I confess I’m a bit of a neat freak–I don’t think it’s scary or compulsive, but I do tend to like things rather clean and tidy. When my kids were younger, I would disinfect and clean their toys thoroughly about 4 times a year. I figured since I had three of my own and usually a house full of extras, chances are the toys could use a bit of a disinfecting just as prevention and basic healthy hygiene.
Not everything is washable of course and I didn’t want to spray anything toxic on items that my kids might very well put in their mouths–so I admit it wasn’t a complete disinfecting process. But there were plenty of washable plastic items that I cleaned using a mild bleach bath–it was actually a technique I learned from one of my children’s preschool teachers in the early years. I volunteered to help with the periodic toy cleaning at the preschool and learned some pretty handy tips for fighting germs with a group of playful children.
Using a big plastic tub (bigger than a wash basin–big plastic storage containers work well), prepare a mixture of about 1/4 cup bleach for every 4-5 gallons of water. The water doesn’t have to be warm, and you don’t have to add any other soap to it. Some toys can be soaked for a few minutes in the solution and then rinsed and laid out on towels to dry–while others might need a little scrubbing (might as well get them clean while disinfecting!). Be careful with plastic doll houses or toys with paint or stickers as they will come off if you scrub. I used to rinse the really large stuff (like trucks, dollhouses, etc.) under the shower before leaving it to dry.
The preschool teacher told me that air drying is best when possible, but a clean linen towel can also be used to dry things and make sure they’re not put away damp or dripping. If I remember correctly, we even gave the wooden blocks a quick dip and let them dry in the sun since blocks were so heavily handled by the children.
It is a good idea to wash any doll clothes, puppets, and dress-up clothes at the same time–these can usually be washed in the washing machine, although felt puppets may need to be hand washed carefully.
Consider cleaning your bath toys in this same manner a few times a year–just because they are floating in the bath, doesn’t mean they aren’t gathering germs too.