It is hard to believe that bath toys that spend so much time in soap and water can be a health hazard for your child. Unfortunately, all that soap and water, combined with the heat of the bath, creates the perfect environment for mildew. Cleaning the mildew from the bath toys and following preventative measures to keep it from coming back can protect your child from mildew-related maladies.
Step 1
Fill your bathtub half full with water. Add 1 tbsp. of household bleach for every gallon of bathwater.
Step 2
Place the bath toys in a mesh bag. Close the bag (most mesh bags have zippers or ties). Set the mesh bag in the bleached bathwater.
Step 3
Allow the bag of bath toys to soak for 10 minutes. Slip on a pair of rubber gloves to protect your hands from the bleach. Pull up the stopper on the bathtub and allow the water to drain.
Step 4
Open the mesh bag once the tub drains. Give each toy a rinse with the shower hose to remove bleach residue.
Step 5
Place each toy on a dish rack to air-dry. Repeat the process once every two weeks to keep the bath toys free of mildew.
Tips and Warnings
- Rinse out the bathtub thoroughly after cleaning the toys to remove bleach residue. If the toys have any openings, which allow water to enter and mildew to breed, squeeze the toys while they are soaking in the bleach water. This will allow the bleach water to enter the toy and kill the mildew. Squeeze the toys again after the 10-minute waiting period to remove the bleach water. You can also disinfect the bath toys in a dishwasher. The heat of the water in the dishwasher kills bacteria and other germs. Do this once a week instead of bleaching to keep the bath toys mildew-free.
- If the bath toys have signs of discoloration or fail to come clean after the bleach bath, throw them away. Refrain from buying bath toys with holes or porous toys.
Things You'll Need
- Bathtub
- Household bleach
- Mesh bag
- Rubber gloves
- Dish rack
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