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How to Wash Plush Dog Toys with Squeakers?

Toy pigs with squeakers lined up on a ledge outdoors

We all know how all dogs love toys. However, we also know that plushy squeaker toys are their favorite. Watching them get excited at the toy’s squeaks brings pure joy to the owners. When it comes to cleaning these toys, it can get a bit different and tricky. Keep reading to learn how to wash squeaker toys with plush toys.

How to wash dog toys? Click here to find out.

How Are Plush Squeakers Different from Other Toys?

When it comes to dog toys, there are a variety of types available in the market. Rope toys, rubber toys, and many more. Regarding the most popular type of dog toy, only two names come to our minds, plush toys and squeakers.

Plush toys are made up of soft fabric and filled with cotton filling. On the other hand, a squeaker is a hollow toy composed of soft material like vinyl or rubber, and there is a small squeaker device makes a whistling sound when air flows through it.

What if we fuse a plush toy and a squeaker toy? That’s when we get a plushy squeaker toy. It has a plushy external with a small internal portion left hollow so air can flow, and it has a squeaker at the opening from where air flows, creating a squeaking voice.

Now that we know the structural characteristics of these toys, it is no secret that we wash them through different methods. This article will emphasize how you can wash the toys with a different approach to save time and resources.

Why Should You Clean Plush Squeaky Dog Toys?

German Shepherd with a yellow squeaky toy in its mouth sitting outside

There are many common methods to clean your dog’s plushy squeakers. The toys have a plushy exterior. They can accumulate dirt and all sorts of muck onto them. It can also harbor many bacteria and viruses that jeopardize your dog’s health. Therefore, it’s imperative to wash them and it can offer the following benefits.

Preserves the Condition of the Toys

Washing your dog’s toys also helps you keep a check on the toy’s condition. You can see whether they’re dirty, worn out, or excessively used. You can see if it is still usable for the dog. If the external structure of the toy is deformed or if it is coming apart, you should not hesitate to throw the toy away and replace it with something similar and better quality plushy squeaky toy.

How often do dogs need new toys? Click here to find out.

Prevents Choking Hazard

Clothes basket full of stuffed animals isolated on a white background.

Dog toys that are coming apart can prove to be a choking hazard for the dog. Dogs often choke on torn-apart toys, which has proven deadly in many cases. It is unfortunately very common as the dog’s owners do not replace the dog’s toys even when the toy is in pretty bad shape.

Keeps Your Dog Happy

Sometimes dogs are attached to their toys and excessively play with them. It leads to the toys wearing out pretty quickly. In such cases, some owners throw the toy away, which might be the right thing to do, but it makes your dog sad.

It can affect the mental state of some dog breeds that grow attached to toys. The most sensible thing to do here is to replace the toy with the same type of toy or replace it with something which is somewhat relatable to the previous toy.

Got dirty dog toys? Check out our post “9 Easy Methods – How to Clean Dog Toys.”

How Do You Clean Plush Squeaky Dog Toys?

Front loading washing machine with the door open, folded laundry on top, a basket of laundry in front of it, and a rug on the floor.

Now that we know why washing squeaky plushy dog toys is important, we’ll look at some of the most common and basic cleaning methods. Cleaning them might be tricky, but stick with us to the end of this article, and you’ll hopefully get to know some tricks and tips on cleaning these toys with ease and little to no effort.

Can Your Machine Wash Dog Toys with Squeakers?

One of the most common methods to clean your dog’s plushy squeakers is to throw them in a washing machine. However, even though it sounds so straightforward, there’s more to it than throwing them in the machine.

There are a few things you need to keep in mind before throwing them all for a machine wash. The first task you do before going for a machine wash is to cover the squeaker opening. There are a few reasons for this specific action. It prevents water from going into the squeaker, which may damage the squeaker itself.

Another reason for this is that if the water goes inside, it can accumulate for a longer period which can cause mold or yeast to form in the plushy squeaker toy. It can affect the dog’s health in a pretty bad way.

The second thing to look after before throwing your dog’s plush toys in a machine is to use a correct and dog-friendly detergent. Many dog owners use a regular detergent which can be toxic for dogs. If a dog accidentally ingests even a little of it, it can cause adverse effects on the dog’s health. Specifically, it affects the dog’s digestive system, causing diarrhea, vomiting, etc.

Using a proper dog-friendly washing detergent ensures that it doesn’t affect your pet. These detergents are also very sensitive, so they don’t affect the fabric of the plush toy.

How Should You Wash Plush Squeaky Dog Toys?

Human hand holding a pink and white mesh laundry bag

Although machine washing is easy, we recommend using a mesh bag to clean all the plushy squeaker toys. Machine washing can be a little rough for your dog’s toys. Excessive and repeated machine washing can weaken the toys’ structural integrity and make them fall apart soon after. Mesh bag ensures that it keeps all the dog toys safe from the bashing of machine wash.

Once the plushy squeaker toys have been machine washed, ensure they are completely dry inside and out. If the dog toys are still wet, mold can grow on them. Many specific bacteria can also grow on it as they cultivate in a damp culture.

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