Once you have a baby, you begin to look at your overall home environment in a new way. Do you look at household chemicals with caution: how harmful are they for my baby? How bad is it for the environment? Would any of us want these substances around a child? However, there is no need to panic and go to extremes: the latest medical research says that for the proper development of a child’s immune system, he must be exposed to dirt and bacteria. Therefore, finding soft, biologically gentle and safe cleaning products and bleaches is an interesting task. There are several options, because you can’t not clean it at all. You can go back to basics and learn how to wash children's toys, as our great-grandfathers did. Or you can pay attention to alternative safe environmentally friendly products.

There are two main steps to caring for children's toys and equipment that your baby comes into contact with:

1. Cleaning, when you need to remove grease, dirt and wash away most germs. At this stage, you can get by with regular antibacterial soap, for example, and warm water. The main thing is to rinse thoroughly.

2. Disinfection, when you need to kill all dangerous germs. And here you need a special disinfectant solution so that no n-i-ch-e-g-o remains on the surface. The main condition at this stage is to find the right cleaning agent for the equipment. The main thing is that it must be non-toxic and safe!

How to wash toys?

There are different ways to clean and disinfect toys and equipment, depending on the size and type of material.

Please be sure to read the manufacturer's instructions for use and warnings as these toys come into close contact with your baby. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions, if available.

The baby's first toys are teethers, pacifiers, plastic or wooden toys. What is the first thing a child does with them? That's right, he puts it in his mouth) Just think, the baby is licking things that could be lying on the ground, stored and transported in unknown conditions, other children, or even dogs could play with them. It is better to clean plastic, metal and wooden toys and surfaces first with soap, then wipe with a solution, then dry. Small plastic toys, if they do not have batteries and are strong enough (so that they do not deform in hot water), can be safely washed in the dishwasher with dishwashing detergent and hot water. This cleans and disinfects them. If you don't have a dishwasher, you can wash plastic toys in warm water with a clean sponge and soap. After washing, toys can be immersed in a solution diluted with bleach to disinfect, then rinsed and dried naturally. pay attention to natural cleaner for toys BENTLEY ORGANIC. It's made with 90% organic ingredients, which should reassure any mommy - your baby and everything around him will be pure, natural ingredients. In your arsenal you can include, for example, Sun Herbal foaming cleanser for bottles, toys, pacifiers, vegetables, fruits and everything that gets in the way of a mother and her baby. This antibacterial and effective product is absolutely safe, because it is made from “edible” ingredients (all the details are in our article about this product). Plus it does not cause irritation due to the neutral pH level neither the mother nor the baby.

Then soft toys appear in the child’s life. They are again tested for tooth strength. In addition to all the above problems, they can be stained. In this case, be sure to carefully read the instructions on how to care for children's toys. Fabric toys and surfaces can be dry cleaned, or washed in a machine or by hand. If you have a woolen “felt” toy, then again pay attention to the label. If there are no special instructions, then you can simply wash them in a special bag separately from your clothes. Try to use special detergents for washing woolen items, items made from delicate fabrics, or mild soap. Let the toy dry naturally. If you are afraid to use regular bleach, then there is a way out: you can try a special oxygen non-toxic bleach, or you can simply sprinkle a little lemon juice on the stain and put it in the sun. After "sunbathing" a little, you will be surprised how your toy became clean again. If the soft plush toy is large, first open the bottom seam and remove all the stuffing material, then wash the plush toy and dry it, then fill it again and sew the seam. For toys with batteries, first remove the batteries, wash the outside with soap and water, then wipe with bleach or disinfectant solution and dry in dry, clean air.

In addition to toys, your baby’s hands touch furniture, swings, strollers and much more. Therefore, to keep your home healthy and clean, choose the right products. After all, every parent wants his baby’s immune system to be strong, and the world around him to be clean and healthy.

We advise you to pay attention to natural hypoallergenic and safe household chemicals ECOVER, KLAR, ECODOO or ATTITUDE. We recommend using these products for washing and caring for children's things; therefore, we recommend cleaning both toys and all objects around the baby using the most harmless products possible. There are washing powders, liquid laundry detergents, delicate bleaches, and special delicate soaps.

How often should toys and equipment be washed?

We are against setting up a laboratory at home and buying a separate product for each individual product. No crazy cleaning every day, be careful: there shouldn't be too much scrubbing and tidying. Seriously! We are for just spraying, wiping and playing))

Our rules are very simple:

• if the toy is most often in the newborn's mouth, then clean it 2 times a week or daily, depending on how often it is played
• when you notice obvious dirt
• when your child is recovering from illness, especially after poisoning or disorders, when the immune system is weakened
• after games, when other kids could put toys in their mouths
• on a regular basis, for example at the end of each month

Remember, clean toys contribute to a healthy environment)

Talking Luntik, soft educational cubes, a whole family of Barboskins, a huge teddy bear and a countless number of hares... What is there in the toy arsenal of a modern child! Soft toys are given to babies from birth. It is not surprising that by the age of two or three they no longer fit in the nursery. Moms rightly call them dust collectors, because removing dust from them is much more difficult than wiping it off the shelf.

Meanwhile, cleaning your “plush friends” is a must. In order to fully imagine the danger that dusty toys pose, let’s look at what dust consists of:

• dead skin cells;
• mites;
• microorganisms;
• parts of animal and bird down;
• mineral part.

It’s scary to even imagine what consequences such a neighborhood could lead to.

1. Ticks, and especially their waste products, provoke asthma and allergies.
2. Microorganisms can cause diphtheria, tetanus, and tuberculosis.
3. Mineral components provoke the occurrence of bronchitis.
4. Dust is a favorable environment for the proliferation of streptococcal and staphylococcal bacteria, which, when entering the intestines, cause bacterial imbalance and provoke increased gas formation, as well as the occurrence of gastritis, dysbiosis and other gastrointestinal diseases.

The remedy to solve this problem is systematic cleaning. Allergists advise carrying out cleansing procedures using detergents once a week or two. Also, during weekly general cleaning, you can vacuum toys along with the apartment.

Each toy has its own cleaning method

Before washing a particular toy, you need to analyze which cleaning option is best for it. Let's list what methods there are:

• dry cleaning;
• wet cleaning;
• washing in a washing machine;
• handwash.

You can also disinfect “soft dust collectors” at home using one or more of the following methods, choosing the most suitable product for yourself:

• steam generator;
• UV lamp;
• cold.

Soft toys can be divided into several types, each of which is suitable for one or another cleaning method. These procedures will be discussed in more detail below.

The following groups of a child’s “soft friends” can be distinguished:

1. large in size;
2. stuffed with tiny balls (so-called anti-stress), with glued eyes, spout and other fittings;
3. musical, battery operated.

Toys that do not fit into any of the groups listed above can be cleaned and disinfected in any way.



You can vacuum any type of toys. You just need to be careful when handling animals with glued fittings. In places where it is located (usually on the muzzle), it is better to reduce the suction force. Any toys can also be disinfected using the methods listed above.

Large-sized “plush animals” (a third of a person’s height or more) cannot be washed in a machine, and it will also be difficult to handle them manually, since once they fill with water, they become too heavy to lift. Dry cleaning is possible if you have a large, thick bag. If stains become dirty, it is better to clean them with a damp sponge using baby detergents. That is, in this case, wet cleaning would be appropriate.

Toys classified in the second group cannot be washed in a washing machine. As a rule, the fittings fly off and can clog the drain or other parts of the machine. The same applies to anti-stress ball packing. Also, you should not wash “animals” in a washing machine, on the labels of which there is a corresponding prohibitory inscription. For toys from this group, dry, wet cleaning and hand washing are suitable.

Representatives of the third group will be properly refreshed without the use of water, that is, by dry cleaning. However, if the toy is completely dirty, you can wash it, after first removing the batteries and music block from it. In some toys, the music blocks are located in a separate pocket with Velcro - it is convenient to take them out before washing and easy to insert into place. In others, the music block will have to be torn off before washing, and the torn area will have to be sewn up. Then rip open the now clean toy again and sew the block into it.

But there are toys in which the wiring is stretched inside throughout the “body”. Such a music block cannot be taken out before washing. However, you can still wash the fluffy one. Often singing toys can easily withstand washing, but you should be prepared that during the drying process they will spontaneously sing songs, meow or recite poems.

Baking soda will help clean the toy from dust without using water.

Step-by-step description of each washing method

Dry cleaning of toys is easy and safe. The only remedy that is used is baking soda. You will also need a strong plastic bag.

1. Place children's toys (2-3 pieces) in a bag.
2. Pour in baking soda. On average, 0.5-1 cup is enough, but it all depends on the size of the “animals”.
3. Tie the bag and shake it vigorously for 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Take out the toys and clean them with a vacuum cleaner, removing soda from the surface.

Wet cleaning allows you not to completely wash the “stuffed animals”, but only to remove the resulting stains or refresh the “fur”. The product needed for this type of cleaning is baby shampoo or baby bubble bath.

1. Pour water into a basin, dissolve the selected detergent in it, and beat it into foam. You can also easily make foam by pouring water into a basin with shampoo not from the tap, but through a shower head with strong pressure.
2. Apply lather to the sponge and quickly work over the soft, fluffy surface.
3. Take a clean, damp (not wet!) sponge and remove the foam with it.
4. Dry the toy with a terry towel and hang it to dry.
5. When dry, brush the lint with a brush to give it its original fluffy appearance.

When washing children's toys in a washing machine, keep the following in mind.

1. Review the information on the label. Toys should be washed in accordance with manufacturers' recommendations.
2. Remove music blocks, batteries, check that all seams are intact.
3. Place the “fluffies” in a special bag for delicate washing.
4. Select the “delicate wash” program from the menu. As a rule, this mode provides a water temperature of 30 °C.
5. Select the “extra rinse” item from the menu.
6. Select the “no spin” option in the menu so that the toy does not become deformed.
7. Pour baby powder into the powder compartment.
8. After washing, toys should be wrung out with a terry towel and hung to dry.

You can wash your “plush friends” by hand by soaking. This is necessary in case of heavy contamination.

1. Prepare toys in the same way as for machine washing.
2. Pour warm water into a basin.
3. Dissolve a detergent for washing children's clothes (soap, powder or shampoo) in it.
4. Submerge the toys in water for 10 minutes.
5. Rinse them well.
6. Squeeze the “animals” so that all the water is gone, blot them with a terry towel and hang them to dry.

Washing my plastic “friends”

There are no such restrictions in washing for plastic toys as for soft ones. There is no need to separate them into groups because they can all be cleaned under the same conditions. It is only worth mentioning separately about toys that contain batteries and are created using other materials (for example, dolls with hair, horses with manes, etc.). Batteries should be removed before cleaning, and toys with hair should not be washed in the dishwasher, and in general, hair deteriorates after washing. Therefore, it is better to treat them separately with a soapy sponge, rinse the foam and wipe dry.

Plastic is a fairly common raw material for the production of toys, and a child has no fewer “friends” made from this material than from plush, and sometimes even more. What are constructors like Lego worth? Therefore, most often they wash all together.

Cleaning occurs in the following ways:

• in the dishwasher;
• in a bathtub with warm soapy water.

To wash your baby’s plastic “friends”, use baby detergents (soap, shampoo) or soda solution. As a disinfectant, you can scald them with boiling water. After washing, dry each toy thoroughly before putting them back into the container.

Disinfecting “teddy friends”

Just washing children's toys is not enough. They need to be disinfected. You can use any device from the list above for this. You can clean the “fluffies” with a steam generator. This device allows you to safely and effectively treat toys with steam, while destroying tuberculosis microbacteria, influenza A viruses, staphylococci, streptococci, E. coli and fungus.

Treating “soft dust collectors” with an ultraviolet lamp at home helps rid them of dust mites, E. coli, viruses and bacteria. The lamp is turned on for 1 hour in the children's room. The device emits ultraviolet waves that destroy the DNA of organisms and thereby prevent them from reproducing. At this time, there should be no people or pets in the room.

Cold disinfection is the most accessible means of combating dust mites for every family. You can carry out the procedure using a freezer or balcony (in the winter season). Ticks do not tolerate low temperatures well, and -10 ºС is already a critical point for them. The freezer can be adjusted from -6 ºC to -24 ºC, depending on the model.

Thus, a regular freezer can effectively combat dust mites that have settled in children's toys.

1. Place the toys in a bag.
2. Place the bag in the freezer.
3. Leave it there overnight.
4. In the morning, take out the bag and leave it at room temperature to keep the “stuffed animals” warm.

You can also use cold to get rid of dust mites at home by leaving a bag of toys on the balcony overnight in frosty weather.

Often soft toys sit on shelves for months, collecting dust. They look like new: clean, with fluffy fur. But dust that is not visible can cause the baby to feel unwell and provoke the appearance of diseases. Learn to clean toys properly. Let teddy bears and soft bunnies bring only joy!

No adult would think of getting toys dirty like a two-year-old toddler does. Porridge, sand, liquid mud from a puddle, traces of a ballpoint pen - you can’t find anything on them!

Rinsing a bear in the toilet, pouring cherry compote on it, and then putting it all in your mouth is a completely common occurrence among children.

The struggle for the cleanliness of children's toys is an eternal concern of tortured mothers - in addition to the cleanliness of the room, it is also necessary to maintain the cleanliness of children's treasures.

Because bacteria do not sleep, bacteria are right there.

The plush toys that filled our apartment with the arrival of a small child (my husband and I didn’t buy a single one!) – those creepy dust collectors and dirt collectors – Where can I find the time to wash each one at least once a month?

What about bath toys? If you don’t wash them for a week, they become slimy, mold starts growing inside and they become covered with a nasty coating.

I remember that at first I scrubbed them by hand, armed with fairies, washing powder, Domestos, alcohol, rags, abrasive sponges, and a syringe. I soaked it in a bucket of chemicals, then washed it for a long time and painfully. It took a hell of a lot of time to do this. And a week later the procedure had to be repeated.

This did not suit me - it took too long and was ineffective.

HOW I NOW FIGHT FOR THE CLEANITY OF TOYS:

1. Everything is soft and plush– Naturally, I wash it in an automatic washing machine.

The presence of batteries and other electrical parts does not bother me - if the design of the plush miracle does not provide for painless removal of water-resistant parts, I do not regret it and rip it apart. I take out the squeaky talker and put the toy in the washing machine.

I value my time and the cleanliness of play objects more than their perfect appearance.

2. Plastic dolls, inflatable balls (due to static electricity, dust sticks to them!)– they pour themselves into the bath in bulk and wash themselves indiscriminately with the shower. If I need to scrub something dry (I fed Lala porridge three days ago), then after 10 minutes of soaking I arm myself with a sponge with fairy and rub. Then I quickly rinse it in the shower and let it drain and dry.

3. Bath toys, durable plastic toys (such as Lego)– after some hesitation, I installed them in the dishwasher on the most powerful program.

My fears that the paint would peel off the octopuses’ faces turned out to be unfounded - apparently, toys made for playing in water require some margin of safety.

This gave me several hours of free time a month!

In general, I realized that I would mercilessly get rid of low-quality toys that cannot withstand machine washing or dishwashing in favor of hygiene and my free time.

By the way, my husband watched with irony my first experience of loading bath toys into the dishwasher - he said that this would not help, it would not wash anything.

I continued to silently and feverishly throw one boat after another at the car, put the mother octopus, added children's dishes, a Lego man who fell under the hot hand also flew into processing, a red boat with a white coating from our tap water that disgusted me (it was not washed with anything), a crab, a starfish, a green island, on which clearly showed that the tap water was also rusty - I didn’t spare anything.

After several washes in the dishwasher the white limescale deposit from the boat disappeared without a trace, and even from those places where it was physically impossible to crawl with a sponge.

The brownish-red shadows on the green island were washed off after the first wash.

Glory to the creators of washing machines and dishwashers!