Rubber ducky substitute

August 11, 2023 7:12 AM

I love taking baths and like the idea of rubber duckies in theory, but they are gross and biohazardous in practice: https://www.sciencealert.com/rubber-ducky-biohazard-loaded-dangerous-pathogens-bacteria-fungus Any thing else I can use? Either duckies made of something that's not biohazardous, or some other floating thing?
posted by jtothes to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

Just bleach your duckie, it'll be fine.
posted by Rhedyn at 7:19 AM on August 11, 2023 [2 favorites]

Is the squeak part of the attraction? Maybe try to find one without the hole, or plug the hole with a rubbery glue. No water inside, no biofilm.
posted by kate4914 at 7:21 AM on August 11, 2023 [3 favorites]

How about a bunch of plastic (not foam) ball pit balls. Easy to clean, and as a bonus they'll help keep your bath water warmer by forming an insulating layer.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:35 AM on August 11, 2023

How do you feel about boats? This company makes them out of wheat straw.

Also, if you search "nontoxic bath toys," there are several lists of these. Here's one that looks promising.
posted by FencingGal at 7:38 AM on August 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

Look for something solid. There are definitely wooden bath toys out there, and that would be my preference. Alternately, there are now bath toys advertized as "sealed," which is presumably intended to address this problem, which happens because squeaky rubber toys have an uncleanable internal cavity. Here's an example. Of course, sealed toys don't squeak.

I'd also note that if you read past the clickbaity headline, the text of the article itself is much more equivical, and there isn't really any evidence of actual harm: "Ultimately, the team says more research needs to be done to figure out how potentially dangerous these bacterial and fungal biofilms could be – especially to children – and advise the risks may be mitigated by cleaning toys after bathtime, by boiling and drying them, to minimise their capacity for incubation." Honestly, I'd be more worried about plasticizers or lead, since kids tend to put bath toys in their mouths, but I assume you, as an adult, can resist (or can you?).
posted by pullayup at 7:48 AM on August 11, 2023 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Kawan's rubber ducky don't squeak, and thus, don't get mouldy. But it's also... expensive as f--- ($28 Euros!)!
posted by kschang at 8:05 AM on August 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

We have this ducky. No hole = no mold and he floats upright better than some other rubber duckies!
posted by fussbudget at 8:22 AM on August 11, 2023

Response by poster: Going with the fancy one-piece Scandinavian duck. Squeaking does not matter to me.
posted by jtothes at 8:41 AM on August 11, 2023 [3 favorites]

To the credit of the expensive Scandinavian blowmolded canard (hand-painted by artisans!) it is almost 5" tall, which is quite hefty for a duckie.
posted by seanmpuckett at 12:09 PM on August 11, 2023