How to clean squirty bath toys?

[MadMonkeys]

I wasn't too sure where to post this. Does anyone have a magic method of cleaning bath toys? DD's toys are starting to go a bit moldy on the inside (the squirty ones, so the hole is far too small to allow me to scrub them inside) and I can't think how to clean them. Is there something I could soak them in that would be harmful to DD if a residue get's left inside? I thought of dilute bleach but I expect that would take the colour out of the toys and I obviously wouldn't want any to get left inside. I've got some steriliser tablets left - would they do?

Yes use the steriliser tablets. I use milton

Milton the crap out of the insides then super glue the holes up.

then super glue the holes up

but then they wouldn't be squirty! (defeats the object a bit...)

Fill them full of really hot water containing Milton. Leave for a few hours, squeeze some water out then cover the holes and give them a really good shake to dislodge the gunk. You might need to do it a couple of times to get them really clean.

... and empty them of water as far as poss at the end of each bath. Obviously. :)

Thanks ladies - I do always sqeeze as much water out as I can after each bath. I'll dig out the steriliser tablets.

i used bleach

Miltons?

It'll sound a bit random, but I got the idea on here and it worked - I soak DS's bath toys on full fat coke overnight then give them a really good rinse in hot water. Works a treat!

I don't bother. DD likes squirting out the black bits and making the toys 'be sick'.

Milton is a disinfectant steriliser liquid you can buy in the supermarket. Blue bottle

Octaviapink

I guffawed.

white vinegar.
but i would chuck them.

any bath toy that can't be cleaned in the dishwasher goes in the bin.

I soak the shit out them with milton too

You can't. Throw them out and start again.

It's really quite wasteful, I think, to just throw stuff away because it's dirty. I mean, all that plastic in landfill. At least consign them to the sandpit or something if you're concerned about the black bits. If you threw them all away every time they started growing mould you'd be getting a new set of bathtoys every fortnight.

Ive been asking myself the same question. Ive been using hot soapy liquid which works to a certain extend but will definitely get the Milton out to try.

DD1 freaks out big time if a black bit escapes! Then Bath time is over as she wont be in the bath with 'dirt'.

Dishwasher

I don't think dishwasher would work for squirties - you def need to slurp up lots of milton (or whatever) into the insides & let them soak

or make them be sick in the bath, like Octavia's dd

I felt a bit guilty about being a slummy mummy so I had a go with the Milton yesterday. What's it actually supposed to do? It didn't seem any different than just hot water.

By the way, has anyone else noticed that toys at the blue end of the spectrum don't get nearly so mouldy as the ones at the red end? The orange squirty dinosaur in particular gets really black, closely followed by the yellow one. The blue, green and purple ones don't really get it at all. Maybe that's the answer - just don't buy red/orange/yellow squirty toys!