apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We used to wash things thoroughly, ocassionally put them in boiling water since we don't have a dishwasher.

Hard to justify the expense (or counter space) for more!

Germs are good. It helps build a good immune system. Germs are a part of our eco-system. I know it is not fun when your child is sick but being a germaphobe is bad. This is a waste, IMHO. Just use a little soap and warm water and be done with it.

I would never buy such a thing BUT I do love the idea of being able to sanitize bath toys, have you ever looked inside one of those things? YUK!

just to add... I think my dentist has the same thing in his office.

i agree with molly_DC. sterilize things for the first 6 to 8 months of their life (or for first use) with boiling water and then let them get sick! how else will they build up their immune systems? i also just use plain soap (dr. bronners is great for almost everything.) none of that anti-bacterial stuff in my home!

I wash our bathtub toys in the dishwasher, like my mom used to do. Yes/no?

70% ethanol is amazingly good at sterilizing things. I sometimes find it confusing that people are afraid of "chemicals." Would you guys consider ethanol, which is the alcohol that you drink, to be a scary chemical or is it something "natural" enough (the result of natural yeast) that you aren't upset about using it?