An odd cleaning question...wooden puzzles

[slsurface]

This may be a strange question. But I have several wooden puzzles that were once my toys. My mom saved them and recently gave them to me for my DS to play with. However, they feel slightly sticky to the touch. I'm not really sure why , but they are. Right now they are just cluttering up my craft closet, so I want to get them out of there.

I haven't the faintest idea how to clean them up for DS to play with. The tops of the pieces are painted, but the backside is not sealed...so I worry about getting them damp. Any suggestions or ideas? TIA!

[4evermom]

I've washed them with soap (bar hand soap) and towel dried them immediately, then let them air dry completely. The key with wood is to not have prolonged water exposure. A quick dunk, soap up, rinse, dry should be fine.

[reducereuserecycle]

probably painted with lead

toss them

[Dabble]

Originally Posted by reducereuserecycle

probably painted with lead

toss them

In light of your username, this made me chuckle...

If you have concerns about lead, a test kit could confirm or deny its presence. I agree with the PP's suggestions about cleaning.