Yeah, bath toys have never been one of my top priorities for purchasing. I grew up loving baths and always had a ball simply with the bubbles and water. For our own daughter we ditched the toy duck we had in the first 6 months of her life due to the PVC in it, but we do have a couple books and a set of plastic musical instruments that were gifts. Sometimes I feel like caving in and purchasing more bath toys, especially after visiting friends' homes where the bathrooms are little toy wonderlands-I will now be viewing those a little differently.

None of this killed us. I think our kids will somehow muddle through.

We used to have a veritable toy land in our bathroom (we were totally over gifted on bath toys) but as soon as my kids were old enough to stand and pour... all pouring toys left!!! I am a mother not a swamp controller and so it went... we have a couple of stick on shapes and a boat that's it and frankly what they don't know they don't miss!!!

We wash our toys with a vinegar and water solution, and seems to work well. I think it works particularly well for the squirt toys - you can fill them up with the solution, shake it around, squirt it out, rinse then air dry.

My husband gets a cleaner called "Straight-A" from the wine and beer making shop. It's used for cleaning bottles (so it's food safe), but in addition we find it works great for cleaning those hard-to-reach gross spots on bath toys. An overnight soak, and they are as good as new!

I used to wash mine in the washing machine with hot water and put a little bit of bleach in, too, which is great for getting rid of mold. My kids are showering now, so we only use them in the kiddie pool in the summer.

Another thing to scare parents with. Most kids live such germ-proof lives.

I agree Palmetto.
There's a link between over-cleansing with antibacterial cleaners and childhood allergies/asthma. I work at a clinic where I see many Hispanic families who just moved from Mexico - those kids rarely have allergies, but the clean-freak middle class kids are frequently coming in for allergy and asthma exacerbations.
I don't plan on having obviously moldy toys in the tub, and will likely avoid those with holes. But I also don't plan on having sterile countertops and getting rid of all dust mites - I think this may do more harm than good.

Check out DANO2 toys...
http://www.dano2.com/_product_77876/Ducki_-_Yellow

They've created products (especially a rubber ducky) with this problem in mind!

I'm on the fence; I guess I think bath toys get pretty gross but also think we parents germ-proof too much sometimes. So I toss my kids' bath toys in the washer on hot with bleach every once in a while. Also some go in the dishwasher.

We use the IKEA Flackig colander to wash off the bath toys after a bath and then store them in there so the rest of the water will drain out. I think the key is to only have a few easy to clean bath toys.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90134967

I had many a toy with many a hole. I am still alive and well, thousands of baths later! I'd also like to make note of the "hidden filth" in your daycare. I work at one, and we clean constantly, but always knowing when one kid scratches his butt and plays with a truck, then the next sucks on the truck- is impossible. If we knew about the "hidden filth" in everything we would go crazy. Actually, it kind of seems like some parents are going crazy. Filth is everywhere. Get over it!

My kids each get a cup from the kitchen. I wash it every now and then when I feel like it. I'm not big on bath toys.

When I was a kid though, I had to put my Barbies in swim suits and let them swim in my tub every single time. :)

My son never used bath toys. As soon as he could stand up, he started taking showers-"like big boys do".
Now, at 5, he showers and washes his hair all by himself. I don't even have to bribe him in there-he just goes.
We never treated it as playtime.

Childhood is so fleeting, I LOVE that my kids enjoy playing in the bath! They have some PVC free bath toys, I try and keep them clean with vinegar. I have to say that it always amazes me how terrified people are about germs and such, which exist everywhere, all around us. While at the same time, these same people give very little concern about the toxic chemicals they use in a vain attempt to destroy all these germs. Life is short, have fun, be wise, do your best and try and relax. At least, that is what I try and tell myself.

just a response to floppysherman - I hear what you are saying and have the dust bunnies in my house to prove it, but please note that scientists and doctors are still researching and trying to figure out what has caused the increase in childhood allergies. I say this as a mom of a child with multiple food allergies, so I'm little sensitive about this, as you might imagine. My family is not made up of clean freaks, we are not germaphobes, and we don't use antibacterial soaps, etc. in our home.

Anyway, the "hygiene hypothesis" that you are alluding to has more to do with a societal over-cleanliness (if you will) than over-cleanliness at the individualized level, as I understand it.

[Sorry to veer off the topic of bath toys, but I'm just wanting to say my 2 cents on the allergy topic for anyone who might be reading these comments.]

And again, I hope I am not coming across as too defensive, but as you can imagine, it's sometimes hard not to be -- we as "allergy moms" are just trying to keep our kids safe without too much anxiety in our (or their) lives, but sometimes it feels as if others are out to place blame on us or our children for this condition. Thanks for listening.

www.diningwithgoldilocks.blogspot.com

I always figured bath toys were filthy because children are inherently filthy... *shrug*

We have bath toys with and without holes, and a mesh bag with suction cups for storing them on the vanity mirror to dry. But mainly, we quite frequently go swimming at the rec center and use the family shower room to scrub our girl down.