Would You Worry? Old Open Puree Pouch

so disinfect the ones you can with bleach water, and toss the ones you can't.
if botulism hasn't carried the kids off yet, they're probably pretty safe.
khairete
S.

I would clean anything that is dirty or sticky and call it a day.

Your kids have been playing with these toys for as long as that pouch has been there, right? If there was anything that was going to get them sick, they've already gotten it. It's done. Toss it, clean up any mess and move on.

Clean up what you can. If something is uncleanable, toss it. Don't beat yourself up about it, it happens....

Don't worry about it.
Clean up what you can and wipe surfaces with a disinfectant, maybe spray with Lysol and let air dry if it bothers you but if your kids haven't got sick yet then they aren't going to.
Kids put all sorts of things in their mouths and touch all kinds of yuck - and it turns out fine.
They'll come across more germs playing in a sandbox or touching a shopping cart than they will in the toy box.
And it's good for them to play in a mud puddle once in awhile.
We need exposure to dirt and germs to keep us healthy.
To this day I get filthy in my garden (gardening is a full contact sport the way I do it) and washing up afterward feels so good but the getting dirty is important.

I agree that the kids have been playing with things for months with no adverse effects. Whatever was in there in terms of bacteria is probably all dried up anyway.

What preschools do periodically is make a very weak solution of bleach and water, and dip toys or wipe them off. Wear gloves. Let them dry. Done. What can't be disinfected (why? Made of fabric?) can be washed in hot water, put out in the hot sun, or sprayed with a little Lysol if you're really concerned.

You're not a terrible mom. Stuff like this happens to all of us. We can't go through life disinfecting our kids, their toys, the car seat, the floor of the car, the kitchen floor, the door handle of every store or school, or the backyard just because someone might touch something and then touch their mouth or nose. Unless someone in the family has been diagnosed with a significant immune system deficiency, everything's probably fine - and time alone tells you they are they are all okay.

wash what you can, toss what you can't. If the toys were at the bottom of the toy chest they weren't getting played with anyway.

I would use a white vinegar solution insteam of bleach and lysol or other sprays containing harsh ingredients. What is it that can't be cleaned. I suggest anything not paper can be cleaned.

I don't tend to keep soft toys that have gotten gunky somehow (barf etc.) unless I can super duper clean them. But plastic toys you can just sanitize.
As for catching anything or getting sick at this point, doubtful. They would have already if it was from a year ago.
I used to borrow toys from a toy library (you got 3 new a week, then returned the following week and got more). I just sanitized them. No biggie. I avoided any toys that looked questionable.
If in doubt or you can't clean well, toss. Hopefully you can really clean the toy chest.

your husbands right. just wash the gunk off, spray with lysol and be done, for the unwashable lysol or spray vinegar on it and let it air dry it whould be fine.

Plastic toys go in the dishwasher. Plush ones go in the laundry. Stuff with electronics gets wiped off with a vinegar/water on a cloth. Done.

I agree with your husband that you are overreacting if you toss them in the trash.

Clostridium botuliin is an anaerobic bacterium, so it won't grow in an open pouch. Any toy or other item that had dried food on it that couldn't be removed, I would toss. The rest, just clean with soap and bleach.

stuffed animals and such can be put in the dryer. If you run them for about 10 minutes, that usually kills anything. Other plastic toys can be wiped down with hand sanitizer to disinfect.

Sounds like a good reason to purge to me.