I thought that we were safe from mold and mildew in our bath toys because I clean them regularly (errr...somewhat regularly) with vinegar, we squeeze them out after every use, and we store them in plastic mesh baskety thing that allows for plenty of air circulation.
But a few nights ago I was bathing one of the twins when the light caught the ducky at just the right angle and I could see that there was some dark spots inside the ducky.
So I cut it open. And then I snapped a picture because I was fascinated and because I thought I'd share it with all of you, just in case you were wondering what bath water does to a poor rubber ducky. What's that? You were wondering? See, I knew it.
Ick. Ewww. Yuck!
My solution? No more rubber duckies. I could clean them with bleach or just keep replacing them, but neither of those options fits well within my desire to nurture a less wasteful and toxic home life. So instead my kids will play with plastic cups and washcloths and empty shampoo bottles.
Another solution I read about is that you can seal up the hole in the bottom of a new (and therefore, yet unmoldy) rubber ducky with a dab of hot glue. It seems to me that would work, but also take all the fun out of being able to squirt water out of the bottom of the ducky!
Every time I see that picture I shudder a little. Now excuse me while I try not to wonder how long my kids have been squirting moldy water at each other during bath time. Ick.
Ewwww.
Yuck.
I agree---BLECH!!!! Cups and such are more fun, anyway :)
ReplyDeleteReally clever lady on pinterest suggested using a hot glue gun to seal the holes of the ducks when they're fresh from the package. If that seal holds, it should be sanitary enough. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteEeew!! I just noticed one of my sons toy has a hole on the bottom- and yet is not a squirt toy- has water in it- and no way to get it out:(. So... I think it's going to go in the trash, so his toy boat won't have a captain (I guess my son will be the captain;))
ReplyDeleteI think it was you (on your other blog) who posted once about cutting back on the bath toys. I did that and got rid of all the rubber duckies for this very reason. Gross!! I try not to think about how long my baby girl was squirtin moldy water from her ducky...!She missed them for about one bath, then forgot all about them. Good riddance!
ReplyDeletepoke holes in cups with ice pick to make "sprinklers", use rubber bands and wheels to make simple "machines" to pour water from one cup to another. Ah, those were the days....when my kids thought Mom was cool and so very smart.
ReplyDeleteBye-bye duckies!
ReplyDeleteI noticed that awhile back and tossed all the ducks. I too wonder how long she was playing with mold sprayers before I noticed.
ReplyDeleteyou are not alone....
ReplyDeletehttp://welovebeingmoms.blogspot.be/2012/07/how-why-to-clean-bath-toys.html
My daughters were having a bath and I noticed some black floaty things in the water. My oldest daughter was putting her mouth to the hole of a Dora bath toy and drinking the water coming out. The thought hit me that the black floaties were coming from that toy. Upon further inspection, I discovered I was right! it just made me sick to my stomach and I threw it out immediately. Yuck is right!
ReplyDeleteYes, the black stuff floating in the water. That is what happened to us too. The ducks were removed that night and did not return. So gross.
DeleteI think I am going to throw up:o/
ReplyDeleteThere's always something we think we need but we don't, right?!
ReplyDeletehttp://makingroomwithus.blogspot.it
Hasn't done anyone arm harm to date has it? Sure it's ick and once you know its hard to ignore. But where do you stop and perhaps living a little and exposure actually gives your kids a better head start to resistance to diseases. I clearly rememeber the taste of salty, dirty flyscreens that I used to lick as a young child, and it did me no harm. :)
ReplyDeleteAgreed. The germ-a-phobia has gone too far.
DeleteMold isn't the same as germs. Mold is full of toxins, not germs.
DeleteToxins accumulate in your body.
Toxins every single day in the bath are a bad idea.
You won't see immediate health problems, but down the line you will get sick and never realize it was from mold exposure.
Some people, like my son, have a severe allergy to molds.
DeleteI use a hot glue gun to glue the hole closed !
ReplyDeleteSome ducks are "hole free" - my kids have a tiny basket with three hole-free duckies, a button (?!) and a tiny mermaid ornament. The ones with holes are gonna get mouldy. I'm proud of your dissection though!
ReplyDeleteI still love those old school plastic boat sets that come apart. They clean great in the dish washer too. I had them when I was a kid and my son really enjoys them.
ReplyDeleteWhenever we have any kind of rubber squirty toy, we promptly cut the hole bigger. We basically cut out that whole round patch, so the hole is completely open and there's no surprises. All of the water pours out and it dries easily when it's time to put it away. Of course, they don't squirt, but my son likes making them dive and such anyways. There is definitely an ick factor to squirt toys! o.O
ReplyDeleteCups are great EXCEPT it gives them something to dump water onto the floor with!!! GRRRR!! I"m going to the bathroom right now to throw away our rubber duckies!
ReplyDeleteI used to clean them in bleach water where I'd suck up water and shake it then squirt it out. Best thing tbh is to just rotate toys every few months. Mildew is so gross.
ReplyDeleteI had to chuckle at this post, because I have a very clear memory of your post at your other blog: http://theyearofless.blogspot.ca/2012/08/day-16-minimalizing-bath-toys.html
ReplyDeleteWeird. I must have super-sterile bathwater or something. I just cut a larger hole in the bottom of my two-year-old's ducky, and it wasn't even a tiny bit moldy inside, and she's been using it steadily for 1 1/2 years, and it's never been washed.
ReplyDeleteI always thought the same thing. Of course they're moldy w/ no air circulating. Ick. I was looking at our toys the other day thinking I need to get rid of them.
ReplyDeleteEwwwww! I never had rubber duckies growing up we used to skirt water at each other with empty shampoo bottles :-)
ReplyDeleteWe don't have a bath tub right now, so my daughter showers with me and play with tea cups from her pretend tea set and some toy buckets.
Um, yes, I completely agree with you on this one! I threw out our ducks long ago for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteI realized the same thing years ago and we threw all those toys away. Anything with a little hole in it isn't allowed in the tub. The kids play with bowls and cups, sometimes my son brings in legos, but they all dry and don't have any holes to trap moisture and mold. That is just gross. I wish the inventors of such things would think of this stuff.
ReplyDeleteI NEVER let my daughter have rubber ducks...I collect ducks and I would get so upset when she would sneak them into the bathroom because I knew they would be ruined by mildew. Super yuck!
ReplyDeleteI showed this post to my husband and he blew it off. Then, when I walked into the bathroom while he was giving our son a bath, I caught him holding up bath toys to the light to see if they were mold infested...ha! However, I did just get to reading your post on the year of less about bath toys, and realized that we have a lot. No wonder my child throws fits at bath time. There are too many choices and he never has time to play with them all. Time to downsize.
ReplyDeleteEeeeewwwwww!!! We have 5 baby duckies and two went into the garbage this morning. The other three will be headed that way soon. They seem to like the old yogurt containers and shampoo bottles better anyway. I just washed a caramel syrup squirt bottle and will try that out in the tub so we still have something that squirts, but I can take the lid off and let it air out in between baths and wash as needed. Hopefully it'll work. Have a good day!
ReplyDelete-Sandy
Wow, that is really eye opening. Good for you, for cutting into that sucker to see what was in there.
ReplyDeleteThankfully we have a duckie with no squirter (is squirter a word? lol)
ReplyDeleteLittle Man knows no difference and that's okay.
Thanks for sharing.
This happened at my house too and we don't have rubber duckies anymore. My kids get enough exposure to germs that I don't feel the need to grow them in a rubber ducky (which they seem to want to squirt in their faces & mouths. ugh).
ReplyDeleteI chucked all of ours out for the same reason. I too was washing them RELIGIOUSLY but it didnt work.
ReplyDeleteApparently you can plug the hole with silicone (the stuff you'd use to seal the bathtub or to put around windowframes) so if we get given any as gifts, i'll be trying that rather than get caught throwing out a gift
Add a dabb of glue from a gluegun on new bought rubber duckies so the water doesn`t enter at all.
ReplyDeleteHubby's rubber ducky is out of here! I just found your blog, what an interesting place...........off to make a cuppa and have a bit of a pootle through your archives.
ReplyDeleteI got rid of mine for the same reason. When my daughter was caught drinking water from inside of them, I figured they needed to be tossed. So gross! Love your blog, by the way! Your "Year of Less" blog inspired me to start cutting back and simplifying our home.
ReplyDeleteJust seen your lastest post on 'year of less'. 1. I can't believe people are crazy eno to spam you with bad stuff! I mean, it's your choice surely, I loved your blog but I do also think you're amazing to write 1, let alone 2... I tried writing my own blog for a while and it really does take so much time that I gave up. So I just wanted to let you know... X
ReplyDeleteOh Yuk! I came to the same conclusion about my Little Son's bath toys. I used to regularly sterilise them in bleach but still once he squirted them and all this black stuff came out into the bath water. It is really cringey. No more of them for us either. xxx
ReplyDeleteThat happened with us, too. A while ago, I had to throw out a whole bunch of my kids' tub toys because of the same thing. YUCK!
ReplyDeleteAnother good reason to toss them is because they are made with PVC which is super toxic
ReplyDeleteI just bough Hevea bath toys. No hole and they are made of natural rubber! Love them. The thought of mold in a bath toys grosses me out!
ReplyDeleteThere's a fantastic book called, "Slow Death by Rubber Duck", by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie. They are two of Canada's leading environmental activists and they are the people behind having BPA banned from baby bottles in Canada. Forget mold; learn about the toxic soup that's being built up inside you and your children's bodies by everyday household items leeching yucky poisons like BPA, pthalates, PFC, PFOA and more.
ReplyDelete