Product safety & allergy information
Everything you need to know before you squeeze. Please read this page before using one of our products or giving one as a gift, and keep it in mind every time you use one.
Read this first
- Ages 14 and over only. These are collectible display and fidget items, not children's toys. They contain small parts — choking hazard. Keep away from babies, young children and pets.
- Never cut, pierce, bite or tear a cheese squishy. Torn pieces are a choking hazard, and on a filled piece the contents can escape. This applies to every item we sell.
- Never heat a cheese squishy. No microwave, no oven, no hot water, no radiator, no direct sunlight in a parked car. Heated material can deform and cause burns, and a filled piece can burst.
- Not food. They look like cheese. They are not edible and must never go in the mouth.
- Stop using immediately if the item tears, crumbles or leaks, or if your skin becomes red, itchy or sore.
What our squishies are made of
Our squeeze toys are built in two different ways. Most are moulded slow-rise polyurethane (PU) foam with a printed outer skin and added colourants. Others use a soft outer shell — PU or a soft plastic — filled with a gel, a thick liquid or a petroleum-jelly-type compound, which gives a heavier squeeze and a slower return.
Both produce the slow 3 to 6 second rise instead of an instant snap back. The difference matters for handling: a filled piece must never be cut, pierced, over-stretched or squeezed against a sharp edge, because the contents can escape.
If you have a known sensitivity
These materials are widely used in squeeze toys, but no material is free of risk for everyone. If you have a known sensitivity to polyurethane foams, soft plastics, plasticisers, mineral oils, petroleum-based compounds or synthetic dyes, please do not use our products. If you need the material breakdown for one specific item before ordering, contact us and we will tell you what we know about that item.
Our products are not marketed as latex-free, fragrance-free, or hypoallergenic, and we make no such claim. A new piece can carry a faint manufacturing smell for the first few days; airing it in a dry, shaded place is normal practice.
Skin contact, irritation and allergic reactions
Squeeze toys are handled for long stretches at a time. Prolonged skin contact with any foam, plastic or filled item can cause redness, itching, dryness or a rash in sensitive people, and in rare cases an allergic contact reaction.
To reduce the risk:
- Wash hands after handling, and before eating.
- Do not use a cheese squishy on broken, irritated or freshly shaved skin.
- Do not sleep with a cheese squishy pressed against the skin.
- Keep it out of eyes and away from the face.
- Do not use it as a pillow, a stress ball for injured hands, or a pet toy.
If a reaction happens
Stop using the item
Stop using the item straight away and put it out of reach.
Wash the area
Wash the area with mild soap and lukewarm water. Do not scrub.
Seek medical advice
Seek medical advice. Contact emergency services for breathing difficulty, swelling of the face or mouth, or a burn.
Please also let us know at contact@cheese-squishy.com. We record every report, and it helps us act on a batch if something is wrong with it.
Heat, cold and burns
Never heat or freeze a cheese squishy
Our products are not designed to be heated or frozen, and doing so is unsafe.
- Do not microwave a cheese squishy or put it in boiling water.
- Do not place it on a radiator.
- Do not leave it on a windowsill or in a parked car in the sun.
- Do not put it in the freezer.
Heat can soften or melt foam and printed skins, and hot material stuck to skin can cause a burn that is hard to remove. On a filled piece, heat expands the contents and the shell can split. Freezing makes foam brittle so it tears under pressure, and can thicken or separate a filling. Store your squishies at normal room temperature, out of direct sunlight.
If a squishy tears, crumbles or leaks
A cheese squishy that has been over-stretched, punctured or squeezed against a sharp edge can tear. Foam that has aged badly can also crumble, and a filled piece can split at a seam. If that happens:
- Take it away from children and pets immediately.
- Do not let loose pieces or escaped filling reach eyes or mouth. Rinse skin with water.
- If the piece is a filled one and the contents escape, keep them away from eyes, mouth and broken skin, wipe the area, wash hands with soap and water, and bag the item for disposal. Do not try to reseal it.
- If a fragment or any filling gets into the eyes, rinse with clean water for several minutes and seek medical advice.
- If a fragment or any filling is swallowed, seek medical advice or call your local poison control centre.
- Wipe the area, bag the item and dispose of it with household waste. Do not repair it with glue or tape.
Care and everyday use
Cleaning
Wipe with a barely damp cloth and let it air dry fully before squeezing again. Do not put it in a washing machine or dishwasher.
No harsh products
Do not use solvents, bleach, alcohol gel or abrasive cleaners on it — they strip the printed skin.
Away from sharp things
Keep away from sharp nails, pets, jewellery and rough surfaces. This matters most on filled pieces.
Out of direct sunlight
Keep out of direct sunlight; UV yellows and hardens the material over time.
Check it from time to time
Check the item from time to time and retire it as soon as the surface looks worn, sticky, cracked, discoloured or damp.
Packaging
Remove and discard all packaging before handing an item to anyone.
Disclaimer and limitation of liability
Our products are sold as decorative fidget and comfort squeeze toys for ages 14 and over. They are not medical devices, teethers, chew toys, pet toys, bath toys or food, and they are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition.
You are responsible for using our products as described on this page, on the product page and on the packaging, and for supervising anyone in your care who uses them.
What we do not accept liability for
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Cheese Squishy accepts no liability for any injury, burn, skin reaction, allergic reaction, irritation, illness, damage or loss arising from: use by a child under 14, or use by a child without adult supervision; use of a product that has been cut, pierced, heated, frozen, washed in a machine, repaired or otherwise altered; continued use after a tear, crumbling, leak or any reaction has appeared; use in a way not described on this page; or any indirect, incidental or consequential loss of any kind.
Where our liability cannot lawfully be excluded, it is limited to the price you paid for the product concerned.
Your rights are not affected
Nothing on this page removes or limits any right you have under applicable consumer protection law, including your statutory rights in respect of products that are faulty, unsafe or not as described. Nothing on this page excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
This page is provided in good faith for general guidance. It is not medical advice. If you have a health concern, speak to a qualified professional. Read this page together with our Terms & Conditions.
Something wrong with a product?
Tell us as soon as possible. We take every safety report seriously and we answer them ourselves.