Best way to clean "squirtie" bath toys?

sunshine336 · May 2012

Is there a safe way to clean and disinfect the bath toys that can squirt water?

A friend gave me a bunch of toys for M and there were some bath toys. I didn't realize that 1 was a squirtie until today(2nd or 3rd time we've used it) and when I squeezed it, slimy black mold came out with the water. eeeeeew. It's not a big deal to throw it out, but I'm sure there will be more of these kinds of toys in our future, so I figured I'd ask.

babydoll22308 · May 2012

yes thanks for asking this bc i have been wondering that as well!! We have a million of them for bath time and i was just thinking that very easily they can get moldy. I wonder if its just one of those things that you have to replace every so often bc there isnt a great way to clean them?

I suppose if you go through and squeeze a little diluted bleach through each toy then squeeze and rinse with warm water a million times? i dunno. or tea tree oil? does that kill mold?

Nige!!a · May 2012

I was thinking either hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar.

mesr · May 2012

i always just throw them out. if i were really intent on cleaning them, i would use bleach.

ElatedMom2B · May 2012

So funny when I see these questions come up and I remember seeing them with DD#1 the first time around.

Unfortunately, there is no sure way but I run all the bath toys through the laundry machine with some bleach from time to time. Other than squeezing them a few times in warm water afterwards and then really shaking them out, you're not going to get them all clean.

march2008 · May 2012

I'll probably just replace them if that ever happens, but the ones we have didn't cost much to begin with. So far they still seem ok but I do squeeze them completely empty after every bath.