My daughter’s Sophie the Giraffe has lost her squeak, and unfortunately, it’s my fault.
The reason: I didn’t follow the cleaning instructions that came with the French teething toy. Instead of wiping Sophie by hand with a soapy cloth, I put her in the dishwasher.
When she came out, she was squeak less, and many of her spots had faded. This is why today’s hint is to make sure to hand wash Sophie and other such squeaky Rubber toys (like Sophie’s friends) instead of throwing them in the dishwasher or in soaking or running water.
While the dishwasher is a great convenient way to wash many plastic toys, Vulli’s Sophie really does need to be hand washed if you want to make this beloved $20 teething toy, expensive by teether standards, worth the money.
My daughter’s Sophie has fading spots and no squeak.
I’m not the only parent who has made this mistake. Moms over at BabyCenter, What to Expect and The Bump have also mistakenly washed Sophie in the dishwasher or soaked her in water, ending up with silent giraffes or ones with faded spots.
In a thread entitled “I killed sophie,” one mom over at The Bump writes how Sophie squeaks funny after being thrown “into a soaking bowl full of bottles and such.”
So how should you clean Sophie and similar toys? Moms over at What to Expect suggest using disinfectant wipes and making sure to cover Sophie’s hole when she’s near water. You also could just follow the manufacturer’s instructions and spot clean her with a cloth.
Of course, some babies may like the squeak less versions of the toy better, and a more quiet Sophie could be a good thing for parents too. Meanwhile, sometimes Sophie does regain her squeak when she dries, as moms over at Momtastic note, though our Sophie didn’t.
What are your tips for washing Sophie and similar toys, as well as your Sophie stories? Share them below.
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Poor Sophie! We’ve all been there I’m sure!
Thanks for the Momtastic mention! We’re all obsessed with our Sophies! On a random side note, when I was in college I worked for Teri Weiss of the Elegant Child of Beverly Hills in the early days of Sophie in the US – she was the one who started selling it here originally! So cool!
http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-sophie3-2009oct03,0,2251259.story
Thanks for the warning! We actually have the smaller teether (the one without a squeaker) but I should still look at the washing recommendations!
Or you ladies could give it to your husbands to fix. Not too difficult, a set of needle nose pliers will reset the squeak assembly into place.
Lets not forget the importance of a strong and smart man, in the lives of these little one’s.
Our Sophie was covered in dried-on food-infused drool. Yuck. I couldn’t get it off with a baby wipe (how I’ve always cleaned her), so I ran her under water and washed her with soap. She had temporary laryngitis for a day or so after that. I didn’t think to cover the squeaker hole, but I did immediately squeeze out every last drop of water I could. Thankfully, she came out of the incident as chirpy as ever!
That’s great to hear. Maybe the key is to squeeze out the water:)