It’s in your baby’s best interest to keep all toys clean, you can ensure this by cleaning them on a regular basis, for example once a month. There are other times that the toys will need to be cleaned. This is when your baby has been ill; after other children have been playing with your baby’s toys or when you notice that they have become dirty. Here are a few ways how to clean baby toys.

Plastic toys without batteries can be washed in the dishwasher. If the toy has batteries or if you don’t have a dishwasher, you can wash them with hot soapy water to get rid of the grease and grime and then rinse them in a diluted bleach solution and let air dry. To make the diluted bleach solution, use 1 tablespoon of ordinary household bleach with 1 litre of water. An alternative to the bleach solution is a vinegar solution. The vinegar solution should be 50% water and 50% vinegar.

For larger toys or wooden equipment, wash with warm soapy water and wipe down with the diluted bleach solution to sanitize. Again, allow this to air dry.

Fabric toys can be washed with laundry soap and water. Some fabric toys might say not to machine wash, but you might get away with it if you put the toy in a pillow case and tie the top. Make sure to air dry.

A good idea with cleaning toys is to have a rotation system. Have three groups of toys. One that the baby is currently playing with, another that is being washed or awaiting washing and another that is washed and sanitized and ready for baby to play with. If you do this, your baby will always have toys to occupy him and he’ll also think that he’s getting new toys every few weeks!