plush baby toys in the washing machine?
May 3, 2017 7:04 AM Subscribe
Parents of MeFi: can I wash plush baby toys, like these plush blocks, these rattles, and this ball, in the washing machine?
I'm pregnant and trying to get things ready for my first kid, who is due in a couple of weeks. My sister-in-law has two kids and she very nicely gave us a box of used baby toys. I'm not a neat freak, but they're a bit dingy from being used by two different babies already, and they've also been sitting in a box for the last 6 years. I'd like to wash them once before the baby arrives even if I don't wash them very often (or maybe ever) afterwards.
However, they all have labels that say they need to be hand-washed. Really? Am I going to ruin them by tossing them in the washing machine at a low cycle and air drying them? I'm hoping that the answer is no, because I don't really have the will or energy to hand-wash them right now, but I would still like them to be a bit cleaner.
I'm pregnant and trying to get things ready for my first kid, who is due in a couple of weeks. My sister-in-law has two kids and she very nicely gave us a box of used baby toys. I'm not a neat freak, but they're a bit dingy from being used by two different babies already, and they've also been sitting in a box for the last 6 years. I'd like to wash them once before the baby arrives even if I don't wash them very often (or maybe ever) afterwards.
However, they all have labels that say they need to be hand-washed. Really? Am I going to ruin them by tossing them in the washing machine at a low cycle and air drying them? I'm hoping that the answer is no, because I don't really have the will or energy to hand-wash them right now, but I would still like them to be a bit cleaner.
I'd throw them in on cold/gentle for sure. I'd also throw them in the dryer on air/fluff only.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 7:10 AM on May 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by PorcineWithMe at 7:10 AM on May 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Yes, they'll be fine. Honestly - if they don't survive the washing machine they're not worth it. Are you going to handwash them every time baby spits up on them or gets them messy? Hint: No. You will be far too busy doing literally anything else.
posted by widdershins at 7:18 AM on May 3, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by widdershins at 7:18 AM on May 3, 2017 [15 favorites]
My worry would be that the detergent couldn't ever be completely rinsed from the inside. Then, when a baby starts chewing/gumming/babifying them and getting them completely soaked with saliva _and_ squishing them in the mouth, that's when the detergent can come out.
posted by amtho at 7:20 AM on May 3, 2017
posted by amtho at 7:20 AM on May 3, 2017
I throw my dog's stuffed toys, including the ones with squeakers, in the washing machine all the time on gentle cycle, so I say go for it. Sometimes I might push the button for extra rinse. For the ones that are really furry I find a few minutes in the dryer on low can help fluff them up before I put them on the rack to air dry.
posted by thejanna at 7:22 AM on May 3, 2017
posted by thejanna at 7:22 AM on May 3, 2017
You can machine wash them but if they are especially soft or fluffy then the fur may never come back to the same state. My kid doesn't seem to mind. We dispose of any stuffed animals that have potentially contagious fluids spilled on them. So spit up is ok, but explosive vomit stuffed animals go in the trash.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 8:00 AM on May 3, 2017
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 8:00 AM on May 3, 2017
2nd the put them in a pillow case, wash away!
Also tumble dry, low.
Source: mom to a puker.
posted by saradarlin at 8:33 AM on May 3, 2017
Also tumble dry, low.
Source: mom to a puker.
posted by saradarlin at 8:33 AM on May 3, 2017
Like thejanna, I wash my dogs' plush toys in the washing machine all the time, and then usually line dry.
Throw them in a pillowcase, tie it shut, and go ahead and wash.
I've simplified even further by having a stack of mesh wash bags on top of my washing machine so I can grab one and toss in any small items when loading the machine. Then I hang the mesh bag on the line with the dog toys inside.
posted by Squeak Attack at 8:52 AM on May 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
Throw them in a pillowcase, tie it shut, and go ahead and wash.
I've simplified even further by having a stack of mesh wash bags on top of my washing machine so I can grab one and toss in any small items when loading the machine. Then I hang the mesh bag on the line with the dog toys inside.
posted by Squeak Attack at 8:52 AM on May 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Yep, I wash my kid's soft toys and stuffed animals all the time to no ill effect. Cold or even warm wash, air dry or tumble dry low, you're good to go. This:
My worry would be that the detergent couldn't ever be completely rinsed from the inside. Then, when a baby starts chewing/gumming/babifying them and getting them completely soaked with saliva _and_ squishing them in the mouth, that's when the detergent can come out.
does not ever happen, don't give it a second thought.
posted by anderjen at 8:53 AM on May 3, 2017 [4 favorites]
My worry would be that the detergent couldn't ever be completely rinsed from the inside. Then, when a baby starts chewing/gumming/babifying them and getting them completely soaked with saliva _and_ squishing them in the mouth, that's when the detergent can come out.
does not ever happen, don't give it a second thought.
posted by anderjen at 8:53 AM on May 3, 2017 [4 favorites]
Nthing the mesh bags. And go a little easier on the detergent than you might otherwise, but wash on hot (anything kid related automatically gets washed on hot).
You could throw things in the dryer, but for good measure and just-in-case extra germ killing, I like to let them sit out in the sun for a day.
posted by vignettist at 9:34 AM on May 3, 2017
You could throw things in the dryer, but for good measure and just-in-case extra germ killing, I like to let them sit out in the sun for a day.
posted by vignettist at 9:34 AM on May 3, 2017
Response by poster: Thanks for your answers, everyone! Sorry for the dumb question, but what are the advantages of putting the toys in a pillowcase or a mesh bag?
posted by colfax at 10:37 AM on May 3, 2017
posted by colfax at 10:37 AM on May 3, 2017
Mesh bags (or pillowcase), wash on delicate, and line dry. I just did a full load of stuffed toys for my kids this morning, since they brought stuff on a plane and the toys got dragged all over the airport floor. Ew.
posted by lydhre at 11:33 AM on May 3, 2017
posted by lydhre at 11:33 AM on May 3, 2017
Best answer: Oh, and if they dry looking raggedy, just try brushing the fabric a little and fluffing it up. Works like a charm for us and stuffed animals go through the wash at an amazing rate.
posted by lydhre at 11:36 AM on May 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by lydhre at 11:36 AM on May 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
Whatever you do, do not dry a Cabbage Patch Kid by placing a blow dryer up against it. Ask me how I know.
posted by FencingGal at 11:48 AM on May 3, 2017
posted by FencingGal at 11:48 AM on May 3, 2017
Best answer: Thanks for your answers, everyone! Sorry for the dumb question, but what are the advantages of putting the toys in a pillowcase or a mesh bag?
If bits fall off (possible since they are not designed for machine washing) it stops them jamming up your machine.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:07 PM on May 3, 2017
If bits fall off (possible since they are not designed for machine washing) it stops them jamming up your machine.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:07 PM on May 3, 2017
Mesh bags help protect delicate things. Honestly, they're kindof a laundry game-changer. I gave up hand-washing my bras and now put them in a mesh bag (cold/delicate) and hang dry. Also great for washing sweaters. My husband has all sorts of fun socks, and when he takes them off, he puts them in a mesh bag that he hangs next to his laundry basket. Way easier to keep track of all of them! Come to think of it, that routine would probably be great for tiny baby socks.
Also agree to do cold/delicate, go light on the detergent, and dry on low or air-only setting with a towel thrown in for balance.
posted by radioamy at 1:31 PM on May 3, 2017
Also agree to do cold/delicate, go light on the detergent, and dry on low or air-only setting with a towel thrown in for balance.
posted by radioamy at 1:31 PM on May 3, 2017
In my house, everything cloth-like child related (clothes included) gets washed in warm water on normal in the (front-loading) washer. If it does not survive that, it was not meant to survive in our house.
(This doesn't include heirloom pieces, of course, but those are few and far between)
posted by jillithd at 2:07 PM on May 3, 2017
(This doesn't include heirloom pieces, of course, but those are few and far between)
posted by jillithd at 2:07 PM on May 3, 2017
Response by poster: Thank you so much, everyone! Into the washing machine they go!
posted by colfax at 3:03 AM on May 4, 2017
posted by colfax at 3:03 AM on May 4, 2017
Mesh bags are great for all laundry, by the way. You can get them at any dollar store. They prevent delicate things like bras, lacy undies, yoga pants, and silky tops from getting all snagged and pilly from rubbing up against towels or whatever. (Also they signify to my boyfriend what doesn't go in the dryer.)
I keep some near the laundry hamper, and mesh-bag my delicates before throwing them in with the rest of the dirty laundry each night. Then you only need to sort laundry by colour, not by delicate-ness of fabric.
Apparently you can even wash Lego in the clothes washer in a mesh bag.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:46 PM on November 3, 2017
I keep some near the laundry hamper, and mesh-bag my delicates before throwing them in with the rest of the dirty laundry each night. Then you only need to sort laundry by colour, not by delicate-ness of fabric.
Apparently you can even wash Lego in the clothes washer in a mesh bag.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:46 PM on November 3, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:09 AM on May 3, 2017