How To Clean Moldy Bath Toys

While we were away, all of Hugo's squeezy bath toys have gone all moldy and gross!
His bath was full of flakes of mold the other evening.
Usually, I make sure to squeeze all the water, out of each toy, after Hugo's bath each night, but as we have been away for 3 weeks, they have been sitting in a humid bathroom and hence the disgusting state of them.
My first thought was to just throw them out and buy new ones. But then I figured, this would just happen again and again.

So I set off to do some research on the best ways to clean these little suckers...
The first thing that came to mind, was to clean them with bleach. But, as Hugo has these toys (and most things) in his mouth alot, I wanted to find a natural, non-harmful way to clean them.
Most of my findings on the net indicated that some sort of vinegar- dish washing liquid combo would be the best, most organic, approach.
And so I set about the task, armed with an old tooth-brush, a bowl of hot water, mixed with a generous slug of vinegar and a dash of dish washing liquid.

some of the mold

some of the mold that came out of the toys

Did it work? I left the toys soaking in this mixture overnight. The next day, I cleaned and scrubbed them (using the old tooth brush) and I filled the toys with hot soapy water and then squeezed it out. I repeated this process quite a few times, until I was certain there was no more mould left in each toy.
I was happy with the result, but my hands were not, and I desperately need a manicure after this!

How can you prevent this from happening again?
1. Make sure to squeeze out the toys, individually, every time they are used in the bath and store them in a well ventilated bag, in a area where they can drain. Also keep a bathroom window open during the day. Fresh air will help to prevent mold build up.
2. A helpful hint, off a fellow blogger is to glue gun the hole. Find out how over here
3. If all else fails, buy some eco-friendly bath toys WITHOUT SQUIRTER HOLES!!!

These toys are all BPA free and made from natural rubber. Best of all they have no holes therefore no mold...

Big Bath Duck

Ocean Collection from Mushroom & Co

Dano2 Ducki

Find them here and here and  here