How To Clean Teething Toys

When it comes to buying teething toys for your baby, it can be hard to know which ones are safe to buy. Not to mention, it can be just as difficult to understand how to properly clean those teething toys. However, buying safe, high-quality teething toys is important to your baby’s growth, and regularly sanitizing them is essential to your baby’s well-being. We’ll take a closer look at how to clean teething toys below.

Why Cleaning Teething Toys Matters

Although teething toys play an important role in your child’s teething development, without proper maintenance, they can become infested with dirt and harmful bacteria. To avoid exposing your baby to these dangerous germs, regular cleaning is essential. Doing so will benefit your infant’s oral health.

How Often Should You Clean Teething Toys?

How often you clean teething toys depends on how much you use them. Teethers should be washed after every use. Additionally, you should clean teething toys whenever you can see visible dirt or debris. Even if your infant does not use a specific teether for a while, dust and airborne germs can land on it over time, so be sure to clean it before letting your child use the teether.

How to Clean Different Material Teething Toys

Silicone Teethers

Hand-washing: First, rinse your hands with soap to ensure that they’re clean and will not add unnecessary dirt to the teething toy. Then wash the toy with mild soap and warm water. Use either a clean cloth or soft brush to assist with cleaning textured areas. Make sure all soap residue is rinsed off before drying.

Boiling: You can boil some types of silicone teethers in hot water for a few minutes to sterilize them. Make sure your silicone teether is heat-resistant by checking the company label.

Dishwasher: Read the manufacturer’s instructions to see if the teething toy is dishwasher-safe. Place the toy on the top rack, and do not use harsh detergents.

Loulou Lollipop offers pretty, practical food-grade silicone teethers that are super effective, as well as top-rack dishwasher-safe, making them super easy to clean.

Rubber Teethers

Hand-washing: Wash your hands with soap to ensure that they’re clean and will not add unnecessary dirt to the teething toy. Then wash the teether with mild soap and warm water. Use either a clean cloth or soft brush to assist with cleaning textured areas. Make sure that all soap residue is rinsed off properly before drying.

Boiling: You can boil rubber teethers in hot water for a few minutes to sterilize them. Make sure you consult your manufacturer’s guidelines first. 

Avoid dishwashers: Rubber can deteriorate in a dishwasher, due to heat exposure. Hand-washing is the usual method of cleaning rubber teethers.

Plastic Teethers

Hand-washing: Rinse your hands thoroughly with a good soap to ensure that they’re clean and won’t add extra dirt to the teething toy. Then, be sure to wash with mild soap and warm water. Use either a clean cloth or soft brush to clean textured areas. Make sure that all soap residue is rinsed off before drying.

Dishwasher: Check the manufacturer’s instructions to see if the plastic teething toy is dishwasher safe. Place the toy on the top rack, and avoid using harsh detergents.

Sterilization: You can occasionally boil or use sterilizing solutions to thoroughly disinfect plastic teethers. Consult manufacturer’s instructions to see if there are further sterilization recommendations.

Wood Teethers

Surface cleaning: First, wipe the wooden teether with a damp cloth. To avert warping, do not soak it in water.

Disinfecting: You can use a mixture of vinegar and water, or a natural disinfectant that is made for wood. Apply the solution with a cloth and wipe it clean. Let the wood teether air dry.

Oil treatment: From time to time, you will need to apply food-grade oil onto wooden teethers to prevent drying or cracking. When doing so, use oil that is safe for babies.

Cloth Teethers

Hand-washing: Cloth teethers often use fabric parts that need special attention. With hand-washing, remove fabric parts if possible. Then use mild soap and water to wash the fabric parts. Rinse thoroughly, and then leave to air dry.

Machine-washing (if the label says it’s safe): Machine wash gentle cycle with mild detergent. To protect against damage, use a laundry bag.

Cleaning the components that are not fabric: Clean the non-fabric parts according to what material it’s made of (i.e. wood, plastic, silicone).

Keep in mind that these cleaning instructions are general advice. When cleaning your infant’s teething toys, consult the manufacturer’s guidelines for each toy first.

When and How to Sanitize Teething Toys

You should clean and sanitize your baby’s teething toys daily, or at least every other day. One thing to note is there’s a slight difference between cleaning and sanitizing. Cleaning removes most of the germs and dirt. Sanitizing reduces the number of germs and impurities, bringing it down to levels that are considered safe. This is best done by running them through your dishwasher’s sanitizing cycle, or going for the boiling method.

Since most of the cleaning methods discussed in the article overlap with sanitizing, you don’t need to worry too much about taking further steps to sanitize.

4 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Cleaning Teething Toys

1. Using toxic ingredients: Make sure you are using baby-safe cleaning products to prevent exposing your child to dangerous chemicals.

2. Ignoring manufacturer’s guidelines: To ensure you’re properly and safely cleaning your teething toys, first read and follow each toy’s manufacturer instructions. In doing so, you’ll learn which cleaning methods (e.g. handwashing, machine-wash, dishwasher) to use and to avoid.

3. Using wood cleaning products: For wooden teethers, do not utilize cleaning products for wood since they can be toxic. Be extra sure to use baby-safe cleaning agents designed especially for wooden baby teething toys.

4. Neglecting textured surfaces: Remember to clean the textured areas of your baby’s teething toys thoroughly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Teething Toys Need To Be Sterilized?

Sterilization is optional. You can occasionally sterilize teething toys by boiling them for a few minutes or by using baby-product-safe sterilizing solution. Don’t forget to first consult the manufacturer’s guidelines on how necessary it is for you to sterilize your teething toys, and how you should go about doing it.

Can Teething Toys Go in the Dishwasher?

It depends. Teething toys made of silicone and plastic can generally go in the dishwasher, while rubber teethers cannot. Read the toy’s manufacturer recommendations to see if it is dishwasher-safe.

Safe Cleaning and Sanitizing Practices Support Infant Oral Hygiene

When cleaning teething toys, it’s important to do so in a safe and thorough manner, to prevent exposing your child to toxic chemicals. Your baby’s health, including oral hygiene, is essential to their well-being. At Loulou Lollipop, we prioritize making products that are child-safe and easy to clean. Our teethers are designed to keep your baby happy, while also meeting and exceeding government safety standards.