You've Been Cleaning Your Kids' Toys Wrong This Whole Time

It's difficult to keep your kids' toys clean all the time. Babies and toddlers are always putting things in their mouths, and even with slightly older children it's a challenge to keep everything hygienic. Toys can be harbors for bacteria (via NBC News). You don't want to spending hours cleaning their toys when you've already got a whole list of different tasks to complete, but you can't just let the dirt and germs build up either — what do you do?

Fortunately, keeping toys clean doesn't have to be so difficult. Believe it or not, with this handy hack, you can make sure they're all clean without taking up too much of your day. If you've got a dishwasher at home, why not put your kids toys in there? It gets them clean, and doesn't use as much water as cleaning them manually, so it's a win-win! While the toys are in the dishwasher, you can get on with other things, and your kids can play with their other toys.

Many different toys and other items can be cleaned in the dishwasher. You can throw toothbrushes, pacifiers, hair brushes and bath toys in there (via Fun Cheap or Free), but just make sure that things are dishwasher-friendly before you put them in.

Some items will get damaged in the dishwasher, like wooden toys, plush toys and toys with batteries inside. Similarly, any toys that could be ruined by water seeping inside shouldn't be put in the dishwasher either, so it's important to double-check before you load the dishwasher up — you don't want to ruin one of your child's favorite toys!

You might decide to load up the dishwasher before you go to bed, so your child will have their favorite things ready for the morning. When you all wake up, they're sure to be dry. Put larger toys along the bottom, medium toys on the top rack, and the smallest toys where you'd normally put cutlery and silverware. Do this, and you'll be ready to go. Just make sure you keep your dishwasher clean too...