteria, dust, and allergens from fabric by using a garment steamer or a vacuum’s upholstery attachment.

You can also use a drop of water to test the colorfastness of a fabric. Once you place a drop of water on the toy, press it with a paper towel. If the color bleeds, don’t machine wash it.

Things to keep in mind:

  • Check care labels to see how the manufacturer recommends a toy be cleaned
  • Never put fabric toys with batteries, noisemakers, or metal parts in a washing machine, as the water may damage them
  • Make sure all rips and holes are repaired and that any hanging pieces, like buttons, are securely attached before using the washing machine
  • Putting new tennis balls inside of the dryer can prevent the internal stuffing of plushies from clumping
a row of stuffed animals, including a rabbit, a bear, Winnie the Pooh, an ape, a goat, and a pig, are strung to dry on a clothesline
For the most part, fabric toys can be pretty convenient to clean. However, in some cases, treating them gently by hand washing and air drying may be necessary to maintain their form and quality.

Electronic Toys

Electronic toys can be tricky to clean since they can only be washed on the surface. Make sure to disconnect all toys and remove all batteries, though be sure to replace the battery compartment cover, before you start cleaning. Then, follow these steps:

  • Dip a cloth in a soapy solution and wring it out
  • Rub over the entire toy with the cloth to remove grime
  • Pay special attention around buttons, crevices, and sticky areas, going over them multiple times
  • Don’t let any liquid touch the electrical components
  • Rinse with a clean cloth that’s damp but well-wrung before letting the toy air dry

You can also use disinfecting wipes to kill bacteria and viruses on the surface of the toy. When doing this, make sure the surface remains wet for at least five minutes, or the wipe’s recommended time, before letting it air dry. If your child is likely to put this toy in his/her mouth, wipe it over again with a clean cloth to remove all chemical traces.

Outdoor Toys

Larger outdoor toys, such as sandboxes and playsets, can present another problem. Animals often visit them, carrying all sorts of unknown bacteria, so it’s important to sanitize outdoor toys on a regular basis. Sprays and sanitizers are effective for wiping stuff down, but spraying equipment with hot soapy water and rinsing it off with a hose can also be quick and efficient.

What to Clean With

Swift and Simple: Vinegar and Water

Though vinegar is not powerful enough to reach disinfecting levels approved by the EPA, it can still kill many germ strains and is a convenient, environmentally-friendly, affordable way to do some quick cleaning.

A vinegar and water solution is especially effective for wooden toys, which cannot be placed in a dishwasher, though it also works for plastic toys. There are two main ways to use vinegar. The first step for both is to create a 50-50 solution of vinegar and water. Then, you can either wipe down the toys with a cloth dipped in the solution, or you can spray the solution over the toys with a spray bottle. Either way, let the vinegar sit for about 15 minutes before wiping it off to remove the smell.

Do not soak any wooden toys in the solution, as the wood may become warped or rough,

Strong Stuff: Bleach

Soaking nonporous toys in bleach is another effective cleaning method, especially for toys with metal parts. First, remove external dirt with a wet sponge. Next, put all the toys you need to clean in a bucket or the sink. Then, add ½ a cup of bleach and a gallon of water to the container and let the toys soak for about five minutes. Lastly, rinse the toys with clean water and let them air dry.

You can also add ½ a cup of bleach to the dishwasher or washing machine to clean the toys in that. However, if you choose to do this, only wash the toys at that time--do not mix it in with any dishes, cutlery, or clothing.

Wiping it Away: Sprays and Wipes

Sprays and wipes are pretty self-explanatory and easy to use. They’re good for toys with hard-surfaces, such as those made of plastic, wood, or metal. Occasionally, you may need to rinse a toy off after using a chemical wipe or spray on it, but for the most part, they are also rather safe.

The Natural Ray: Sunlight

Strangely enough, natural UV rays can be a great germ killer. Studies have shown that sunlight can kill many types of bacteria. Thus, leaving toys outside on a sunny day or keeping them in a room that gets a lot of sunlight for a few hours can do wonders. Doing this can also get rid of nasty odors that are lingering in certain toys.

Everyday Appliance: Dishwasher

Even if it’s made for your dishes, a dishwasher can disinfect many other things, including toys. A dishwasher is perfect for plastic toys such as bath toys and shapes, though smaller objects should be kept in a mesh bag so they don’t get jumbled. Just be sure to avoid anything with batteries, fabric, wood, metal, electrical components, and, potentially, buttons. Larger toys may also not be suitable for the dishwasher.

You can also put ½ a cup of bleach in the dishwasher for extra cleaning, though make sure you’re not mixing the toys with anything else when doing so.

Round and Round It Goes: Washing Machine

Lastly, we have the noble washing machine. Washing machines are great for disinfecting machine-washable fabric toys, such as stuffed animals and blankets. You can toss it in with the weekly laundry load, or wash it separately with a bit of bleach (though keep the bleach away from any clothes). Toys are best washed using delicate settings, however. And, like with the dishwasher, be sure to avoid batteries, wood, metal, and electrical components. Furthermore, make sure to read the manufacturer’s care label before using the washing machine, just to be sure you don’t damage a favorite plushie.

As an extra tip, if you’re worried a fabric toy won’t survive the washing machine and/or dryer, you can put it in a pillowcase, or another type of bag, and then tie the opening closed to protect it.

several stuffed animals, including two teddy bears, two monkeys, and a duck, are put in a washing machine to be cleaned
You don’t have to buy branded wipes and sprays to properly clean a toy. In fact, sometimes the best way is to use what you already have--for example, a washing machine.

It’s normal for children not to be clean and pristine--in fact, exposure to some germs is important for building up a child’s immune system. But there does lie a real danger in certain types of bacteria, so a household washing every now and then never hurts. By disinfecting toys--not just so they look clean but that they are clean--you can help keep your kids safe, healthy, and happily playing.


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