This Easy-to-Make Nontoxic Toy Cleaner Is Absolutely Essential

January 24, 2019

Now that we’ve got a busy toddler on our hands, I can pretty much guarantee you that there are dozens of toys strewn all over our house at any given moment. What I cannot guarantee, however, is what else my little dude has gotten his hands into that day or what kind of dirt and grime is all over those toys. When he was little the toys stayed relatively clean, but now we’ve got mud and chalk and bugs and peanut butter and jelly flying every which way, and usually ending up on a toy or three. That being said, I just can’t bring myself to clean his toys with any of our usual cleaning products — I always worry about chemicals getting into his mouth when he inevitably chews on whatever he’s got in his hands. So I did a little research and came up with a simple (and super fast!) solution. We made our own nontoxic toy cleaner, using products that we already had around the house. And the best part? Even if he puts the toys in his mouth while they’re still wet from being cleaned, there’s no harm whatsoever. Here is how to make DIY nontoxic toy cleaner that’s totally free of all the nasty stuff…

Supplies:

clean, empty spray bottle
measuring cup
water
distilled white vinegar
optional: lemon essential oil

Instructions:

Step 1: Your cleaning mixture will be a 1:1 ratio of water to vinegar. Start by measuring out equal parts of each and pouring into your spray bottle. You’ll want to be sure you don’t overflow your bottle, so you should know the volume of the bottle first.

Step 2: Gently swirl the bottle to mix the vinegar and water.

Step 3: If you like, you can be done here! I wanted to add a more pleasant, citrusy smell to the cleaning solution, and also add the additional natural disinfecting power of lemon oil. If you’d like to do the same, add 3 to 4 drops to your bottle and swirl. Give the solution a spritz into your sink to test the balance of the mixture. If you have a particularly large bottle or would like a little more lemon, add another 1 to 2 drops.

Step 4: To clean, simply spritz the mixture onto a toy and wipe off with a clean dry rag.

That’s it! Now we’ve got clean toys, a happy mom, and a healthy kid. Hooray for simple and natural solutions!

More Cleaning Ideas:

Chelsea Foy is a blogger by day and a musical theatre performer by night. Her blog, Lovely Indeed, focuses on a DIY lifestyle and all of the happiness that comes along with it. Chelsea recently co-authored Make Your Day, a digital crafting book, and is proud to have had her projects featured on HGTV, Buzzfeed, Babble, Apartment Therapy, Huffington Post, and more. Chelsea resides in Los Angeles with her most adorable husband Ryan, where they spend their time diligently becoming familiar with every shop, restaurant, beach, and flea market within a 50-mile radius.