Good Wednesday morning everyone! Its my first time with a backwards Works for Me Wednesday – I pose a problem I have to you, the reader (there are readers out there, right? If not that’s cool *sob*) and you tell me what works for you!
Got that? Okay, here goes.
I have to work hard to pick one of manythink of an area I need help since I’m so perfect. Not buying it? Too bad, I have this bridge in Brooklyn I’m trying to sell…
Enough silliness! This is a serious dilemmna I’m facing. Owen has some really cute stuffed toys and stuffed rattles and things of that nature. Great, right? But how am I supposed to wash them? Rub them over with a damp towel and soap or something? Surface wash only baffles me. Please help! Owen is running out of clean toys!
How does one quickly and adequately clean items that are listed as surface wash only?
(thank you!!! for more WFMW – Backwards Edition check out Shannon’s blog at Rocks In My Dryer!)
I don’t believe in surface wash only. It doesn’t get things adequately clean. I usually either hand wash them in the sink and air dry them, or I run a gentle cycle using Dreft and air dry them in the dryer on the no heat setting. =) They may not be as perfectly soft as brand new, but at least they are clean, and that’s more important to me. Oh, and use cold water so colors won’t bleed.
By: Emily on September 3, 2008
at 9:05 am
Wash? People out there actually wash their kids’ toys? Wow, what an amazing concept. Maybe I ought to try it sometime …
When it comes to surface wash only, we usually just take a warm cloth with a bit of dishsoap on it and rub it over the toy, rinse the cloth and go over the toy again to get off any excess soap, and then hang it up to dry. As I am a firm believer in building kids’ immunities through exposure to germs (translate: too lazy to clean), I usually figure that’s good enough!
By: Louise on September 3, 2008
at 9:45 am
I agree with Emily – surface washing really doesn’t get them clean. I have never had a problem just chucking them in the washer with a load of kid clothes and then dryer on low heat. I even wash the cloth toys with those plastic rattle things in them and haven’t had any melt or anything. We are expecting #3 next week and have never had to throw out any of our ‘baby’ toys or stuffed toys due to how I’ve washed them.
By: Laura V. on September 3, 2008
at 9:48 am
I also usually chunk them in the washing machine. If it’s well made and you use a relatively gentle cycle (low heat, no bleach, etc), they should be fine in my amateur opinion.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and offering help with storm eat suggestions!
By: Kaye on September 3, 2008
at 10:51 am
I am also baffled by the surface wash only phenomenon. I have tried to wash some of my son’s fabric toys with Shout, then a wet washcloth, but it did not come out, and afterwards he would bite it and act like it tasted bad. SO. Don’t use Shout.
Thanks for your suggestion on my blog about my son taking a bottle- I will try to get out of the house & let my hubby handle it.
By: Carrie @ Ceaseless Praises on September 4, 2008
at 8:48 am
thanks for all the advice gals! I threw them in the wash with his clothes and everything seems just fine! I was tempted to do that before, but I just was too afraid that I’d be ruining them forever. :p
Thanks again!
By: jainhollie on September 4, 2008
at 1:37 pm
The first time your kid pukes on a stuffed toy the surface wash only thing goes right out the window. I’ve been machine washing (and drying) my kids toys for years and they are totally fine.
By: Jen on September 6, 2008
at 9:27 am