# How do you feel about that black bath-toys mold?



## Citykid (Feb 9, 2006)

Hi all,

We're pretty serious about keeping our bathtub clean, and we throw bath toys away when they grow that black mold. My mom has a zero-tolerance policy about it, and we pretty much follow that too. Last weekend we were over at our friends' house for dinner, and they invited DS to take a bath with their DD, and they had a great time, except that DS holds up one of the bath toys to me and says "It's dirty." (He's used to his beloved toys getting thrown away when we see that.) He was right, they all had the black mold. I didn't know what to do. He was already soaking in that water. And I didn't want to embarrass our friends. So I covered - I told him maybe the toy dragon had just been eating some Oreos.







And decided that before we took a bath there again we'd give them a gift of some new bath toys.

Are we too uptight about the black mold? Or should I have said something to our friends about how unhealthy that is? It was so gross!


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## Anastasiya (Jun 13, 2006)

GROSSES me out. As soon as our toys develop that mold (and it's especially bad in the squirty toys), they are tossed.

Now we buy only bath toys that are sealed so water doesn't sit inside them.

That said, if I was at a friend's house and saw a moldy toy, I'd just make sure kiddo didn't try to suck the water out of it or something.


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## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

DH is seriously allergic to mold. So we're pretty neurotic about it. But even if he wasn't, I think I'd be really careful about it. That stuff is gross, and I would imagine it would make a kiddo sick to accidentally ingest it. Yuck. Anyway, I don't really allow them to have toys where water will get stuck inside, and we dry everything in between baths. So far we've only had one incident with that stuff, inside a rubber toy that had cracked so that water could get in. The mold spilled out one day, and DH freaked because it looked like DD2 had pooped in the water. Yuck.

No, I don't think you're too uptight. It's nasty. But you know, in a lot of cases careful cleaning and boiling will get rid of the stuff, so you don't actually have to throw the toy away, unless it's stuck inside the toy in a place that's too hard to clean.


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## Contrariety (Jul 16, 2007)

I don't think I have this problem...

though if properly dried out after the bath, toys wouldn't get said mold, would they?


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## Mrsboyko (Nov 13, 2007)

I probably need to hide after this comment, but we bleach them when I see it start up. I get a bucket and put probably 4-6 oz of bleach in it and fill it with HOT water. Make the squirters suck up the water and leave it for a while. When I rinse it out, the black stuff is gone. i usually put our bath mat in there with the toys too since the little suction cups tend to get moldy around them too.


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## kirstenb (Oct 4, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Contrariety* 
I don't think I have this problem...

though if properly dried out after the bath, toys wouldn't get said mold, would they?

We only get this problem in our squirty toys. No matter how hard we try, we can never seem to get all the water out, and so they eventually get the mold. We also toss the toys when they get this way. When we buy new toys we try to get ones that don't have any holes so they don't collect water inside.


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## sbgrace (Sep 22, 2004)

We quickly got rid of all bath toys except open boats, cups, and the like that would be able to be dried. The squeezy toys are impossible to keep clean I think.

But I don't think (short a serious mold allergy) the gross mold is likely to make anyone sick. I wouldn't be worried and in a friends house I wouldn't say anything probably. It's not a serious health risk and would be embarrasing for the friend. If it really eaks me out I probably wouldn't bathe my kid there again but I'm eeked out by bathing my kid in anyone's tub to some extent. We do showers when away and we have to use someone else's bathroom. That's my own neurotic self I guess.

In short, I think your child was more likely to catch something from bathing with the dd (and still unlikely but gastro stuff like rotavirus type bugs or parasites can be spread in water if the child has had diarrhea within I think 48 or 72 hours) than the disgusting bath toys.


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## earthmama369 (Jul 29, 2005)

We just bleach them, instead of throwing them out. I use strong hydrogen peroxide for bleach and hot water. Unless the mold's inside the toy, it's usually salvageable.


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## weliveintheforest (Sep 3, 2005)

When we were in this situation once I just hid the moldy toy to avoid the issue







: I didn't feel comfortable pointing it out.


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## sbgrace (Sep 22, 2004)

http://www.babyzone.com/baby_toddler...ats-in-the-tub
This might be reassuring.

Quote:

"The likelihood of a child getting sick from this is close to zero," notes Dr. Konopasek. She compares ingesting mold from a bath toy to accidentally giving your child a piece of moldy bread to eat. It's just going to come out when the child goes to the bathroom. Dr. Konopasek adds that the only kids who could potentially be at risk are those who have immune problems, or those younger than three-months old.


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## ann_of_loxley (Sep 21, 2007)

Too uptight - but hey, its your bath and your choice!
We are not freaked out about the black mold at all in the bath toys. From my experience, that black mold just does not come off - I have seen it inside a toy but never has it been floating around in the bath or been able to come off in any way that my DS could ingest it at all. So I have never been worried about it. All our toys are rinsed with clean water and left out to dry properly so they never get moldy or dirty on the outside! Limescale is the only thing I have ever had to take a cloth to the bath toys about (and really only beause its unsightly and does come off and float around in the bath - and then sticks and dries to the side of it! lol) - but we do not have very hard water where we live now.


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## snoopy5386 (May 6, 2005)

That would gross me out, yuck! We have lots of bath toys and have had all since DD was a baby and we have only had a few get black mold in them, and never had any squirt it out, that is gross. But I asked my mom to get DD new bath toys for christmas, I feel like 2 years is enough time for them and it is time to replace them. I think I am going to cut them open to see what they look like inside. Oh and we clean ours with vinegar. Every couple of months I'll fill the bathroom sink with vinegar and hot water and make sure that the squeezy toys all get vinegar inside of them.


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## azmomtoone (Aug 30, 2008)

I threw away some in the beginning until I realized that they were ALL gonna get that way no matter how hard we tried to keep them dry between baths. (Like someone else said only the toys w/ holes to the inside get it; squirty toys and we had a duck and a boat that got it inside them too, can't get inside the toy to clean it out). .... I think if the kid is still putting everything in their mouth I'd throw it out. Otherwise though, just in the tub with them, don't see any harm in it.


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## Kellie_MO4 (Jan 14, 2006)

We've only had issues with mold in the squirt toys.. so those we just buy cheap since we do throw them out once they get that way.. I personally think it's gross, but that's jmo


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## HarperRose (Feb 22, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sbgrace* 
We quickly got rid of all bath toys except open boats, cups, and the like that would be able to be dried. The squeezy toys are impossible to keep clean I think.

Same here. Ds has cups and boats and one lone squeezy duck. So far, so good, but I'm constantly eyeballing that little duck.

We had plenty of molded bath toys when my other 2 were small (they are 18 mos apart so we had plenty!) but not as many this time around (due to the 6 yr age gap between dd and ds1). I'm really glad, actually. He just tosses them out of the tub anyway.


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## _betsy_ (Jun 29, 2004)

DD loves her plastic bath cups, and once a week or so I throw them inthe dishwasher on an extra hot cycle. Seems to keep them from getting gross.


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## Blucactus (Nov 20, 2006)

We don't use toys (aside from washcloths & bottles of shampoo/body wash) in the bath bc the black mold seriously squicks me out.


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## chick (Sep 12, 2007)

we only get the black mould in the squirty toys and when it gets bad enough that it's squirting out again they get thrown out. Saying that I've only thrown 2 out in 2 years...

I'm sure dd has ingested some of the mould but she seems ok...


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## veganf (Dec 12, 2005)

The black mold often carries e.coli and other dangerous bacteria, it is not like "bread mold". Bleach, boil, or put them in the trash.


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## ryansma (Sep 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *_betsy_* 
DD loves her plastic bath cups, and once a week or so I throw them inthe dishwasher on an extra hot cycle. Seems to keep them from getting gross.










nak
us too


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## AllisonR (May 5, 2006)

I have a very high clutter/dirt tolerance. I've got no problems with my kids eating 2 day old dried out cheerios off the floor. But I agree, black mould in bath toys totally grosses me out.

Everyone has their own style of germ police, ya know?


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## bodhicitta3 (Jun 19, 2006)

wow--um i never realized that it was black mold till now! ds is seriously allergic to mold! I always asummed it was dirt or something. man i feel STUPID...off to get rid of/clean bath toys!


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## eggsandpancakes (Oct 16, 2007)

what is wrong with bleach? after it dries it won't hurt anything


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## Kellie_MO4 (Jan 14, 2006)

Quote:

I've got no problems with my kids eating 2 day old dried out cheerios off the floor.
HAHA, me too







:


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## *Erin* (Mar 18, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sbgrace* 
If it really eaks me out I probably wouldn't bathe my kid there again but I'm eeked out by bathing my kid in anyone's tub to some extent. We do showers when away and we have to use someone else's bathroom. That's my own neurotic self I guess.

In short, I think your child was more likely to catch something from bathing with the dd (and still unlikely but gastro stuff like rotavirus type bugs or parasites can be spread in water if the child has had diarrhea within I think 48 or 72 hours) than the disgusting bath toys.

i guess im neurotic too then, cause im the same way. i don't even bathe in my own tub without bleaching it, lol! i probably wouldn't have bathed my kid there anyway, or i wouldve used the shower.

2 day old cheerios are fair game around here(floorios!), but the moldy toys-yuck!! also, moldy toys at someone else's house are somehow WAY more gross than if it was my kids' moldy toy.

we pitch them before they get icky-the squirt ones especially. you can't clean them out. blegh!


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## mamakay (Apr 8, 2005)

I'm kind of "middle of the road" about it. I don't throw them out at the first sign of mold, but I do when they start getting bad.


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## Dov'sMom (Jan 24, 2007)

I have a front-loading washer that's supposed to run a bleach cycle once a month to keep it from molding. I just throw the bath toys and shower curtain (and the occasional sippy cup that I find hiding under the carseat after two months) in the washer when I do that load and then run an extra rinse cycle after.


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## ryansma (Sep 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dov'sMom* 
I have a front-loading washer that's supposed to run a bleach cycle once a month to keep it from molding. I just throw the bath toys and shower curtain (and the occasional sippy cup that I find hiding under the carseat after two months) in the washer when I do that load and then run an extra rinse cycle after.

Is that why my front loader is a little stinky?!
I had no idea I was supposed to be doing that


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## Miss 1928 (Nov 12, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dov'sMom* 
I have a front-loading washer that's supposed to run a bleach cycle once a month to keep it from molding. I just throw the bath toys and shower curtain (and the occasional sippy cup that I find hiding under the carseat after two months) in the washer when I do that load and then run an extra rinse cycle after.


Quote:


Originally Posted by *ryansma* 
Is that why my front loader is a little stinky?!
I had no idea I was supposed to be doing that


















Wow! Me neither! I always keep the door open, when it's not running (obviously), but I've been wondering what else to do about that mildew-y smell. Thanks!

Sorry,









There's a few wee black spots on DD's rubber sticky "paper doll" for the tub. I figured if I couldn't scrub it clean with loads of elbo grease, then it's probably ok for her to play with -- but not chew on. I may try bleach.







:


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## kirstenb (Oct 4, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AllisonR* 
I have a very high clutter/dirt tolerance. I've got no problems with my kids eating 2 day old dried out cheerios off the floor. But I agree, black mould in bath toys totally grosses me out.

Everyone has their own style of germ police, ya know?

This is totally me. And I'm a little relieved that I am not the only one who doesn't care when my son finds old Cheerios on the floor and starts muching.

And, that for that tip on the front loader! Never knew that... will have to run one tonight...


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## snoopy5386 (May 6, 2005)

Ok so I did some bath toy surgery and discovered all of our squeezy toys had black mold in them, yuck! They all went in the trash.


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## ohiomommy1122 (Jul 7, 2006)

it totally grosses me put and I'm constantly throwing out bath toys


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## ChristyMarie (May 31, 2006)

How do you all store them between baths? We have a mesh bag and DS is 27 monts and I've never had to toss a bath toy. They have never gotten mold.

***Of course, now they will all become infested.


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## adoremybabe (Jun 8, 2006)

We store our bath toys in a pail with drainage holes in it.

Our toys all get squeezed out after each bath and then put into the bucket until the next party. That being said, we still have squeeze toys that have black mold. They are going in the garbage. It's impossible to get all of the water out of those toys. If we ever get any similar toys in the future I will seal the holes so that no water can get inside.


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## Love_My_Bubba (Jul 4, 2006)

I bleach them too, I use so little bleach that I don't feel bad when I do find it necessary. I would rather use a little bleach once in a while than constantly feel skeeved out in my own home.


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## laurelg (Nov 27, 2007)

Okay, take this for what it's worth - we haven't had our baby yet so I can't say now neurotic _I'll_ be about the black mold, but I distinctly remember my bath toys growing up getting that black slime on/in them and my mom never threw them out. (I honestly don't know if she ever cleaned them or not.) I never had any kind of reaction to it or got sick from it.


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## ~Yola (Sep 2, 2006)

I'm another one who won't allow bath toys that hold water.
My Ds cought a serious case of ringworm from drinking bathwater contaminated by the mould he'd squeesed out of the toys. It took me months to figure out were he was getting it from (it came back four or five times), and by then he'd developed a serious mould alergy


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## MisaGoat (Jul 10, 2006)

I toss them too. Sometimes I may clean them with bleach. We have a toy boat that I have cleaned with bleach several times. But little duck toys etc I just toss.

The only place I use bleach in the whole house is in the shower. The caulk between the tub and tiles gets black spots that can't be scrubbed off, only bleach gets rid of them.


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## KD's Momma (Oct 24, 2004)

I soak them in bleach and hot water, they come clean and I don't waste money buying nre toys.


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## Thalia (Apr 9, 2003)

I just recently found the black mold inside of one of DD's squeeze toys. I'd been using it to get water on her head (water poured from a cup scares her but if it's being spit out by a frog, apparently it's okay). I couldn't figure out why there was dirt on her head, and then I realized it was mold from inside the toy that I'd squeezed onto her head. Yuck! I took it out of her toy rotation and am going to toss it.


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## becoming (Apr 11, 2003)

We only play with balls and blocks in the tub that have no holes for water to linger.


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## teeg1973 (Oct 15, 2008)

I think it is pretty nasty, but I don't freak out about it.

I try to use toys that don't squirt, but I we do have a few. I don't have the disposable income to throw out toys simply b/c they have some of the mold in them, so we clean them with super hot water and flush them out and set them near the radiator to dry....seems to work just fine.

Tracy


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