My kids have some balls and water table and sand toys that are really tragic looking. I need to clean them but since they are outside and not in my line of sight when I'm cleaning, they often get forgotten. Do you clean your LO's outdoor toys? If so, when/how often? What do you use to clean them? Do you have a system in place to help keep them clean instead of rotting in the elements?
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I usually just wipe down the slide if it looks dirty in the morning. I've given up on the water table. There is always dirt in it, no matter what! I used to be very particular about it, but not so much anymore. Dirt builds up your immune system, right?
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hmmmm, I was going to say never. But honestly the 3 things that stay out are water table, basketball hoop and kiddie pool (during summer) .
Water table I wipe down occasionally but never really "clean" it.
Basketball hoop, never
Pool, I spray it out every 2 days or so and I wiped it down once or twice.
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@ocean81: @Ajsmommy: water tables- do you leave water in them? I'm paranoid that it will attract mosquitoes or something so I dump it out every time. (Also it's very small- like I fill a drink pitcher twice to fill it up and I dump it on our sad dry lawn).
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@Foodnerd81: I try to dump it but sometimes forget or it fills with rain water. So in that instance if LO wants to start to play and there's stagnant water I dump it, wipe it (but don't get it spotless) and then refill..... the wiping probably only happened like that 3-4 times this summer. I should turn it upside down after dumping to keep the rain water out.. .WOW, what an epiphany!!!! LOL
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@Foodnerd81: I do a mix of remembering to dump and forgetting. The toys that end up sitting in the water floating around are just so sad looking. I'm not sure if I should toss them or clean them. And either way I wanted to know what others did. I'm so bad about it!
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i let the rain handle it
Seriously though, a hose down if they get covered in mud or spider webs is pretty much the extent of it. if the water table ends up slimy i use a paper towel and soapy water with the hose. i dump the water table unless its covered, and dont leave water in it for more than a couple days.
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@Mrs. Sunshine: if toys end up slimy i would just throw them in the dishwasher
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@Foodnerd81: We dump the water every time. It gets nasty otherwise.
We clean them at the end of summer before we put in storage for the winter. The slide and playhouse stay on the deck all year, so in the spring DH just pressure washes them. But they still look rough.
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@Foodnerd81: I feel like it stays more clean when I leave water in it overnight... So I usually just dump it out in the morning and refill it. We have fake grass in our "backyard" so when I dump it out it seeps through and goes right down the drain. Love our mud free city yard. Get me to the burbs!
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@Ajsmommy: I have been dumping then leaving it on its side. For the whole four days we have had it.
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Uh. didn't really clean anything this whole summer. Her playhouse? Def not. Her slide? I'll wipe it down with my regular cleaning spray if I see it's dirty. Her water table; DH kinda just hosed it down while re-filling it. I think my mom did rinse out all the toys once cause some got kinda slimy...
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@ocean81: no joke- in our first week here I've woken up at night to what sounded like coyotes and a loud owl! So different than the city!
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Sometimes I dump some soap in the water table and let the kids play in the bubbles. Then I give it a quick scrub when we rinse off at the end. Like twice a summer or so?
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@MrsSRS: ah, this is a good idea!
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@Foodnerd81: I'm jealous!
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@Foodnerd81: Our first morning in the burbs we had deer in our yard. We were fascinated and took a bunch of pics until they left, lol. As for the water table, we always empty it and we cover it with a shower cap style fire pit cover.
We don't really clean our outdoor toys, most go back in the garage.
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Spray out water table every time it gets used. Their toys get cleaned probably once a week,I just spray them with the hose and cleaner.
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@Mrs. Lion: I was coming here to say - that's why God made the rain.
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18 comments