If you’re a loyal and passionate dog parent like myself, you most likely have bought many toys for your pup over the years.
But here’s a question for you – do you clean them routinely?
Believe it or not, cleaning your dog’s toys is actually quite important for keeping them, you, and your household safe.
Dogs not only can carry their toys around to some pretty nasty locations like dusty floors, muddy holes, etc. Not to mention, dogs also have lots of bacteria, food particles, and drool in their mouths that you don’t want lingering around on their toys.
When your dogs constantly play with dirty and germ-covered toys, they can actually get dog acne from clogged pores near their mouth! Plus, handling a dirty toy and immediately needing to wash your hands instead of spending quality time with your pup isn’t fun.
Cleaning your dog’s toys once every one to two months is a great way to maintain your pet’s health. Here’s how to clean different kinds of toys with safe products.
To clean your dog toys, you’re going to want to use natural products. While certain dish soaps may seem safe to clean toys with, they can contain harmful chemicals that linger in the material of the toys.
White vinegar is a great natural disinfectant to clean toys with. While it may not have the most pleasant smell, you can use it to clean off any gunk while keeping your pets safe.
Soak your dog toys in white vinegar and warm water for 10-15 minutes before scrubbing them clean by hand. Hard, rubber dog toys can easily be scrubbed once the dirt and mud on them have dissolved. Leave them to air dry for a few hours to make sure any leftover moisture comes out of them.
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You can put your dog’s soft and plushy toys in your washing machine as long as they’re not damaged or ripped! Any damaged plushy toys can wreck your washer and dryer. Toss your soft, plushy dog toys into your washing machine and add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to your detergent compartment.
You can hang up your soft toys to let them air dry or put them in the dryer on a no-heat tumble cycle.
If you don’t have a washing machine and dryer in your home, you can soak the soft toys in vinegar and water before scrubbing them by hand, just like you would the hard toys.
It’s also a good idea to often separate dog toys meant for inside and outdoors to avoid spreading messes around! To make your toys last even longer, rotate them out every once in a while so they stay fresher for longer.
Cleaning your dog’s toys won’t only benefit the health of you and your pets but will ensure that their favorite ones last longer. Happy playing!
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