Playtime safety: how to sterilize toys

So your sister-in-law came to visit and failed to mention (until late afternoon) that her drooling little darling has had a fever all day. As soon as she leaves, you're on sanitizing duty. But what's the best way to clean them?

A major toy manufacturer recommends the following:

"An inexpensive, effective and safe sanitizing solution can be made from diluting household liquid chlorine bleach—one tablespoon of bleach in one litre of water or ¼ cup of bleach in 3.8 litres of water. Properly diluted bleach is considered non-toxic and safe for cleaning children's equipment since the chlorine evaporates within minutes."

Sterilize en masse by measuring out the water and bleach in the kitchen sink. Let colourfast plastic toys soak for five minutes, then rinse them well and let them air dry.

A more environmentally friendly method is to sterilize with vinegar.

Combine vinegar and water, in equal parts, in a spray bottle. Spray dirty toys and let sit for 15 minutes. Wipe them down, and you're good to go. You can also use the 1:1 measure to soak toys in the sink.

Make sure you drain all bath toys of water after each use. Any water inside a toy can quickly grow mould. You can clean bath toys with either the vinegar or bleach solutions listed here.

This is best for sanitizing teething toys and pacifiers. Boil a pot of water and submerge the toys for up to 10 minutes. Let the toys cool off, and make sure they weren't damaged in any way that might pose a risk to your child.

You also want to boil new toys that go in baby's mouth.

Go fully automatic and put plastic toys with no batteries on the top rack in the dishwasher.

Plush toys: throw them in the laundry. Use hot water and dry on a low heat or let air dry. Who needs stuffies you can't wash?

If you absolutely can't launder it, you can surface-clean it with a mix of water and dish soap. Air dry it, then put it in a plastic bag in the freezer overnight. That should kill any dust mites.

A parent has to worry about infectious diseases, but some would argue we've gone too far. According to WebMD, "A mounting body of research suggests that exposing infants to germs may offer them greater protection from illnesses such as allergies and asthma later on in life."

The "hygiene hypothesis" suggests that just as a young brain needs stimulation to develop, so does the immune system. Exposure to everyday germs help it strengthen, adapt, and regulate itself.