cleaning baby toys ?

[loka]

I need some help with this please. I have been given some second hand wooden and plastic toys for my 4 mth old.Whats the best way to clean them?Thanks

You could buy some Milton Sterilising fluid for the plastic ones and soak them, then rinse. Not sure about wooden ones. Are they very dirty? Or would a quick wipe with a babywipe not do?

thanks for responding.I was going to wipe them too,but wanted to know if there is a better way to give them a good clean first.My DD will just want to put them in her mouth so just wanted to make sure they are clean enough.the toys had had a lot of use already.

Pop them in the dishwasher?

I'd like to know the answer to this too!

For soft toys, even ones that say surface wash only, I've started washing them in a pillow case on a delicate wash. Whoozit and squeaky blue puppy have survived this treatment once already!

For plastic toys, I've just been washing them in hot water with washing up liquid, then rinsing (in hot water) to get the bubbles off and leaving to air dry. If you go for the dishwasher option - which I haven't tried - I guess you'd need to put them on the top shelf. Not sure this would be a good idea for wooden toys though, as I shouldn't think they'd cope well with soaking? I'd probably just get a cloth and wipe them with washing up solution and then rinse and air dry.

Health visitors have pointed out to us that they are now at an age where they pick things up off the floor and put them in their mouths, so don't need to be quite as precious about sterilising everything!

Some good advice there! The dishwasher advice was the advice we used to give to the hospital wards and doctors surgeries about cleaning toys. Basically if the toys can't go in the dishwasher we advised them not to purchase them.

Obviously you are not a hospital ward or a dr's surgery so might be a bit extreme but I still think if was buying second hand for a baby I would want to dishwasher them first.

If you do go down the Milton route remember they still need to be "clean" first.

Thanks for your advice McDreamy - why, oh why, oh why, are there so many toys specifically designed for babies that can't easily be cleaned ?

I'm assuming for the dishwasher option it would be best to not put any dirty dishes in with them?

thanks for all the advice! I did wash all the soft toys in washind machine and they were fine.
I will try putting the small plastic rattles in dishwasher.thanks tor the tip.didnt know about that.
So I just will have to wipe the wooden ones.
I am not too precious about it once I know its "my" dirt,than I will just wipe them when needed.thanks