But next time your youngster picks up their rubber ducky, spare a thought for what else might be present.
A parent, after watching their child squirt bath water into their mouth, raised with the Otago Daily Times the issue of bacteria in bath toys .
Four of the family's squirty bath toys were tested this week by University of Otago microbiologist Prof John Tagg.
While not surprised, he was intrigued about the level and range of bacteria found in the toys tested - one duck, one fish and two octopuses.
The tests were carried out by squirting sterile liquid into the toys to wash out any micro-organisms.
The plates were placed in an air incubator for two nights to "encourage the growth of bacteria", Prof Tagg said.
What he found was one "very yucky ducky" hosting significant amounts of bacteria from all four bodily areas, including streptococci from the mouth and faecal bacteria from the intestines.
One octopus had lower amounts, while the fish and other octopus had small amounts.
"It's a real microbial zoo in your bath," he said.
However, the presence of bacteria in the toys was normal for the bath environment and not at dangerous levels.
"You wouldn't want people to get paranoid about it, [and] a lot of people believe it's important for the development of the immune system."
He recommended keeping bath toys dry and cleaning them periodically with either warm water and soap, bleach, or by putting them in the dishwasher.
There would be no concern unless a child had a compromised immune system, he said.
Dunedin mother Jenny Atkinson was not shocked to hear of the bacteria present in bath toys as she "assumed they would have something gross in there", but she believed small amounts of bacteria were good for children.
She told her son, Isaac Oskam (4), not to put bath toys or water from the toys in his mouth. She would not clean them, but threw out any that appeared mouldy.
