After a seasonal illness like the cold or flu has made the rounds in your home, it's important that you clean and disinfect your children's toys to reduce the risk of reinfection. Germs can live on the hard surfaces of your child's toys, and, thus, when children touch them, they may pass the germs to other people. Bleach effectively kills the germs on hard-surfaced toys and makes for an inexpensive way to prevent sickness in your own home.
Step 1
Fill a bucket or laundry tub with five gallons of water. Add one cup of bleach for every five gallons of water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This will create a dilution that is effective without being harmful to children.
Step 2
Place hard-surface toys into the bucket to be disinfected. Allow the toys to soak for five minutes, suggests the International Child Resource Institute. Soft toys should be placed in the washing machine and washed in a full, hot cycle to kill germs.
Step 3
Remove the toys from the bleach solution and spread out on a towel to dry. Fisher Price pediatrician Karen Sokal-Gutierrez notes that chlorine evaporates and does not leave a residue on the toys, so there is no need to rinse them after soaking.
Step 4
Fill a few spray bottles with the diluted solution and use it to spray down toys that are too large to submerge in a bucket. Such toys may include bouncers, toy garages and dollhouses. Spray the surface down until it glistens wet and then allow them to air dry.
Step 5
Disinfect and clean baby toys on a weekly basis during cold and flu seasons, suggests the website for Clorox bleach. Keep a few bottles of solution on hand to do a quick spray of the toy basket on a weekly basis.
Things You'll Need
- Water
- Bleach
- Bucket
- Towel
