Naturally Cleaning Wood Toys from Germs

[kkar]

We just had a playdate today where the child developed a case of pink eye within an hour of arriving. The child played with many of our wooden toys, and now I'm wondering how to clean them so as to limit the spread of the germs to my young children.

For the baby Haba teething toys, I used a solution of baking soda, vinegar, dish soap, and water. Is that enough? I don't have any tea tree oil, otherwise I would have done that too. Is there anything else you can think of that I can throw at them?

As for the wooden blocks...I'm stumped. Do you think soaking them in the same solution for a minute or so in the sink would be enough?

I really want to avoid this since it will be my dd's birthday next week, and we're hosting a party - the last thing I want is for all of us to be sick!

If I miss some toys, does anybody know how long the virus can last in the open air? I've heard it is highly contagious.

Thanks in advance for your ideas!

[nascarbebe]

Vinegar is excellent for killing bacteria but I don't know how well it holds up to viruses. I would use a clean washcloth and using that solution you mentioned. Just don't rub too hard on Haba or other dyed toys. I did that once and some of the dye came off a bit. And then don't touch those toys for several days. When those toys are dry I don't think the viruses and bacteria will live for long. You might even put them on the sun because the sun is a sanitizing agent. THat's what I'd do anyway. I don't know if someone else has better advice.

[Miss Information]

I wouldn't soak wooden toys, but wipe them off with the solutions. I wouldn't want to risk ruining the wood in doing it.

Have you tried hydrogen peroxide? I don't know if it would work on surfaces, but I do know it kills germs topically on the body. Wait, a minute, I remember it can be used to kill germs in swimming pools in place of chlorine. My old boss used a hydrogen peroxide based pool sanitizer.

I also am keeping some of our girls old stash of plastic toys for when we babysit the neighbor boy, partly because he's a boy and I don't know how gentle he would be with the toys because he plays kinda rough and partly for the germ factor.

I would think if your wood toys have some sort of oil or beeswax finish, the germs would be less able to settle into the wood pores and would stay on the surface.

After cleaning, I would reapply whatever wood finish you have on it. Or if you don't have a finish on them, now would be the time to put something on them.

[Miss Information]

I would also boost your kiddos immune systems - more vit c and other natural things to keep their bodies more resistant to picking up germs since you know they've been exposed.

[kkar]

Ok, thanks everyone for your advice. We've boosted immune systems as best we can and I used the solution to clean the toys. They're drying now, but I'll post an update in a week to let everyone know 1) how the wood toys dried and whether there was damage; and 2) whether anyone got sick.

Thanks again!