Leaking Batteries in Toys?

beaniousmaximus

I'm not sure if this is the right board for this, but I figure everyone has probably experienced this once. So anyway, today I realized that one of my son's toy's batteries had JUST died. So I got out some new batteries and went to change them... Of course, the old batteries had leaked so I threw the toy into the garbage. (They were energizer batteries too, so they weren't cheap). This happens almost every time I change his toy's batteries...even if they haven't been dead for that long. Why is this? Is there a certain time frame I should just change the batteries by, even if they haven't died yet? Is there a certain type of battery that is less likely to leak? It's just annoying throwing out toys all the time because of the batteries...I've read that apparently you can clean the battery acid, but that seems kinda risky to me. 

frasey

is it the same toy? or the same brand of batteries? Ive never had this happen! Id maybe try a new brand of battery or something, as I don't think this is normal. 

beaniousmaximus

I've had it happen to me with a few different brands of batteries and toys...Vtech, Playskool, and this toy is some sort of generic brand. They were all different toys, I threw them out after I realized the batteries had leaked. Maybe I just have bad luck with leaking batteries lol.  

ELF4321

It has happened to me several times, but usually it's when something has been stored for quite awhile (6+ months) without being used. I don't normally see it with toys in frequent use.  I would definitely throw it away like you did if it happened. 

beaniousmaximus

Well, I went ahead and took out all of the other batteries from his toys...nothing else had leaked...but I think it's best if I change them anyway. I'll make sure to change them again in another 6 months (replacing batteries is WAY cheaper than replacing toys). Thanks for your input @ELF4321 !

sarahandeddiejune212008

You can easily clean the toy and put fresh batteries in. We use a toothbrush and DH uses something (not sure what) to get everything clean.