Frequently Asked Questions
How do clean your Donated used toys and materials?
Fixatoy Donated Item Cleaning Process:
1. Reusable and restorable donated Toys, Games and Books are placed in dry clean pre-cleaning containers.
2. All toys, games, books are materials are cleaned. Cleaning refers to our process to removes visible dirt, debris, marker, crayon, food, etc., from a toy. We do this by washing, scrubbing in mild soap and rinsing dirty items in hot water.
3. Donated used items are disinfected. Disinfecting refers to treating or cleaning with a product that is listed to kill 99.9% of the germs listed on the product's label to kill pathogens that may be on items. Items are sprayed or soaked in disinfection liquids for 30 minutes to kill SARS-COV-2, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus Methicillin Resistant (MRSA), Listeria monocytogenes, Norovirus, Influenza A, HIV-1, Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV), other bacteria, Viruses, pathogens and to control mildew. New items donated are sprayed on their original package and we assume new items (in original package) are factory clean upon arrival.
4. Sanitizing refers to further cleaning by machine or spot washing. We sanitize by treating or cleaning with a product that kills at least 99.9% of germs. The purpose of sanitizing is to kill bacterial germs or contaminants with the goal of reducing the number of them on the toys or materials. On fabrics, we sanitize for residual bacteriostatic activity against odor-causing bacteria. This additional step is added to try to reach 100% kill of germs.
5. We machine dry with heat or sun dry using fresh air and the suns ultraviolet rays to aid in our cleaning of or toys and other items.
6. All the products we use in cleaning and refurbishing Fixatoy items have been approved for child care settings and hospital environments. Solutions of bleach, water, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide may be used on some items. We use sanitizers and hospital grade disinfectants that are approved by the EPA to remove 99.9% of bacterial contaminants, germs and pathogens.
7. Fixatoy is transparent with our cleaning process. You may contact us for a list of all products and brand names if you wish by email or message.
I Don't live in the D/FW area. Can I ship you donations?
Yes! Message, call or email us and we can give you our shipping address.
Where can I find Tax Information on my Donations?
Your accountant or tax professional can assist you with understanding the following information…
For Information Determining the Value of Donated Property for Tax Purposes Go to: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-561
On the IRS site look up: Topic No. 506 Charitable Contributions and About Publication 526, Charitable Contributions
IRS Publication 561 is designed to help donors and appraisers determine:
the value of property (other than cash) that is given to qualified organizations, and what kind of information you must have to support the charitable contribution deduction you claim on your return. IRS Publication 561 also deals with the Fair Market Value of your donation to help you determine your tax deduction.
IRS Topic 506 Charitable Contributions is about filing deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized Deductions and other topics.
IRS Publication 526 explains how to claim a deduction for charitable contributions. It discusses:
Organizations qualified to receive contributions, the types of contributions you can deduct,
how much you can deduct,
what records to keep and how to report contributions.
You can always call the IRS if you need to. Phone numbers are available on the website listed above.
Do you restore and gift every item donated to you?
Not all of the donated items we receive are used, some are new. We give new items to child and pet charities if they are clean and safe. The used items donated to us go through our cleaning process. We may not give them away if we decide they may cause an injury to a child or pet. Perhaps the toy has small parts that can come off and become choking hazards. Some materials are easily chewed apart and might cause digestive problems. We try to give our items to deserving charities, children, adults and pets that will enjoy them in an appropriate and safe manner. The toys, games and books that we select for redistribution must meet our safety requirements. If they don't, we will recycle the basic materials that they are made from.
Some donated items may be sold to raise operational funds for our charitable work. Supplies, repair materials, pick-up and delivery expenses are covered with funds raised by sale or auction on our eBay charity site. Items that we might not give away may have small parts that could endanger a child or pet. Some donated collectable items may be placed on auction to raise funds as well. Items purchased on our eBay Fixatoy site are tax deductible donations for the buyers.