Maybe some people would think it is gross but I am not a super sterilizing germ freak. I really just rinse the potty (only one child is currently using it) and I rarely use bleach (toys included). We also have a very low incident rate for illnesses in my daycare. It seems to be just one child who get sick outside of daycare and brings it here but it never spreads (knock on wood) and it's never major. So far this yr she has had a million colds, pink eye, was sent home with a fever yesterday.