Cuddly toys and dust mites: Some advice on toy wash

All baby toys should be washable. Pre-washing reduces possible harmful or allergenic substances and reduces the number of dust mites. Microscopic organisms found in every home, dust mites can cause allergic reactions even when dead since it is actually their excretions that cause allergies. Nearly 40% of all Europeans suffer from some degree of household dust mite related allergies and the numbers are growing.

If your baby’s favorite toy turns out not to be washable, here is a simple but helpful trick that will kill the dust mites that are surely there. This is especially important if your baby is sensitive to allergies: put the cuddly toy in a plastic bag and store it for at least 24 hours inside the freezer. Clean it afterwords with a hot damp towel to remove the dead dust mites.

This is a great trick my mom found out about from Electrolux baby brochure. And it works fine :)