How do you clean shmutzy baby toys?

It seems like I need canned air, some bleach, an entire roll of paper towels and a toothbrush. Is this right??? No matter what I try, there is always something lurking in a crevice. I feel like I'm just pushing the shmutz around. I'm talking about big toys, not candidates for the washing machine. What's the right way to do it so that the kids are not always slurping up shmutz?

Stick them in the bathtub?

As for the bleach- won't that wear down plastic toys? I'd rather use antibacterial soap or a natural cleaning product.

Diamond Member Joined: Dec 26 2006 Posts: 4316

I used to put them in a lingere bag and throw in washing machine.

A hand steamer works well and sanitizes without the chemicals. It cleans fairly quickly, too.
I still use a toothbrush though. First I blast a section with the steamer, give it a quick scrub with the toothbrush and blast it again. Everything should easily wipe off with a paper towel at that point.
I use the Scunci brand, but I have seen a few different ones on the market now.
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21 down to 2 K"AH

Ooh, hand steamer. Good one.
(Ok, washing machine for small stuff, but I'm talking walkers, jumpers, big stuff. I guess I could drag it outside and hose it off, but that's more of an "occasional" thing. What about daily grime: chicken bits, crumbs and just goop generally.)