Bath toys

[serenetabbie]

My kids love bathtoys...but after a bit they get yucky. Mildew or mold I guess it is, black and yucky. Anyhow, we do not store them IN the tub, but in a small open weave plastic bucket aside of the sink. Before storing, we squeeze out all the water. Today I soaked them in bleach/water and it worked great, but I'd really like to use something else. The toys in question are the duckies and "squirty" animals that can get water into them. I don't have any problems at all with the boats. I would just throw them away, but they are the kid's favorites! Any ideas? TIA!

[Kalinka]

I don't really have any advice b/c my baby is only 2months but.... We have a bad problem with mildew in our shower and nothing works better than vinegar. Maybe you could soak them in a solution of vinegar and water right after the bath and just replace the water every few days or so? I don't know if that will work but it's better than bleach and might work if you started doing it b-4 the toys get yucky. Hope you have luck finding something.

[serenetabbie]

Hmmm Kalinka, that might work. I'll have to go get another diaper pail for it though I think! i will let you know if it worked when I try it! Thanks.

[TexasSuz]

I put mine through the dishwasher about once a month - never have mold/mildew. We also hang them in an open weave bag to dry.

Hope that helps!

Susan

[serenetabbie]

*sigh* wish I had a dishwasher!

[lilyka]

The dishwasher does nothing for the squirty toys. Squeeze them out well and occaisionally suck some bleech or vinigar or maybe peroxide. No need for a lot just enough to coat the sides. We also replace them regularly. My kids, no matter how frequently I tell them not to, drink from them so them being kept clean is very important.

[momnloveit]

oogh, I've tried putting bleach in squirty toys. It reacts with the plastic or something, makes them smell terrible! We just had to ban them from the tub. We get the duckies that don't have holes in them and use old shampoo bottles or water bottles for squirting. My mom always tossed squirty toys cause she couldn't stand the mildew.

[LaLa]

we don't use those nasty squirty toys anymore for that reason.

Instead we use toys like buckets, tupperwear, handpuppets, solid plastic toys that float (without holes to soak in water and grow mold)

These toys are all easy to wash up and keep from getting nasty!


Dd loves them!

I got some stacking buckets from Tupperwear and several of them have holes in the bottom, which she loves filling them up and dumping them on her head, hands, whatever!

[serenetabbie]

thank you for all your replies! i have cleaned them .... and when they get yucky again they will be chucked. really, i'm tired of picking them all up anyhow!

[boobear]

We don't use squirty toys for the same reason. I've found some washable/bath soft toys from pottyerbarn (that's about all I can afford in that store!).

Other toys she loves to play with, kitchen mixing spoon, cups (esp trying to catch water when I pour it), wash cloth, little plastic frying pan.

I throw the soft toys in the wash every week, the plastic ones in the dishwaher.

One of my neighbors left the bathroom door open and lid up (duh!) and I caught my little one stuffing her fluffy lamb in it I'm just glad that's all that went in!

[Lila]

Rather than storing our bath toys in a bucket or pail, which holds water, I keep them in a cotton mesh shopping bag (see ecobags.com) hanging on the shower rod. All of the water drains out and everything is dry the next day.