sanitizing soft toys

dd has RSV (NOT a fun one) and i hope she'll start recovering in the next day or two. we're going on day 6 now :( i want to sanitize her soft toys but they all say surface wash only. with an older child, i wouldn't hesitate to use lysol, but she's only 5 months old. any suggestions?

[jenstam]

Can any of them be thrown in the wash machine? Also, I know a friend who bagged up all of her kids stuffed animals and threw them out on the deck. Here in MN, it gets very cold in the winter and cold kills viruses. I think she had to leave them out there for 14 days. I looked and you live in NJ. Pretty sure it gets cold there too. Other than that I'm not sure how you would wash them.

PS-my first daughter had RSV when she was 5 weeks old and spent a week in the hospital. She nearly died! She now has reactive airway disease due to the RSV. That is an awful virus!

[babywillowmae]

Throw them in the dryer on your longest cycle maybe?  I'm not sure, but I know when my neice had lice, we did that with all of her stuff, so maybe it'll work on the germs.  Just an idea, hope your little one gets better soon.  Good luck.

[tiredbuthappy]

they all say do not put in washer or dryer. it can get cold here, but lately it's been above freezing.

she seems better today- no fever so far. just puking up a lot of phlegm, but it's gotta come out somehow. it's her first illness- not bad for 5 1/2 months old! i swear it's the breastmilk.

it's really cool too- i didn't know pediatricians now do a quick blood test to see if it's viral or bacterial. they pricked her heal and analyzed the blood. in 5 minutes we knew for sure that it was a viral infection and that she didn't need antibiotics. my ped feels antibiotics are overused, and we agree.

[jenstam]

I also agree with the antibiotics being overused. When we lived in Georgia I loved our pediatrician. He wouldn't give antibiotics even for ear infections unless they were really bad because his belief was that they are so overused. I told some family and friends that and they were appalled. Fast forward about 10 years and now most doctors have that same belief. My pediatrician here feels the same.

Glad she seems better today. It has to be the breastmilk because Brody is 5 1/2 months also and hasn't been sick yet! When was she born? Brody was born July 14th. Sorry I can't remember :\

[spade22]

Here is a useful website on the RSV virus:

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/msds-ftss/msds125e.html

The virus will not survive above 55 C, or upon freezing/thawing so the above suggestions are very good ones (putting toys in a cold place - even wrapped up in a bucket of ice would work or putting though a dryer cycle).  One thing to note is the virus can only survive for up to 8 h outside the host (human, animal) so the virus would not be active on your dd's toys however, freezing her toys for peace of mind is a wonderful idea.

[tiredbuthappy]

jenshim- she was born July 16th. i remember when brody was born- they were both supposed to be august babies, and both came in july. that's another amazing thing- 2 preemies and no illnesses their first months of life. how's brody doing with weight and developmentally? sara's gained beautifully and is officially "average" in size (not bad from below 3rd percentile). socially she's always been ahead- smiling and laughing at 4 weeks. everything else is on target, but she won't roll. she has only rolled once- last week from belly to back when i put her on a cold mat. i KNOW i'm not supposed to compare her to other babies, and should expect things to be a month behind, but i am still always curious. a couple more weeks and we will try solids!

spade- thanks for that info. i'll be sure to do that. maybe i'll stick 'em in the fridge or freezer.

[jenstam]

Two days apart-that's right (: How much does she weigh now? I know Brody is in the 15 pound range, maybe even 16. He was 5 lbs 7 oz when he was born and has really made such great progress with his weight. He's getting to be a little chunker. He is rolling both ways and developmentally is where he is supposed to be. Any day now he will be sitting up on his own. He tries but then after about 30 seconds he falls to one side. Just a few short weeks ago I was worried because he wasn't grasping objects but now he is. He is the light of our life (: We plan to start solids in a couple of weeks too. That's making me nervous but I'm sure he'll do fine. I know what you mean about comparing to other babies though. I do the same thing with Brody but I have been trying not to anymore because all babies are different. If she is doing everything she should be other than that, I wouldn't worry. Maybe just more tummy time will help with that issue.

[tiredbuthappy]

i think the problem is she likes tummy time. i know my friends' babies rolled because they hated their tummys. she was 15 lbs 4 oz yesterday- was 4 lbs 13 oz at birth. she does the same thing with the sitting- flops forward or backwards after about 30 seconds. i don't know how she'll do with solids because anything that goes near her mouth she automatically pushes out with her tongue. we'll see. i'll make sure we try over hard flooring instead of carpeting.

[jenstam]

Be glad she likes tummy time. Brody doesn't mind it now but hated it at first. He actually rolls better from back to belly than he does belly to back. When he hated his tummy time he would get mad and stiffen out and then just kind of automatically roll over. Now, he likes it so he also doesn't really roll over from tummy to back. I don't think it's anything to be concerned about though. But wow...I thought Brody had made progress with his weight! She has really chunked up, too! I love it! Mama's milk is so good for them (: Oh, and I have tried a few little things here and there with Brody. The other day I bit a piece of macaroni in half and gave it to him. He does the same thing-pushes it out with his tongue. We also tried a small piece of mashed potatoes-same thing. He doesn't seem to be real interested in solids but hopefully with how thin the cereal starts it will work out well. Keep me posted on how it goes for you too!

[girliegrl1723]

try putting them in a pillow case, tie it up with a rubberband or hair tie and putting it in the washer on the gentle cycle, then dryer on air fluff/delicate. most stuffed animals and plush toys that say surface wash can be washed this way. just make sure there are no plasric pieces that can melt in the dryer - in that case, let those air dry. i hope your little one feels better soon :o)

[AnnieBrooke]

Clorox has made a new spray that is safe to use on all surfaces children touch.  I've been seeing commercials for it.  You might look it up.

[tiredbuthappy]

I have seen it, and even used it in my classroom. Guess i just don't believe them when they say it's safe to use around infants. i try to keep all chemicals away from her. i think in the ads they even spray the baby's pacifier??

[jenstam]

Oh my goodness...I would never spray baby toys, let alone pacifiers with any type of chemical whether they claim it's safe or not. That just doesn't seem right.

[tiredbuthappy]

this is the product-
http://www.clorox.com/products/overview.php?prod_id=ahsds

i notice the little asterisk- the fine print says it's safe when used on nonpourous surfaces

[kjbutcher]

1/4 cup bleach mixed w/ 1 gallon of water.  spray on.

[AndiJ78]

I have tossed them in the dryer for 1/2 hour on high heat. I have always felt if they make it, great, if not I'd toss them. What's the alternative, right? Suffice it to say I haven't had any that needed to be tossed..

[g8r grl]

I use Pampers spray on all of my son's toys. It says right on the bottle that it kills germs. It's to clean surfaces and plastic toys, but I spray the heck out of his stuffed toys and hang them over a fan to dry. It is non toxic and safe to use on high chair trays that they eat off of, so it's pretty darn safe. I can only find it at ToysRus or BabiesRus. Again, it's Pampers brand and comes in a clear bottle with a green sprayer. They also make wipes and I use those as well.

[laura1977]

you can also put toys in plastic bags and put them in the freezer to get rid of any type of dust mites and other bugs.  just for your 411.