best way to disinfect infant toys image
Laura M
What's the mixture? How much of clorox and what else?
Do you need to rinse the toys off after the clorox?
I know these may sound like stupid questions for some people, but I honestly don't know. I have just been boiling water and sanitizing that way.
Answer
I have been a child care provider in my home for 20 years plus I organize toy cleaning sessions for the nursery, toddler, and preschool rooms at our church. If you are just wanting to keep the toys clean that typically just your child uses at your home then one of the best and easiest ways to do this is to put them on the top shelf of your dishwasher and run them through a cycle. For toys that are not dishwasher safe or too large than you can just keep them washed with warm soapy water and rinsed well afterwards. Disinfection for normal home use really isn't needed, but if your child has been ill (especially with anything stomach related) or has had a playmate over who has put toys in her mouth or showed signs of illness than you may feel better to disinfect them. This is the method I use for my daycare toys and what we do at our church: First, wash hard surfaced items in warm soapy water (we use regular dish soap - Dawn) either in a dishpan or with a cloth. Use a scrub brush for exceptionally dirty items and on toys with crevices. After washing, rinse with lots of clear water to thoroughly remove soap residue. In a large container (I use either a dishpan or a mop bucket), put 1 gallon warm tap water. Add 1 Tablespoon household bleach to the water than add the toys to cover. Allow to sit in the bleach water a few minutes than remove and let air dry at least overnight. Discard the bleach water after use. It is not toxic to drain systems and can be dumped down the sink or toilet. Many people are nervous about leaving the bleach water solution on the toys, but bleach breaks down very quickly and returns to it's original state of salt and water and the chlorine evaporates, leaving no residue. For large toys not able to be immersed, place some of the bleach water in a spray bottle and spray on then let air dry. Most infant chew toys are top rack dishwasher safe and I wash all my infant toys this way as well as bring home the infant toys from church to wash through my dishwasher. We keep an empty dishpan on the shelf in each of the rooms where infants, toddlers, and preschoolers have care and classes. After a child has used a toy or has put one in their mouth, the care givers/teachers place the toy in the dishpan. Someone comes through once a week and either takes them home to run through their dishwasher or we have the instructions and supplies to do cleaning and disinfecting with soap, water, and bleach. ETA: I would just like to add that while bleach does make a good disinfectant, as with everything, you can get too much of a good thing. Excessive use of products such as disinfectants, anti-bacterial products, and hand sanitizers has been strongly linked to the development of bacteria and viruses that are resistant to normal treatment. There are good germs and bad germs. These products do not know the difference and kill both the good and the bad. If you feel you must disinfect, do so with caution and in moderation.
I have been a child care provider in my home for 20 years plus I organize toy cleaning sessions for the nursery, toddler, and preschool rooms at our church. If you are just wanting to keep the toys clean that typically just your child uses at your home then one of the best and easiest ways to do this is to put them on the top shelf of your dishwasher and run them through a cycle. For toys that are not dishwasher safe or too large than you can just keep them washed with warm soapy water and rinsed well afterwards. Disinfection for normal home use really isn't needed, but if your child has been ill (especially with anything stomach related) or has had a playmate over who has put toys in her mouth or showed signs of illness than you may feel better to disinfect them. This is the method I use for my daycare toys and what we do at our church: First, wash hard surfaced items in warm soapy water (we use regular dish soap - Dawn) either in a dishpan or with a cloth. Use a scrub brush for exceptionally dirty items and on toys with crevices. After washing, rinse with lots of clear water to thoroughly remove soap residue. In a large container (I use either a dishpan or a mop bucket), put 1 gallon warm tap water. Add 1 Tablespoon household bleach to the water than add the toys to cover. Allow to sit in the bleach water a few minutes than remove and let air dry at least overnight. Discard the bleach water after use. It is not toxic to drain systems and can be dumped down the sink or toilet. Many people are nervous about leaving the bleach water solution on the toys, but bleach breaks down very quickly and returns to it's original state of salt and water and the chlorine evaporates, leaving no residue. For large toys not able to be immersed, place some of the bleach water in a spray bottle and spray on then let air dry. Most infant chew toys are top rack dishwasher safe and I wash all my infant toys this way as well as bring home the infant toys from church to wash through my dishwasher. We keep an empty dishpan on the shelf in each of the rooms where infants, toddlers, and preschoolers have care and classes. After a child has used a toy or has put one in their mouth, the care givers/teachers place the toy in the dishpan. Someone comes through once a week and either takes them home to run through their dishwasher or we have the instructions and supplies to do cleaning and disinfecting with soap, water, and bleach. ETA: I would just like to add that while bleach does make a good disinfectant, as with everything, you can get too much of a good thing. Excessive use of products such as disinfectants, anti-bacterial products, and hand sanitizers has been strongly linked to the development of bacteria and viruses that are resistant to normal treatment. There are good germs and bad germs. These products do not know the difference and kill both the good and the bad. If you feel you must disinfect, do so with caution and in moderation.
To Disinfect infant toys, isnt a spraybottle with 2/3 water and 1/3 Bleach WAY too much?
Cosmosis
We bring our 11 Month old daughter to the center here in our area. Apparently they have a buncha kids that have intestinal problems and/or rashes that parents cant explain. Is there any site I can go to to get SOLID info on whether it's from the bleach? Or maybe a way to test if it's from the bleach? I have seen a few disinfecting answers here that say like 2 spoons to a gallon of water. I am kinda worried about my child sucking bleach off the toys with them using 33% bleach.
Answer
Nope, not at all. And just to let you know, more than likely, it's state law. So if you want your daughter in a state certified facility that goes through yearly safety checks and certifications you're going to have to live with it. In CT, we have to use a mix of 50/50 bleach and water. Either there is something else going on in the facility, or they're using MUCH more bleach than they are letting on, because we never had any problems with the children.
Nope, not at all. And just to let you know, more than likely, it's state law. So if you want your daughter in a state certified facility that goes through yearly safety checks and certifications you're going to have to live with it. In CT, we have to use a mix of 50/50 bleach and water. Either there is something else going on in the facility, or they're using MUCH more bleach than they are letting on, because we never had any problems with the children.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
No comments:
Post a Comment