Bath toys!

[OceanPrincess]

So tell me about your bath toys!

Our kids lurve the squirty ones. Soft plastic, that you can squirt water out of. We have ducks - about 16 gazillion duckies, as well as some crabs and a bee... you get my drift

Anyway! I was squirting one of the kids the other night and DD says "Look mummy, there are yuckies in the water!" and there are little disgusting flecks of ick coming out of the squirty toy

DH tells me that they are getting mouldy on the inside.

Does anyone else have this problem? I am going to chuck them all and get new ones but how do I stop it from happening again???

[feeb]

Yep I chuck them out ever 6 - 12 months and buy new ones as its feral!!!

We have ducks, whales, star fish, frogs etc etc lots that squirt!!!

Plus cups with all diff shapes holes in the and wind up toys too.

I have found that since i got a hangy heshen bag thing they dont get as bad mould as fast.

[~me~]

Yep I chuck them out ever 6 - 12 months and buy new ones as its feral!!!

We have ducks, whales, star fish, frogs etc etc lots that squirt!!!

Plus cups with all diff shapes holes in the and wind up toys too.

I have found that since i got a hangy heshen bag thing they dont get as bad mould as fast.

Yep I am with Feeb. We also have ones that don't have any holes in them, so water doesn't gather and they play imaginary games with them. Think I got them from Scienceworks..DD loves playing with soar soars (dinosaurs) and the sharks! I think the brand is wild republic? Not technically bath toys, still do the trick They also take their cars in too.

[peanutter]

we get it in some but not others ... no apparent rhyme or reason!

I remember seeing in another thread that some people soak them in a vinegar or bleach solution, or even boiling them ...

we gave ours a thorough clean when I had the mould come out, and it hasn't come back yet...

[OceanPrincess]

But how do you clean inside them P???

I've seen wild republic toys Heather, thanks for the tip, I'll have a look at them...

DD just love love loves the duckies, she lines them all up and goes feral if DS tries to take one... We need a tantrum emoticon

We can't use one of those baggie things, we have textured tiles and the suction cups won't take. But it happens to our little non-slip things that we stick on the bottom of the bath as well - they are going moudly. We take them off the bottom of the bath and have tried sticking them on the side of the bath and also laying them face up so they can air dry... but they are still going mouldy.

Maybe its just like feeb says, 6-12mths and toss em.

[FabFiona]

I chuck them when they get gross. That being said I've tried to steer DS away from the ones that get mouldy in the first place. More cups and pouring things than squirty ones.

[OceanPrincess]

DH just suggested gluing the hole shut if we buy new ones. She loves the duckies, not the fact that they take on water and can be forced to squirt. They aren't designed as squirty ducks. Why do they have holes? The non-squirting ones, like your standard rubber ducky. Why does it have a hole?

Is this what my life is at the moment? Discussing the mould content of my children's toys???

[~Kim~]

I was chucking them when they got gross too. I tried filling them with a bleach solution and then rinsing ++++ but that was too hard for the bath toys IYKWIM?
Gluing the hole shut is a great idea.

We have dinosaurs, sea creatures, washing powder scoops, plastic spoons, a jug, a couple of medicine eye droppers, a couple of Barbies.....


and yep...but the rest of us are here too.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Funny you bring it up, i noticed the girls ducky was not so friendly looking tonight, have to throw him when they are not around.

[indie24]

I noticed the same thing with DD toys and have been doing a slow cull so she doesn't notice.

The ducks from target have two holes so that you don't get the build up of water in them. They seem to have lasted longer here than other brands.

[OceanPrincess]

Barbies Kim???

Yeah I tried to do a bit of a clean but it was too hard. Didn't seem to get in there...

Indie... we've had some of them and we've also added our own holes. Still gettin the mould. Maybe its the area I live in... damp?

[peanutter]

filling them with hot water, and squeezing out vigorously until all the yuck is out!

next step, vinegar mixed with water.

according to Martha Stewart: "one part hot water, one part distilled vinegar and a few drops of dish soap. Vinegar dissolves soap scum while dish soap removes dirt. Soak the toys for 10 minutes and use an old toothbrush to help clean them, if necessary. Rinse the toys in warm water and let dry completely."

but DS is just as happy playing with empty bottles etc, so if these get too gross, we may just replace them with old tubs and bottles ... or just normal plastic cars and other things that don't get mouldy!

[HotI]

check out the rubber ducks from EcoToys- they are BPA free and don't take on water. They are $11 each but you won't have to replace them, and they have less nasties for your kids to be sucking on.

[Arcadia]

I used to have squirty toys but the mould was too gross. I took out the squeaky part of the hole and cleaned the inside with a cotton tip. Pretty laborious and after about the third time I chucked them.

Kids can get really sick from drinking the moldy water so it pays to be vigilant.

I also have to replace the non slip mat on the bottom or our bath. I scrub it when I clean the bath but the mould grows back so quickly. Ewwwwwww

[~Kim~]

I don't think the damp matters. We have live in the driest part of the country and we still get it.
Yep barbies. They're good swimmers Keeps DS amused for ages.

[Miss.B]

Thanks for the thread OP, I was wondering the same thing myself! Every time I find a bath toy with the mould coming out, I just chuck it. I know it's expensive to keep replacing them but I also found putting in containers and cups and such for DS to play with he's happy with just about 'anything' new and different. He does have one blue crab he loves to play with and chew on so he doesn't really miss the others when they go 'mysteriously' missing overnight hehehehehe.

GL hun! The bath toys 'sans' the holes sound like a great investment

[OceanPrincess]

Thanks for the tip HotI! Will check them out...

Arcadia, that's what worries me - DD is pretty good but DS still loves gnawing on anything. Bleh!

Miss.B - I'll try gluing the holes up and will let you know!

[sloane]

oh geez. i never even thought of mould inside the squirty toys. grrrrrosssss! i don't think they get squirted much anyways, DS is into showers now & likes to play with a basket & ball set we got from kmart. well, when DP will let him have a turn