@fab01 When I worked at a daycare back in college (~2008-2011) we would rotate the cleaning of toys by soaking them in a diluted bleach basin with water for 10-15 minutes while we were mopping the floor and then just letting them air dry overnight. I would assume spraying diluted bleach/water on the toys at home would not work as well but get rid of some germs and be safe by morning to play with.
@fab01 It shouldn’t! I use alcohol wipes for absolutely everything since COVID and they haven’t harmed any of our 6 month old’s toys. The alcohol does tend to dry out wooden toys that are not sealed, so heads up on that. But isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle would likely work just as well.
If you have wooden stuff that dries out, wipe it down with mineral oil. It should do the job of keeping it from cracking and not causing issues down the road if handled.
Outside that, it also works great for getting sticker stuff off things.
@bizket Mineral oil is also used on wooden kitchen stuff, like cutting boards and wood spoons.
Just get the plain boring white mineral oil, you can get it by the gallon (which is excessive for most people not doing a lot of woodwork) or just a plastic bottle from a drug store.
@fab01 Seventh Generation Thymol spray. You don't have to rinse but spray enough to be wet for at least 10 minutes. It smells like thyme. I like it but some people hate it so fair warning.
@affitapoux Some can go in the washer but I don’t use the dishwasher to clean toys, heat and plastic freak me out but for the soak that’s just tossing toys in water and seventh generation dish soap for a few minutes and then spraying them down (we have a moveable nozzle/shower head) and then letting them air dry. But I can’t grasp onto things right now due to carpal tunnel surgery so I figured a spray would be the next best thing
@fab01 Fair enough on the heat. Maybe worth checking if there is a cooler program?
The other option is maybe for now to “just” take the ickest toys out of rotation. Tell your kids they need to be cleaned before they can play with them again.
@fab01 I put most hard plastic stuff in the dishwasher and it’s pretty passive. Other stuff maybe just a vinegar and water spray. If you don’t wipe it off it will probs leave a residue but it’s at least not harmful. If there is actual snot residue there’s nothing that will remove that without wiping it off
but for the soak that’s just tossing toys in water and seventh generation dish soap for a few minutes and then spraying them down (we have a moveable nozzle/shower head) and then letting them air dry. But I can’t grasp onto things right now due to carpal tunnel surgery so I figured a spray would be the next best thing