If you're child has a Sophie the Giraffe toy, you're not alone. The soft rubber toy - which is often used as a teething aid - has been around for over 50 years, and is one of the most popular children's toys around.
However it turns out Sophie the Giraffe may not be as harmless as she seems.
A number have mothers have recently discovered that their children's Sophie the Giraffe toys are, terrifyingly, filled with black mold.
Mum-of-two and pediatric dentist Dana Chianese - who until recently, regularly recommended Sophie the Giraffe to the parent's of patients - decided to cut open her son's Sophie the Giraffe after she noticed a musty smell eminating from it. She was shocked to discover the inside was completely covered with black mold.
She told Good Housekeeping: "I decided to cut into Sophie out of curiosity and discovered a science experiment living inside... It still hurts my heart to know that for months I allowed my babies to chew on moldy toys."
Meanwhile mother Stephanie Oprea took to Amazon to share her digust at the inside of her child's Sophie the Giraffe toy.
Sharing a picture of the moldy toy online, she wrote: "Beware!! If you have a drooly baby, moisture will get in the hole and you'll end up with mold! We've had ours for two years and the entire inside is coated with black mold!"
Most worryingly of all, the toys seem to be getting moldy despite the mother's following the manufacturers cleaning instructions - i.e. wiping it down with hot, soapy water and never submerging it in water.
So, if that doesn't work, how should you clean this kind of toy?
The safest solution seems to be vinegar. The blog Maids.com advises: " Mix together 1 gallon of water with ½ cup of white vinegar and let the toys soak in this solution for about an hour. Give them a scrub once the mold is loose and then let them dry. If they still smell like vinegar, just do a simple rise and dry before placing them back in the toy bin."
And of course, if you're really worried that your kid's toy has gone moldy, the best solution is probably to just replace it with a new one!
Have you discovered that your children's toys were filled with mold? Let us know over on Facebook or Twitter.
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