Baby rattles are an integral part of little children’s lives! They love to play around and carry them everywhere. Babies do not tend to develop the apprehension and intellectual factor of understanding the value of cleanliness in such a little age. They will commonly scatter all the toys on the floor to pick their favorite ones. Once they complete playing with it, they will leave them on the floor. Baby rattles are of various categories; some are outdoor toys, while some others are indoors.
Both these categories of toys tend to accumulate a sheath of dust and grime over them, which are not readily identifiable by naked eyes. Many parents do not pay enough attention to this aspect, the outcome being their babies falling sick from time to time. The parents are the governing bodies of the home; being a responsible parent, you should always take care of the hygiene and cleanliness of your kid’s belongings.
Baby rattles are more often at risk of getting contaminated because of the carefree attitude of your little munchkins. What’s even more dangerous is that they love to put these rattles to their mouth. Imagine how seriously your baby is in danger of catching infections! Many parents wonder the reason for the abrupt illness behind their baby’s health. Now, we guess that you can quickly appreciate the reason behind this. The most effective way to get rid of these dirty rattles is way better than replacing them with new ones. Especially, if you are bound to a strict budget, this might be the most convenient hack for you. Have you ever heard of cleaning and disinfecting of the toys? Most of the parents are aware of it; however, some of them are not. Cleaning of the toys is as important as letting your kids spend quality time with them. There are several different questions and doubts asked by parents concerning cleaning and disinfecting baby rattles.
Let us simplify some of them:
Before proceeding to the actual topic, let us pay attention to the two most frequently asked questions:
1. How regularly should I cleanse my baby’s rattles?
Cleaning of baby rattles is the best way to free yourself from suspicion of yourself as the victim of your baby’s illness. On an average, you should clean baby rattles in a gap of 1week to 1month. The cleaning span of baby rattles depends on two major viewpoints-
- How frequently your baby comes in contact with these rattles- if it is your little ones favorite toy, you might consider cleaning it more regularly as compared to other ignored toys.
- The kind of toy- some toys tend to catch up the dust more readily as compared to others. These are the rattles that will need more frequent washes. The material of the toy also has to do a lot with the cleaning regularity of them.
2. Why do I require cleaning these rattles?
Babies have a habit of putting everything into their mouths, which is perfectly natural. However, toys get dirty with every passing day as most of the babies disperse them on the dirty surfaces. Understand it like this- cleaning your hands several times a day still leaves some bacteria on it. Imagine the number of microbes inhabiting the surface of these toys and the hazard of coming in contact with the oral mucosa of the child.
Cleaning involves the removal of dirt from the surface. On the other hand, the disinfection is the process of removal of harmful bacteria using specific solutions. We are classifying toys into various categories for your better understanding:
- Plastic toys:
Simpler plastic toys can be washed with the help of wiping with warm water and soap. If you want to use a washing machine, make sure to run a cycle on low and gentle mode. You can also use a toothbrush for cleaning the complex plastic toys. Mostly bath toys are also prepared from hard plastics. Bath toys readily help in the growth of fungus if not dried properly. Therefore, make sure to wash these toys after every use with a DIY cleaning solution using bleach or vinegar, and let them dry.
Also Read: 10 Tips To Check Kids Toy Safety
- Rag & Barbie dolls:
Ragdolls are usually made up of cloth fabric; therefore, it is quite convenient to wash them. You can quickly run a gentle cycle on the washer and put it on the dryer. Barbie dolls have a plastic body; you can efficiently clean it with soap and water. Wash their hair with a mild shampoo, just like you wash your hair.
- Electric toys:
You have to be extremely careful while cleaning an electronic toy. It can be problematic even if a little amount of water sips inside the toy. Gently wipe the outer surface of the toy with soap and warm water. If you see any stubborn spots, do not apply too much pressure. Use a toothbrush instead, to cleanse that part. Wipe it again with a damp cloth and let it dry. You can also occasionally wipe it with alcohol rub or sanitizer.
- Silicone toys:
Silicone rattles are those with flexible structure and body. These rattles take up the dirt present in the surrounding quite quickly. The best method to clean these rattles is dipping them in a bucket of warm soapy water for 1.5 to 1hr. The dirt present in it will dissipate in the warm water, and it will be free from grimes. If still some dirt is left, clean it with a scrubber or toothbrush.
- Battery toys:
The best way to clean battery toys is by using a disinfectant like Lysol/ vinegar/ bleach. You can also consider washing them with a damp cloth dipped in soap and water. However, it the battery panel comes in contact with water, it can readily cause rust formation. Also, sometimes the toy no longer works due to the insertion of water inside it.
- Wooden toys:
Wooden baby rattles are one of the most lenient toys to clean. You can prepare a solution using vinegar water or bleach water. The next step would be cleaning the toy with a damp cloth or sponge. Never dip the toy entirely in the solution as wood is a genuine water absorbent. It can cause decay of the wooden toys and also takes a much longer time to dry.
- Push ride on:
The ride-on toys accumulate a lot of dust; it is because kids usually tend to drive them everywhere! It is quite convenient to clean them as they have a large surface area. You do not need to worry about damaging the little parts by accidental penetration of water. Take a clean cloth/sponge, prepare bubbly soap water, and clean the ride-on vehicle. You can also use disinfectant for this purpose.
- Rubber rattles:
Rubber rattles are one of the most famous baby rattles. Kids carry immense affection for toys like this. However, the stretch ability of rubber toys can contribute to more accumulation of lint. When the rubber stretches, it creates a gap between its fibers. Dust and grime surely settle in these areas. When it comes back to normal shape, you can readily see the lint with naked eyes. Take a soapy water bucket, and dip all the rubber toys in it. The next step is the manual cleaning of these toys with cloth or brush.
We hope you learned a lot about cleaning and disinfecting baby rattles of all kinds!
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