How can I prevent Mildew from getting in my daughters Bath time rubber duckies?

Question

my daughter loves that bath, but I try really hard when she gets out of the tub to get all of the water out of her water toys, like her rubber duckies, water boats, and what not. but somehow after a little while her rubber duckies always seem to get mildewy inside. is there a safe way to clean these? or to prevent this from happening??
thanks!

Answer 1

That is a great question! I would think filling the sink with some water and bleach and squeezing the toy to fill it up might work. Then the bleach would get in there. After it's sat for a few minute then rinse and squeeze to get full of clean water.

Answer 2

I would be a little worried about using bleach inside a childs toy. My daughter (two years old) actually has 14 rubber ducks sitting on the edge of her bath, all lined up in a row, from daddy to mummy to baby. lol God Bless her. I know she has squirted the ducks water into her mouth on occasions, I am trying to teach her not to do this as I too worry about the possibility of mildew inside. But using bleach could be dangerous for this reason, especially as it is hard to get every drop of liquid out of the duck and bleach in a childs mouth could burn or make them sick. So I would give that idea a miss. So far my daughters ducks dont have mildew. I make sure after every bath to squeeze them out, all 14 and the darn fish and the sharks and the dolphins....lol Kids!!!! ya outa love them. Boy us mums have patience, well most of the time. lol
Good Luck!!!

Answer 3

I have the same issue with my son's bath ducks, I do the bleach in sink thing also, squeeze the bleach in and i shake them a bit then push all the bleach out along with any mildew in side. I do this each time I clean the bath tub and already have all the cleaners out... Good Luck , I know it can be agervating

Answer 4

I personally wouldn't clean them, just replace them. Sure you can put bleach water in them, but they wouldn't get mildewed in the first place if you could get all the water out, so that doesn't make much sense to me. I replaced all my kids "squeezy" tub toys with toys that wouldn't hold water and bought them rubber duckies to play with outside of the tub.

Answer 5

I agree with jen f bleach is great for cleaning everything and anything just rinse the toys well. I also use lysol when I'm out of bleach it works just as good and you don't have to worry about bleach any color off the toys.

Answer 6

Bleach neutralizes quickly when exposed to air. I worked in a day care center and we used a bleach and water solution to sanitize tables, chairs, toys, etc. on a daily basis. The DPW told us we had to change the bleach solution daily because it breaks down quickly, and (for that same reason-breaking down) it was safe to use it in the morning before the kids came. I would use it after her bath to allow time for the toys to air dry before she uses them again. Should be perfectly safe.

Answer 7

Fill them with a 10% bleach solution after the bath, let it sit for 1 minute, then squirt and out.

Before the bath rinse it with water. Any residue will be too small to make a child sick.

Answer 8

You can get mould & mildew remover spray from most supermarkets which, if you can get it inside the toy, should clean out most of the mildew. Other than this just try to make sure the toys are properly aired out after use and not just kept in the steamy bathroom. I would suggest placing them somewhere outside, or near an open window, to dry off.

Answer 9

Bleach is the only thing I know of, but there must be some other sanitizing chemical that would work good for the rubber duckies.Ever watch the Muppet Show?

Answer 10

I have done what Jen F says....
it works.