I'm sure you've all seen articles, videos and comments around the web where concerned parents are outraged about the mould found in their family's bath and swim toys. But.... WAIT A SECOND!!! You’re not going to throw out ALL your child’s bath toys denying them fun and learning in the tub are you? I'm definitely not depriving my swim kids from playing with them!
For those of you whose babies I teach, some may have noticed that I always stay in the pool a few extra minutes to painstakingly squeeze water out of every bath toy used in class. Ever wondered why?
I do that to get rid of water that it’s been filled with by your smart kids - most of whom have figured it out without you showing them. (No sacarsm intended. I really am proud of them for learning how to do that! It’s part of their developmental learning curve.)
Leaving water in the toys combined with our environment would sometimes lead you to find icky grey or black stuff in the toys. That icky stuff, well, is mould.
Eww! Mould! Get it away from me!!
Did you know that mould has been present in the air and on various different surfaces for millions of years? Google this if you don't believe me.
With the tropical weather (heat + an average of 98% humidity) year round in Singapore, it's a common affair to find mould growing all over the place!
So then, how do we keep our family bath toys safe when they're mainly kept in our warm and humid bathrooms most of the time?
What you Need
1) A clean pail / bucket big enough for fit all your toys inside
2) A measuring cup
3) Water
4) Baby Sterilizing Tablets - any brand that you trust is fine. I personally use Pigeon brand
Steps to Cleaning Toys
Step 1:
Squeeze all your toys. Make sure you get all the water you can out.
Step 2:
Follow the ratios of water to sterilizing tablets and fill up your pail with ample water. (You're going to need quite a bit of water for this.)
Step 3:
Take a swim toy and fill it up with the water you've just prepared. When it's filled, drop the toy into the pail and fully submerge it (it'll happen naturally if you get all the water in and the air out).
Step 4:
Repeat til you're done with all your toys and let sit for at least half an hour.
Step 5:
Squeeze some water out of each toy and give it a good shake. Squeeze the rest of the water out and watch any gunk inside come out along with the water.
Step 6:
Repeat from Step 3 as necessary til the water that comes out of the toy is clear.
Step 7:
Let dry in a cool and airy place.
Voila!
Additional Notes
Always clear water out of your bath toys after every use.
Depending on how often you use them, I'd advise you to sterilize the toys once a week to prevent mould from growing.
If you're into chemical-free cleaning, change up the sterilizing tablets for white vinegar. Some recipes call for half a cup of white vinegar with a gallon of water - I guess that would be enough for cleaning purposes, but for getting mould out, I'd say at least one part white vinegar to one part water. More vinegar if you can put up with the smell.
Let me know if these tips worked for you.
I hope you enjoyed this short article.
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