Impact of Water Exposure on Children’s Toys Over Time
Marcus Thorne
As someone who spends a lot of time around backyard pools, automation systems, and the toys that come with them, I see a pattern every season. The toys that make kids light up in May can become sticky, slimy, faded, or even dangerous by August. Water is only part of the story. Sun, chemicals, plastic additives, and microorganisms all interact with that water, and the result is a slow transformation that most parents never see coming.
In this article, I will walk through what really happens to children’s toys when they live around water, drawing on real-world studies of bath toys, pool inflatables, and plastic pollution, and translating that into practical steps you can use at home. The goal is simple: keep the fun, ditch the unnecessary risk, and make your backyard feel a little more stress‑free.
What Water Does to Toy Materials
Mechanical and environmental wear
From a pool service standpoint, toys are consumables. An industry analysis of PVC inflatables used in waterparks found that some pieces lasted close to one or two years in gentle conditions, while others were destroyed in only a few weeks under harsher use. The difference came down to how they were treated: dragged over rough concrete, slammed into sharp edges, or left to bake in the sun while still wet.
In a family backyard, the same forces are at work. Hard plastic dive toys scraping against vinyl liners or fiberglass walls can scratch and stain surfaces. Cheap inflatables get dragged over coping or pavement, creating thin spots that later turn into leaks. Over time, the constant cycle of inflation, loading, and deflation stresses seams and welds, especially at the thinnest points. Pool professionals regularly find inflatables that have become so brittle at the seams that tiny cracks appear even under normal air pressure.
Add in the pressure changes from temperature swings and you get another layer. Research on pool floats shows that for every significant drop in air temperature, internal pressure falls, so toys that felt firm at noon may sag by evening. Owners respond by overinflating, which stretches material beyond its designed tolerance and speeds up failure at seams and valves.
Chlorine, UV, and heat: a tough combo
Water itself is not the main villain; it is water plus chemistry and sunlight. Chlorine is a fantastic disinfectant, but it is also a strong oxidizer. Work from pool manufacturers and material specialists shows that chlorine, especially when overused, can “burn” plastic surfaces in a way that is similar to corrosion in metal. On vinyl and fiberglass, this shows up as white stains, chalky patches, and eventually cracking.
Sunlight intensifies this process. Ultraviolet radiation breaks down many plastics, and when you combine UV exposure with chlorine and heat, the material dries out faster and loses flexibility. Articles from pool equipment companies describe how this combination causes plastics to discolor, stain, and lose mechanical strength. That is why floats and loungers left in full sun all summer tend to turn brittle and pale, even if they were bright and supple when you bought them.
Even when pool owners try to be careful, imbalanced water can accelerate the problem. High chlorine doses, unbalanced pH, and hot water concentrate oxidative stress right at the toy’s surface. Some experts recommend using less aggressive forms of chlorine, or controlled‑release tablets in floating dispensers, so the disinfectant spreads evenly instead of sitting in concentrated pockets where it can burn through plastic.
Inside the Plastic: PVC, Phthalates, and Other Additives
Many of the most popular pool and bath toys are made of polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC or vinyl. PVC is cheap, versatile, and can be either rigid, like plumbing pipes, or flexible, like air mattresses and pool inflatables. Pure PVC can be recyclable and not necessarily harmful on its own, but the real-world products children play with are rarely “pure.”
To make PVC soft and bendable, manufacturers add plasticizers. A major class of plasticizers, phthalates, is used heavily in flexible PVC. Several analyses of plastic swim toys and inflatables have found that flexible PVC often contains roughly one‑third phthalates by weight. These chemicals are not strongly bound to the plastic, which means they can slowly migrate out over time.
Public health and advocacy groups such as BAN Toxics and the EcoWaste Coalition have flagged phthalates as endocrine‑disrupting chemicals. They cite studies linking certain phthalates to asthma, allergies, cancers, reproductive problems in males, and behavior and learning issues in children. Regulators in different regions have responded by limiting phthalate levels in children’s toys. For example, standards referenced in EcoWaste Coalition’s testing cap some phthalates at 0.1 percent in toys and child care articles, especially those that can be mouthed.
Yet field testing tells a worrying story. One study of 257 plastic toys found that over sixty percent exceeded chemical safety standards, and every single toy had incomplete labeling. Another set of laboratory tests on inflatable swim rings, arm bands, baby boats, and baby chairs identified phthalate levels in the double‑digit percentages by weight, far above the limits mentioned earlier. In other words, the combination of flexible PVC and inconsistent regulation means that many water toys on the market still carry high loads of chemicals of concern.
Beyond phthalates, some PVC toys may contain lead, cadmium, organotin compounds, and other additives that improve stability, color, or flexibility. Research summarized in an environmental health journal cataloged dozens of chemicals used in plastic toy materials and classified many as chemicals of concern based on exposure and toxicity. Importantly, that study also pointed out that some “alternative” plasticizers marketed as safer replacements still show high hazard indices, raising the risk of regrettable substitutions.
When Water Meets Plastic Chemistry
Water is not just a neutral bath for these materials. It can act as a carrier that brings chemicals into closer contact with children and their environment.
A detailed investigation into bath toys that were filled with household tap water found that the flexible plastics used in these toys leached significant amounts of biodegradable organic carbon. This leached material, derived from plasticizers, stabilizers, and antioxidants, essentially fed the growth of dense microbial biofilms inside the toys. That same leaching process is also one of the ways additives can move from plastic into water.
A separate analysis of inflatable pool toys and swimming aids looked at their smell, which many parents notice right after opening the package. Every toy tested was made from PVC and contained between thirty‑two and forty‑six detectable odorant compounds. Several of the odorants identified, including cyclohexanone, phenol, and isophorone, are considered potentially harmful, with some classified as suspected carcinogens or acutely toxic substances. While the study focused on odor, it underlined that the “new plastic” smell is not just a nuisance; it can be a warning sign of volatile chemicals escaping from the material.
Advocacy groups have also highlighted how often labeling and compliance fall short in the real world. Monitoring efforts in markets for inflatable swim toys and floaters have repeatedly found products without proper warnings, incomplete ingredient lists, or any sign of regulatory approval. When combined with the knowledge that many additives are not tightly bound in flexible PVC, this presents a clear picture: water plus time plus plastic chemistry can make toys progressively more likely to shed or leach substances you do not want in your child’s mouth or bath.
The Hidden Microbiology of Wet Toys
From a pool automation perspective, I spend a lot of effort maintaining water that is crystal clear and well‑sanitized. That is only half the battle. The other half is what happens inside the toys themselves, where disinfectant does not reach easily.
A study on plastic bath toys in real homes examined nineteen used toys and six identical controls. Researchers cut the toys open and found dense, slimy layers of biofilm up to around four thousandths of an inch thick coating the inner surfaces. About seventy percent of the real toys had black discoloration suggestive of mold, and fungi were detected in more than half of them and in all dirty‑water controls.
The bacterial loads were extremely high. When averaged per square inch and then scaled to the whole toy, the biofilms contained billions of microbial cells. Even toys that had only seen clean tap water developed heavy growth. Toys exposed to bath water that mixed tap water, soaps, shampoos, and trace amounts of body fluids had roughly ten times more bacterial cells than those in clean water. Between twenty and sixty‑plus percent of the cells were intact and viable.
The community of organisms was also remarkably diverse. Across all samples, researchers identified over twelve thousand distinct bacterial types. Some were familiar environmental species; others were related to opportunistic pathogens that are known from tap water and bathroom environments, including genera that contain species like Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Mycobacterium avium. Historical reports and a documented hospital outbreak have even tied contaminated bath toys to infections in children.
The study identified four main drivers of this microbial explosion. First, flexible plastics leach organic carbon that serves as food. Second, the microbiome and chemistry of the local tap water provide a starting community. Third, bath products and human body fluids add extra nutrients. Finally, dirt and microbes from household surfaces and skin join the mix. Put together, the toy becomes an incubator and reservoir.
Now picture hollow pool toys, small squirt guns, or sealed‑valve inflatables that trap warm water inside after use. The chemistry is different from a bathtub, especially in chlorinated water, but the underlying mechanism is similar: enclosed, nutrient‑rich water in contact with flexible plastic and air, plus time. The more days toys sit wet, the more opportunities biofilms have to grow in places you cannot easily see or rinse.
Environmental Footprint of Water‑Exposed Toys
The story does not end at your pool steps or bathtub drain. The same properties that make PVC and glittery toys so appealing to marketers make them persistent pollutants once they leave your home.
An environmental organization focused on plastic pollution notes that flexible PVC inflatables typically contain about thirty to thirty‑five percent phthalates, and many of the additives used are persistent organic pollutants that do not break down easily. One long‑term observation found no measurable degradation of PVC after thirty‑two years. Another source on inflatable toys reports that PVC products can take more than four hundred fifty years to break down in landfills.
Recycling options are limited. PVC is marked as recycling code three and is notoriously difficult for standard recycling systems to handle because of its wide mix of additives. Most facilities are not set up to separate and process it safely, which means many inflatables end up in landfills, where they can slowly leach chemicals into soil and water, or are burned in uncontrolled settings, releasing hazardous fumes.
On top of that, newer toy trends are adding a layer of microplastic concern. A team at UC Davis described a case at Lake Tahoe where a glitter‑ and microbead‑filled pool toy ruptured, releasing thousands of tiny polyethylene balls across a beach. They compared the event to a microplastics bomb. Another UC Davis study estimated that microbeads from various products contribute on the order of trillions of particles entering United States waters every day.
Microplastics do not just float around harmlessly. Researchers have documented how they entangle organisms ranging from sea turtles to plankton, are mistaken for food because their size and shape mimic fish eggs, and carry both built‑in plastic chemicals and absorbed pollutants into the bodies of fish, shellfish, and other wildlife. Infectious disease experts have shown that pathogens such as Toxoplasma gondii can attach to microfibers and microbeads, turning plastic particles into hitchhiking platforms for parasites that affect both animals and people.
When you combine long‑lived plastics like PVC with water exposure and mechanical wear from waves, rocks, and sand, the result is a steady stream of fragments and particles that persist for hundreds or thousands of years. Even a toy that was only meant to entertain for a weekend can leave a mark on the environment that outlasts everyone at the beach.
Safety Risks Beyond Chemicals
Water exposure also changes how toys behave physically, and that matters for safety.
Inflatable rings, animal‑shaped rafts, and seat‑style floaters are often treated like safety gear, but experts have been clear that they are toys, not life preservers. Reports from safety agencies and newspaper investigations have documented nearly two thousand injuries in a single year linked to pool flotation toys, including hundreds involving children. In some cases, overturning inflatables or sudden deflation led to hospitalization, brain injury, or death.
Several mechanisms make aging inflatables risky. Sun and chlorine weaken seams and valves, so a toy that seems fine on the deck can deflate unexpectedly in the water. Seat‑type inflatables are particularly dangerous for toddlers whose heads are proportionally heavy. If the toy flips, a child who cannot swim may end up trapped upside down, legs stuck in the openings, unable to free themselves. Safety professionals sometimes call these toys “attractive nuisances” because they are so appealing yet capable of turning a pool into a life‑threatening environment for young children.
As toys degrade, they also shed pieces that can damage pool systems. Pool service companies routinely clear filters and skimmer lines clogged by broken noodles, crumbled foam, and shreds of vinyl. Water balloons, cheap plastic toys, and even tennis balls that develop holes have all been found blocking intake lines and damaging pumps and motors. Leaving aging toys floating in the water, especially overnight, increases the chances that a deflating float is drawn toward the skimmer and partially sucked in.
Finally, toys left scattered across the surface make it harder to see swimmers clearly. Large inflatables can hide a child in distress. Toys drifting in a lightly automated or unsupervised pool can also tempt children to reach or lean over the edge when adults are not looking. When we talk about pool safety, we normally focus on fences, alarms, and supervision, but a cluttered, toy‑filled water surface is its own risk factor.
Practical Strategies: Choosing, Using, Cleaning, and Retiring Toys
Having seen both well‑run and chaotic backyards, I can say that a few habits make a big difference. The good news is that you do not need a chemistry degree to manage water‑exposed toys thoughtfully.
Choosing safer toys for wet environments
Start with materials and labeling. Advocacy groups like BAN Toxics and the EcoWaste Coalition recommend avoiding toys made of PVC or vinyl, especially soft plastic toys marked with recycling code three, unless they are clearly labeled as phthalate‑free and come from reputable, authorized sellers. Their monitoring work in markets has found that many cheap inflatables lack proper labels and, in some cases, contain phthalates far above regulatory limits.
Pay attention to smell. Research published through ScienceDaily on inflatable pool toys found dozens of odorant chemicals in every PVC product tested, including solvents and compounds with known toxicity concerns. Strong, glue‑like, or chemical odors, especially when you first open the packaging, can be a red flag. While smell alone does not prove a toy is unsafe, it is a practical screening tool.
Look for clear age grading, warnings, company names and addresses, and any safety marks required in your region. Regulators and health agencies stress buying toys only from licensed distributors that provide complete labels, rather than unbranded items in open markets or dubious online listings.
Smart cleaning routines for bath and pool toys
The biofilm research on bath toys makes one thing clear: if water sits inside or on a toy, microbes will take advantage. Cleaning does not need to be complicated, but it does need to be regular.
Rinsing toys with clean hose water or tap water after every use removes a lot of the surface load of chlorine, salt, sunscreen, body oils, and dirt. Paying attention to seams, valves, and textured areas helps prevent slime from building up where kids grip or chew.
For deeper cleaning, several home‑care guides recommend soaking plastic and vinyl toys in warm water with a little dish soap, scrubbing crevices, and rinsing well. To disinfect, you can use a diluted bleach solution, such as a small amount of household bleach in a gallon of water, applied while wearing gloves and eye protection, then thoroughly rinsed with clean water. It is wise to do this on concrete or gravel rather than grass, since bleach can damage plants.
Foam items such as noodles and mats are more porous and tend to harbor mold and bacteria more quickly. Cleaning them periodically with a vinegar‑and‑water solution, rinsing, and standing them upright to dry reduces the invisible buildup. If you see visible mold, crumbling, or broken pieces, replacement is the safer option.
The key step after any cleaning is drying. Toys should be allowed to air dry completely, inside and out, before storage. Inflatables can be partially deflated and left open in the shade to let trapped water escape from interior cavities.
Storage and pool chemistry that extend toy life
Proper storage slows down both material degradation and microbial growth. Pool and cleaning professionals often recommend the same basic routine at the end of each swim session: remove all toys from the pool, rinse, let them drain, and store them in a shaded, dry, well‑ventilated place. Deck boxes, mesh bags, and lidded bins placed out of direct sun work well.
For inflatables, deflating them fully at the end of the season, wiping them with a mild cleaning solution, drying thoroughly, and folding them loosely avoids sharp creases that can crack vinyl over time. Packing them too tightly or stacking heavy objects on top can stress seams. A light dusting of talcum powder or cornstarch between folded layers can help prevent sticking without adding moisture.
From the water‑care side, maintaining balanced chemistry protects toys and pool surfaces alike. Articles from pool equipment experts emphasize keeping free chlorine in a moderate range, avoiding indiscriminate shock dosing as a daily habit, and distributing chlorine evenly rather than letting strong granules sit directly on plastic. Automated chlorinators, salt systems, and chemical controllers can help by delivering more consistent disinfectant levels, reducing the temptation to overcorrect and thereby slowing down oxidation of toy surfaces.
Repair, reuse, or retire?
Not every damaged toy needs to go straight to the trash, but not every toy should be patched indefinitely either. Research on inflatable waterpark equipment frames these products as consumables whose lifespan depends heavily on use conditions rather than manufacturing defects. In backyard terms, that means expecting even well‑cared‑for inflatables to have a limited useful life.
Patching small punctures with a compatible repair kit, after cleaning and drying the area, is a reasonable way to extend life. However, recurring leaks at seams, large cracks, sticky or yellowing surfaces, strong chemical odors that persist after airing, and visible mold inside hollow toys are all signs that retirement is the healthier call.
From an environmental standpoint, organizations focused on PVC pollution recommend making thoughtful choices at the end of life. When recycling is not available, they suggest cutting PVC into smaller pieces, sealing them in a closed container, and disposing of them with household trash rather than burning, which releases toxic fumes. Some social enterprises even upcycle old inflatables into bags and accessories, illustrating that creative reuse can keep plastic out of landfills.
Here is a quick way to think about different toy types and how water exposure affects them.
Toy type |
Typical material |
Main water‑related risks |
Care focus |
Hollow bath and pool toys |
Flexible plastic (often PVC) |
Internal biofilms, mold, leaching additives, sudden splitting |
Regular disinfection, full drainage and drying |
Large inflatables |
PVC or vinyl |
Seam and valve failure, chemical leaching, visibility and drowning risks |
Moderate chemistry, sun protection, timely retirement |
Foam noodles and mats |
Foam plastics |
Microbial growth, crumbling, fragments clogging filters |
Frequent cleaning, visual checks, replacement |
Hard plastic dive toys |
Hard plastics |
Scratches and stains on pool surfaces, impact injuries |
Limit rough use, inspect edges, rotate out damaged |
How Pool Automation Helps You Stay Ahead
As a pool automation specialist, I see technology as a way to make good habits easier, not to replace them. Toys will always need human judgment, but stable water chemistry and good circulation make their job simpler.
Automated systems that regulate chlorine, pH, and filtration take a lot of guesswork out of daily maintenance. When sanitizer levels stay within a consistent, moderate range instead of swinging wildly from low to high, plastics are exposed to less oxidative stress, and liners, fittings, and toys generally last longer. Better circulation also means fewer “dead zones” where heavily treated water sits against one surface and causes localized damage.
Some waterparks experiment with alternative disinfection methods such as ozone, salt systems, and metal‑based treatments to reduce the load of chlorine that hits PVC structures. These systems can be more expensive and are not necessary for every home pool, but they illustrate an important principle. The gentler you can be while still maintaining safe disinfection, the slower your toys and fixtures will age.
Automation can also support safer habits indirectly. Timers and smart controls that handle filtration and lighting make it easier to build a routine where toys come out of the pool at the same time every evening. Having a dedicated storage spot near the equipment pad or control panel encourages everyone to clear the water when the system turns off for the night.
FAQ: Common Questions About Toys and Water Exposure
Are inflatable pool toys safe to leave in the water all the time?
From both a material and safety perspective, the answer is no. Studies and field experience show that PVC and vinyl break down faster when they stay in chlorinated water and sun around the clock, leading to softening, cracks, and chemical release. Aging inflatables can deflate or fail unexpectedly, and toys left floating overnight are more likely to clog skimmers or hide a struggling swimmer. Taking toys out after each session, rinsing them, and letting them dry in the shade is a simple habit that extends their life and reduces risk.
How often should I replace bath toys and pool toys?
There is no single calendar rule, because lifespan depends on use conditions, but research on inflatables used in aquatic parks suggests that even rugged PVC equipment is effectively consumable and can wear out within months under heavy use. For home toys, focus on condition rather than age. Retire items that show recurring leaks, sticky or brittle surfaces, visible mold, strong lingering odors, or extensive fading and cracking. Hollow bath toys that are difficult to clean inside and show black spots or musty smells are good candidates for replacement sooner rather than later.
If a toy is labeled phthalate‑free, is it automatically safe?
A phthalate‑free label is a good start, especially given how many toys in market surveys still exceed phthalate limits. However, research on chemicals in plastic toys has identified many other substances of concern, including alternative plasticizers and flame retardants that may carry their own hazards. Because chemical composition data are often incomplete, it is wise to combine a phthalate‑free claim with other safety cues: reputable brands, clear labeling, mild or no chemical odor, and a design that drains and dries easily. Regular cleaning and timely replacement remain important even for toys with better chemistry.
A backyard pool or bath full of toys should be a source of joy, not background anxiety. By understanding how water, chemistry, materials, and microbes interact over time, and by pairing smart automation with simple routines, you can keep playtime fun, your systems running smoothly, and your family’s exposure to unnecessary risks as low as reasonably possible.
References
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5869678/
- https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/plastic-pool-toy-pollution-wild
- https://bantoxics.org/2025/05/06/beware-of-plastic-swimming-toys-and-floaters-containing-hazardous-chemicals-ban-toxics/
- https://www.pools-cleaners.com/should-you-leave-pool-toys-in-the-pool
- https://www.pumpandpoolpeople.com.au/can-pool-toys-damage-my-pool-what-to-watch-out-for/
- https://ekofakt.com/wear-and-tear-and-product-life/
- https://instaswimusa.com/are-pool-toys-safe-to-use-a-comprehensive-guide-to-ensuring-fun-and-safety-in-the-water/
- https://joyofcleaning.com/how-to-clean-and-store-pool-toys-and-gear/
- https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-08-mn-332-story.html
- https://mindyourplastic.ca/the-problem-with-pvc/
