How to clean large plastic used toy?

[Pinky]

Just bought a Fisher price laugh and learn home toy from Craigslist and its kinda grimy. How would you guys clean it? Can I use bleach on colored plastic?

[lhafer]

I usually use clorox wipes on stuff like that.

[bigpassport]

I would use Clorox wipes, then wipe down a couple of times with a wet cloth or sponge.

[crl]

I'd use vinegar and set it out in the sun for a bit.

Catherine

[fedoragirl]

Vinegar and sun--natural disinfectants, especially if your child will be handling them a lot or putting them in your mouth.

[zoestargrove]

I used a magic erasers on a little tykes back yard toy I bought used and it was pretty miraculous how much grime it took off.

[doberbrat]

first, I'd steam clean it - outside. then I'd bleach the heck out of it. you can always bleach plastic regardless of its color. Id let the bleach dry and see if I can fit it in the dishwasher by removing the top rack. if so, thats where it would go. if not, I'd throw it into the tub for a good scrub w/dishwashing soap and a scrub brush. then air dry.

[jgenie]

I wouldn't put it in the tub or dishwasher - you might ruin the sound box inside.

[KrisM]

I wouldn't put it in the tub or dishwasher - you might ruin the sound box inside.

:yeahthat:

I'd just wipe it down with Clorox wipes and then a wet cloth and dry. Too frozen to put it outside here, but in the summer, I'd do that.

How long do things really last on plastic anyway?

[Tondi G]

oxiclean works really well on little tikes stuff ... just a scoop in a bucket of hot water... a rag and maybe an old toothbrush to get into the crevices. Then wipe it all down well with just water... put it out in the sun to dry.

[Reina]

I'm going to risk getting flamed, but here goes. Chlorine bleach is not a necessary cleaning agent unless you bought the toy from a biological waste plant.

Put the toy in the bath tub or shower stall. Get a soft sponge and some dishwashing liquid. Scrub it with the soap and hot water. Regular dishwashing soap will get all the grime out. If you are still concerned with other bacteria that remains on the surface after you scrub , pour distilled white vinegar over the toy and let stand and dry out on its own.

Chlorine bleach is poison. I would not let my kid's toys anywhere near chlorine bleach. (ask me how I know)

[Pinky]

Thanks so much for all the tips everybody!


IChlorine bleach is poison. I would not let my kid's toys anywhere near chlorine bleach. (ask me how I know)
Now you've got me curious... how do you know?

[o_mom]

Baby wipes are good if you can't submerge or use lots of water because of electronics. I use a bamboo skewer as well to help get in the cracks (use it to shove the wipe down in the crevices). I cleaned up an activity table for a garage sale this way and the buyer thought it was new.

[zag95]

I've done clorox wipes or simple green in a spray bottle and hose it down- seeing as how it is winter, I guess I'd do the first- when getting into crevices, I've used a knife wrapped with a wipe and also a toothbrush, with a wipe over it.

Indeed the magic eraser is very magical at making the old looking items, new again!

[Staraglimmer]

I'd use clorox or lysol whipes. If it is really grimy, good old soap, water, and an old toothbrush should work.

I am curious about the bleach thing. When I worked in a center, we cleaned all of the tables and the changing pad with bleach. We also had to whipe down and soak all toys in bleach every day. I just did as I was told. Why was/is that bad?

[Reina]

You really do not need chlorine bleach to clean regular household surfaces unless you are handling highly contagious, extinct blood borne viruses in your house. And even when you buy your craig's list toys from the dirtiest of houses, you don't need chlorine bleach to clean.

Bleach (as in chlorine bleach or sodium hypochlorite) is poison. It kills living organisms such as bacteria, virus, insects, etc. (yes it is a more effective insecticide than all the insect killing sprays out there). The common household bleach contains approximately 5-6% sodium hypochlorite (the main ingredient of bleach). Commercial bleach solutions may contain from 7.5 to 12.5% sodium hypochlorite for more aggressive anti-bacterial cleaning power. And that is a new standard. in the past when regulations were more relaxed, the percentage of sodium hypochlorite was a lot higher. It took a lot of household and workplace accidents that ended with grim results and a lot of law suits to reduce the amount of sodium hypochlorite used in bottles of chlorine bleach.

Bleach remains active on surfaces for upto 48 hours after application. So when your kid licks that surface, he/she is ingesting some poison. The fumes from chlorinated bleach damage lung tissue. (not just irritate, but "damage" as in it kills living cells in organ tissue.). So your dog who may sniff those fumes while you clean may get nauseous and throw up, and you may be thinking "what did he eat to make him throw up?". When you use chlorine bleach inside your dishwasher (if you use dishwasher detergents with bleach), the steam from the dishwasher that escapes through the vents is toxic. So you're polluting your own environment. That is the main reason why I shy away from keeping products such as chlorine bleach in the house. It's poison.

Also to note: When plastics are brand new, the surface coating is impermeable by external corrosive agents, such as bleach. This protection is temporary since, even with regular use, the surface of any plastic (used for household products and toys) will be scratched and dented. When you spray a corrosive agent such as bleach onto a surface with grooves and scratches, the corrosive agent will leach into the plastic's surface thus further corroding the plastic itself, and changing the composition of plastic molecules, oxidizing the color of the plastic as well as releasing VOC (volatile organic compounds) into your living environment. Sodium hypochlorite (bleach) works by oxidizing organic matter, hence the byproduct is toxic organic matter. Sodium hypochlorite is NOT biodegradable. It remains in aquatic systems, and damages fish and other life forms that live in the aquatic system.


I am a marketing executive for a plastics company. I've been in the plastics industry for 12 years. We research and experiment with everything involving plastics. I know that my industry gets a bad reputation, but that's a discussion for a completely different thread.

Here is what we strongly suggest in our industry:
Common dishwashing detergents are manufactured to remove grime by breaking down oil, grime and fat on surfaces. Dishwashing liquid is the best surfactant to use to clean plastics. Because they are mild, they get the grime off and do not interfere with the molecular compound of the surfaces they come in contact with. Regular dishwashing liquid such as joy, dawn, palmolive, etc have enough cleaning power to rid surfaces off dirt and bacteria. (Even the non-anti-bacterial kinds)
For further bacteria removal action, Vinegar is a natural product that will not harm your health or your surfaces or your living environment. It is biodegradable. It kills bacteria. It gets the job done.

If you have any questions at all, please ask. What I wrote may seem like a lot of blahblah, but I tried to explain as best as I could. After 12 years of being in an environment where all we talk about is plastics, and everybody else knows exactly what I'm talking about, it gets a little difficult to explain myself outside my comfort zone I guess... Thank you.

[Pinky]

Reina thanks for that info! Very helpful.

[RunnerDuck]

I'll go one better than saying you don't need bleach - I wouldn't even bother to clean it unless it looked obviously gross, in which case a rag and hot water should do. Think about it, if they're selling it, it probably hasn't been played with in ages - so what germs exactly are you afraid of on it?

If there's something obviously gross on it - or if it was dusty - I'd get that off but beyond that ... I wouldn't worry about it. If the person you're buying from has you that skeeved out, you should pass on it.