How to clean wooden toys
How do you clean a wooden toy ?
Before going into the steps, lets ask why is it important to clean a toy ?
From their early age, children develop a natural need to put everything in their mouth by tasting their toys.
These 'tasty' toys will surely go from the ground to their hands and after to their mouths.
Well... This is a natural behaviour, we've all been through this, because it's the way children are exploring the world.
In fact, young children don't really know what's dirty and clean, notion of hygiene will be learned by growing and participation of the daily home tasks.
As we want to protect our children from germs and dirt, it's important to clean their toys.
Guide to clean your wooden toys.
Wood is safe, natural and durable, but it's also porous. The washing process will be totally different from cleaning tissue, plastic or metal.
However, wood will not be as effected by germs as plastic toys, because of their natural antibacterial quality.
How to clean wooden toys ? :
- Never soak or immerse a wooden toy in water, it might swell, change shape and loose the colours.
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Use a cloth and warm water to wipe your wooden toys, then air dry, or wipe with a dry cloth for a basic cleaning.
- You can use a mild soap and well rinse with a sponge, to clean painted or varnished wooden toys.
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Use white vinegar or apple cider diluted with water, to disinfect your wooden toys, then air dry or well wipe with a cloth.
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To moisturising you wooden toys, depending on the type of wood, you could also use olive oil.
Finally, to avoid any infection, never use a cleaning product for wooden furniture, or disinfectant wipes. These products would be toxic for your child.
The best way to clean and disinfect safely your wooden toys, is to use a 100% ecological vinegar, diluted in water.
Wooden toys can have a very long life if they are well maintained.
Since you know they could end up in your child's mouths... Just remember to wash them frequently, and you'll not have to worry.
