Fabric storage cube, wooden blocks and ... mouse poop

[laohaire]

Months ago we pulled out DD's fabric storage cube full of blocks, and discovered that a mouse had been living in it.

The cube is like this:

The blocks are wooden.

The poop is... mouse.

I stuck the box on the back porch because I simply couldn't deal with it right then. I think I can deal with it now.

Do I just throw it all away or do I try to clean it?

If I try to clean it... how? What do I do? Hold my hand on this.

I am not squicked out about herbivore poop. I just want to be reasonably cautious since I know mouse poop and kids are not good to mix.

[cristeen]

Are the blocks sealed or are they bare wood? 

Honestly, if they're sealed I'd give them a bath in a bleach water solution - it doesn't have to be terribly strong, something like a Tbs of bleach in 2 gallons of water would be more than plenty.  If they're bare wood, I'd probably wipe them down with bleach water, which takes longer, but I wouldn't want them to absorb the water and be ruined.  If you give them a bath, rinse them well and lay them out to dry for a day or two. 

The fabric cube should be washable, I would hope - is the bottom plastic or cardboard?  Or is it all fabric?  I'd toss it in with a load of towels and wash it unless it's got a cardboard bottom (in which case I'd either remove the cardboard or if I couldn't do that, throw it away). 

[laohaire]

Thank you.

The fabric box is lined with something to hold its shape, probably cardboard.

So, yeah, maybe I'll throw it away. OK. I'm just so cheap I hate buying new things but I'm sure I can swing 7 bucks next month, lol.

Blocks - ok, I'll wipe them down with a bleach solution. Thank you for walking me through that.

[larablue]

I would try wiping down the fabric box on the inside with bleach as well.

Might lose some colour, but should work sufficiently.