For example, my mother bought her grandbaby a plush cell phone that beeps, rings, etc. My baby puts the thing in her mouth all of the time. I want to know how I should clean it so that it’s "free" of germs and still safe for her little mouth.
Because it’s "electric," it can’t go in the washer. Using a damp cloth on it won’t kill the germs that grow on it. What should I do?
First, do not spray the toy with anything. If you do, your baby will end up eating chemicals which are toxic. Most sprays claim to remove 99.999% of germs, but the remaining 0.0001% of germs multiply so rapidly, there will be millions of them back in no time.
Surface washing will not help to eliminate any germs. It merely removes stains, gets the toy looking new. Actually, wetting/spraying anything creates more germs, because germs thrive in damp environment.
If you MUST wash, think of this. You could make a cut in the toy, thus allowing you to remove the inner electronic components, wash the heck out of the toy, put the electronic components back in, and close the thing up. Who cares what it looks like. You could also sow on a strong velcro, so your baby couldn’t open it. I think this is the only way to go, if you want to wash the toy properly.
If you don’t want to do that, throw the toy out, and buy/order a natural toy to chew on. Check out some cloth veggies: http://www.underthenile.com/underthenile/categorybyDept-189.htm
Happy chewing!