Jill Duggar Shares Why She Freezes Her Son’s Stuffed Animals

After growing up in a house with 18 siblings, Jill Duggar probably has a few hacks up her sleeve. For example, the former Counting On star freezes her son’s stuffed animals to help alleviate his allergies and it seems to work pretty well.

Between constant runny noses and random aches, allergies can be a real pain. Duggar’s 4-year-old son, Samuel, has “off the charts” dust allergies, as she shared on Instagram, so to help, she freezes his stuffed animals, or stuffies, to “kill the dust mites.”

“I’ve mentioned it before, but Samuel has ‘off the charts’ dust allergies, so our allergist recommended we really try and tackle the dust in our house. (Confession...I’m horrible at keeping on top of it!)” she wrote on Instagram. “Samuel loves his stuffies!! The allergist recommended that if we can’t/don’t want to wash all of his stuffies all of the time, we can freeze them!”

Over on her Instagram Story, Duggar walked her followers through the process, noting that she puts the stuffed animals in plastic bags before throwing them in the freezer, to stop moisture from getting to them.

The stuffed animals will sit in the freezer for around two to three days, Duggar said, to help alleviate the dust mites. Duggar’s followers shared how grateful they are for her sharing this tip with them. “That’s genius!,” one commenter wrote. “Learned something new today!,” another commenter added. “Good tip.”

Washing or freezing your children’s stuffed animals and then wiping them down with a damp cloth can help reduce their exposure to dust mites, according to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. While other forms of treatment might be needed for your child with allergies, like regularly washing their bedding, this could help alleviate some symptoms.

While Duggar’s son’s stuffed animals have to hang out with the frozen peas for a few days, it doesn’t seem like the family will be confusing them for the frozen bagel bites anytime soon.