Bath time · Months 6 to 36
The best bath toys are the ones that dry out.
Squeeze toys with a pinhole stay damp inside. These three are open, so they drain and dry, and your kitchen has the $0 version.
- 3 toys, 3 skips
- Recall-checked Oct 2026
- Includes the $0 option
Independent picks. If you buy through our Amazon links we may earn a commission; as an Amazon Associate, Betteroo earns from qualifying purchases. It never decides what makes the list. How we choose
The short answer
Buy bath toys that are open, solid, or come apart, and skip anything hollow with a small hole. When researchers examined used bath toys, they found fungi in almost 60% of toys from real homes and potentially harmful bacteria in 80% of all the toys studied (Eawag). Our picks drain and dry: Boon Pipes, the Green Toys Tugboat, and from age 2, Skip Hop’s stack-and-pour buckets.
Whatever the toy, the AAP recommends touch supervision at bath time: stay within arm’s reach.
At a glance
Three toys that drain and dry
Boon Pipes
Five open pipes that stick to the tub wall. Pour water in and watch it run.
Price band: Budget Check price Why it made the list
Green Toys Tugboat
Floats, fills, pours from the spout, and opens wide enough to dry.
Price band: Budget Check price Why it made the list
Skip Hop Zoo Stack and Pour Buckets
Five nesting buckets with animal faces, each sprinkling water a different way.
Price band: Budget Check price Why it made the listBefore you buy
What a bath toy has to do
A common mistake is buying a multipack of squeeze toys. The pinhole that makes them squirt lets water in and keeps it there, which is where mold and bacteria grow.
We assess every bath toy on the same three things: whether it drains and dries, whether its listing rates it for your child’s age, and what it costs.
Drains and dries
Open toys can be seen into and dried. Anything with a pinhole stays damp inside, where you can’t clean it.
Rated for the age
Each pick’s listing gives its age range. The buckets are labeled from 2 years, so they are for later.
Cheap
All three are in our Budget band.
The picks
Why each one made the list
Boon Pipes
Five open pipes that stick to the tub wall. Pour water in and watch it run.
Five differently shaped pipes that stick to the tub wall on suction cups, alone or in a chain. Water poured in the top runs through and out the bottom. Every piece is open at both ends, so it drains and can dry between baths. Rearranging the chain is a new puzzle each time.
Why it’s worth it
- Open at both ends, so it drains and dries
- Rearranging the chain is a new puzzle
- Lives on the wall, no storage needed
Key specs
- Age range
- 12 months to 3 years
- In the box
- 5 pipes with suction cups
- Drains and dries
- Open at both ends
- Cleaning
- Dishwasher not stated; air-dry
From the amazon.com listing, checked October 1, 2026.
Safety check
- No recalls found in the CPSC recall database (searched by product name, Oct 2, 2026). Boon’s past CPSC recalls, made under TOMY, were a toddler tower, baby bottles and high chairs, not bath toys.
Green Toys Tugboat
Floats, fills, pours from the spout, and opens wide enough to dry.
A chunky boat made from recycled milk jugs. The hull fills with water and pours out of the spout (listing), and the opening is wide rather than a pinhole, so you can see every inside surface and it can dry. Green Toys says it is dishwasher safe (Green Toys).
Why it’s worth it
- Wide opening, so the inside can be seen and dried
- Dishwasher safe (maker)
- Rated from 3 months on the listing
Key specs
- Age range
- 3 months to 3 years
- In the box
- 1 boat
- Drains and dries
- Wide opening, pours from the spout
- Cleaning
- Dishwasher safe (maker)
From Green Toys’ product page and the amazon.com listing, checked October 1, 2026.
Safety check
- No recalls found in the CPSC recall database (searched by product name, Oct 2, 2026). Green Toys’ one CPSC recall, in 2012, covered its Mini Vehicles.
Skip Hop Zoo Stack and Pour Buckets
Five nesting buckets with animal faces, each sprinkling water a different way.
Five small buckets with handles and three different sprinkle effects (listing), so water pours, streams or rains. They are open, so every surface can dry, and they nest into each other to store. The listing rates them from 24 months, which suits the age when bath play turns into pretend play.
Why it’s worth it
- Open design, nothing to trap water
- Handles for small hands
- Nest together to store
Key specs
- Age range
- 24 months to 6 years
- In the box
- 5 buckets
- Drains and dries
- Open, with drain holes
- Cleaning
- Dishwasher not stated; air-dry
From the amazon.com listing, checked October 1, 2026.
Safety check
- No recalls found in the CPSC recall database (searched by product name, Oct 2, 2026). Skip Hop’s past CPSC recalls were other products, including a teether, an activity gym and high chairs.
Side by side
Three bath toys side by side
| | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job | Pour and build | Float, fill and pour | Pour and pretend |
| Price band | Price band: Budget | Price band: Budget | Price band: Budget |
| Age on listing | 12 months to 3 years | 3 months to 3 years | 24 months to 6 years |
| In the box | 5 pipes | 1 boat | 5 buckets |
| Cleaning | Dishwasher not stated; air-dry | Dishwasher safe (maker) | Dishwasher not stated; air-dry |
Which one is yours
Start with your situation
Black flecks when you squeeze a toyThrow it out. The inside can’t be cleaned.
You want one toy onlyBoon Pipes.
Under oneThe Tugboat, rated from 3 months.
Two and up, loves pretend playThe Skip Hop buckets.
After every bathTip everything out and hang it to dry.
The $0 version
Your kitchen already has bath toys: a plastic measuring jug, a funnel, a colander and a clean sponge. All of them are open, all of them dry, and they go back through the dishwasher.
Open kitchen things make good bath toys, and you already own them.
What we would skip
Three things we’d leave on the shelf
They’re sold in every bath aisle. Here’s why we’d pass.
Squirters and hollow squeeze toys
The pinhole that makes them squirt is the problem: water gets in and the inside stays damp. They’re usually sold in multipacks, which multiplies it. If a squeeze toy twists apart for cleaning, that’s fine. If it doesn’t open, skip it.
Trying to rescue a moldy squeeze toy
Once black flecks come out, the inside is out of reach. We’d replace it with something open rather than soak it and hope.
Bath crayons and foam letters, too early
Fun later, but check the age on each listing first, because many are made for older children, and foam gets bitten into pieces.
What we passed on
- Squirter multipacks. Hollow with a pinhole, the design that stays damp inside.
- Bath crayons and foam letter sets. Good fun later, but many are made for older children. Check each listing’s age.
Questions parents ask
FAQ
How do I stop bath toys getting moldy?
Choose toys that are open or come apart, tip them out after every bath and let them dry. Toys with a pinhole take in water and stay damp inside, which is where the Eawag researchers found fungi and bacteria (Eawag).
Are moldy bath toys dangerous?
In one study, potentially harmful bacteria turned up in 80% of the bath toys examined (Eawag). If black flecks come out when you squeeze a toy, throw it out.
What bath toys are good for a 1-year-old?
Pouring toys that drain: Boon Pipes and the Green Toys Tugboat are both rated for this age. Stacking cups from the toy shelf work too.
Does bath time need supervision, even with toys?
Always. The AAP recommends touch supervision at bath time, staying within arm’s reach the whole time.
Why trust Worth It
How we choose
We don’t run a product lab, and we won’t pretend we do. Worth It picks are researched from makers’ instructions, retailer listings and official safety guidance, not lab-tested. Each is chosen for a specific age and a specific job, the way a friend a couple of years ahead of you would choose: a few products, each with a reason, and an honest note on what could go wrong.
We check every listing on amazon.com for a live US offer and sort it into a price band: Budget (under $30), Mid-range ($30 to $100) or Premium (over $100). We don’t print exact prices because they change daily. If you buy through our links we may earn a commission. That pays for this, and it never decides what makes the list.
For safety, we search the CPSC recall database by product name, and we note the US safety standard the maker says a product meets. Where the maker doesn’t say, we tell you what the law requires for that kind of product. The JPMA’s certification list (now run by the Baby Safety Alliance) isn’t publicly searchable, so we only mention certification when the maker states it. Specs come from the maker first, and the Amazon listing second.
Sources for this page
- Eawag: biofilms in bath toys
- AAP: water safety and young children
- Green Toys: Tugboat
- CPSC recall database, searched by product name on October 2, 2026
- Product listings on amazon.com, checked October 2, 2026
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