Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Questions about our products

If you want to remove dirt from our products, simply wipe gently with a damp cloth and a little soapy water (if necessary). When drying, please do not place on the heater, otherwise, cracks may occur in the wood. Please allow to dry at room temperature. Please never clean our toys with disinfectant, hot water or similar!

Our dolls appreciate a superficial and gentle cleaning with a little mild soapy water only. Please be careful and gentle when cleaning the face. The colors on the face are water-resistant, but they can fade. Please allow to dry at room temperature.

All our wood comes from sustainably managed forests in Europe. Our aim is to promote environmentally friendly, socially beneficial and economically viable forest management. It is important to us that the wood for our products does not come from overexploitation of nature. We take this responsibility very seriously at GRIMM'S.

The types of wood we use are alder, lime, beech and maple.

We are a family-run and sustainably managed wood manufactory at the foot of the Swabian Alb, which produces high-quality and safe toys. Our wooden toys are labelled either "Made in Germany" or "Made in Bosnia".

New products are developed at our headquarters in Hochdorf, Germany, where we oil and colour, assemble, check the quality, pack and ship all over the world.

Another of our company's production facilities is located in Bosnia. A large part of the wood processing takes place there, which is also due to the fact that there are numerous lime forests in Bosnia and the resources there enable us to process directly and sustainably without unnecessary delivery routes.

We love wood because it‘s a natural material which will always have various markings that show up in our products, making each one unique. Grimm’s toys are always one a kind, carrying unique marks made by nature. Wood grain has changing structures and colors which serve as proof of its natural origins. The unique variations are proof of quality, not defects. Discover the markings that make your Grimm's toy simply unique!

We oil our wood products with a mix of different natural oils. The stronger smell is normal for natural linseed oil which is completely harmless, and will decrease over time. 

Some of the scent from the oil will remain in the wood despite sufficient airing before packaging. The smell may also be stronger upon opening the package, but will dissipate. 

Please use a damp cloth for cleaning. Wipe gently and dry immediately. When drying, please do not place on the heater, otherwise cracks may occur in the wood. Please allow to dry at room temperature. Please do not submerge in water and do not use disinfectant, hot water or similar.

Our organically designed Rainbow is hand-sawn from one single piece of wood which requires a lot of experience to do this work free hand. This leads to an asymmetrical construction, resulting in a more pleasant, natural appeal in comparison to using precise, symmetric stencils. Therefore, individual arcs may need to be rotated to obtain a perfect fit! It is exactly what makes our toy so special and each one unique.

The Semicircles and Building Boards are larger than the individual parts of the Rainbow, sometimes by up to 1cm. Is that normal?

Yes, the Building Boards and Semicircles are deliberately made to be larger than the corresponding bow elements of the 12 Piece Rainbow. As a result, younger builders can achieve greater success in building because not everything must be set precisely. This leads to more stable structures and more joy in playing!

Questions about our colors

All colours and oils we use are certified in accordance with the EN 71 and CPSIA/ASTM 963 standards. They are therefore recommended for use on children’s toys and are harmless to the health of your child or baby. Any discoloration, for example due to intensive contact with saliva, is extremely rare and harmless and poses no health risk to babies, toddlers or adults.

Our colours are non-toxic, water-based stains and we oil our wood products with a mix of different natural oils with linseed oil as the main ingredient. This blend consists of linseed oil, olive oil, thistle oil, walnut oil and soybean oil.

We love animals - that's why our products are vegan and of course free of animal testing.

You are allergic or your child and ask yourself if our colours contain shares of corn, wheat, milk and/or egg? 

We can take that fear from you.

Hereby we confirm that our colours don’t contain any food products such as corn, wheat, milk, egg, hazelnuts etc. 

Furthermore, our colours were tested according to the current valid German and European requirements, the fulfil these standards and reports are available according to 

  • Migration of Certain Elements (accord. to EN 71-3)
  • Cadmium after digestion (accord. to SOP2.5L126) and ICP-OES (accord. to EN ISO 11885)
  • Organic tin compounds DIN EN 73-3 in connection with SOP 2.5L145 
  • type and quantity of softening agent - phthalates (accord. to SAA/SOP2.5.L144) 
  • PAH (accord. to AfPS GS 2014:01) 
  • total content of lead acc. to the CPSIA 2008 (HR4040), Section 101 und 16 CFR part 1303 (accord. to CPSC-CH-E1003-09 2009-04)
  • Migration of certain elements acc. ASTM F963-07e1 (see EN 71-3)
  • Primary aromatic amines (accord. to EN71, part 9 to 11) – only for colour and pigment concentrates
  • Flame retardants in textiles (DIN EN 71 part 9-11, RL 2014/79/EU, Regulation EU 757/2010 and 1907/2006) 
  • testing of phosphates and ether

An outstanding and unique characteristic of all our toys is the velvety surface which arises because we use colour glaze that penetrates into the wood, leaving a matte finish rather than a glossy one. The individual pieces are dipped by hand into the stain and we intentionally do not put a final protective coating on it to preserve the positive characteristics of the wood. Our way of making toys guarantees that they stack more easily with greater play possibilities. Children feel and experience the wood fibres and structure while playing.

Our colours are non-toxic, water based stains that are absolutely harmless and tested in-depth for colour fastness in contact with saliva. This test uses a liquid comparable to standard human saliva. However, some people’s saliva do vary from the “standard”, so some colour may transfer under those conditions, but the stains are harmless.

It may sporadically happen with new products that initially some excess colour pigments will get released which results in colour transfer. We recommend wiping the transferred surface with a wet, lint-free cloth to remove colour pigments.

Also in the case of severe mechanical abrasion, in individual cases, the color pigments on the surface may come off. In addition, it should be avoided to treat the surfaces with a scouring cloth or a scrubbing brush. Please know that you are holding a natural product in your hands which was enriched with loving care in manual work and colouring technique.

We oil our wood products with a mix of different natural oils. The stronger smell is normal for natural linseed oil which is completely harmless, and will decrease over time. 

Some of the scent from the oil will remain in the wood despite sufficient airing before packaging. The smell may also be stronger upon opening the package, but will dissipate. 

Please use a damp cloth for cleaning. Wipe gently and dry immediately. When drying, please do not place on the heater, otherwise cracks may occur in the wood. Please allow to dry at room temperature. Please do not submerge in water and do not use disinfectant, hot water or similar.

Toy safety questions

We are aware of our responsibility towards children and their families and take it very seriously.

All our products are regularly checked by internal and external tests and comply with the safety regulations of the European (EN71-3) and American (ASTM) standards for toy safety.

This means that they are completely safe to use - even for the youngest children.

Our colours are non-toxic, water based stains that are absolutely harmless and tested in-depth for colour fastness in contact with saliva. This test uses a liquid comparable to standard human saliva. However, some people’s saliva do vary from the “standard”, so some colour may transfer under those conditions, but the stains are harmless.

Missing parts/repair/complaint

Are you missing a part of a puzzle or has a piece been damaged?

Please fill out the form for missing parts and send us a 10 Euro note. The replacement part will be sent to you.

To the form

Please keep in mind that, unfortunately, we cannot replace everything. For example, the rainbow is made from a single piece of wood, so none of the bows is replaceable. If you are unsure if a part is replaceable, please contact us.

Grimms stands for quality and long life. When making our toys, we carefully select the wood without defects. At each step, the quality of the wood is checked. But wood lives and responds to air changes. Wood is a natural product and not indestructible, so we can not rule out that something breaks.

Children may be advised and prompted to use caution with their special toys. However, if something breaks, you can repair the damage with wood glue. For this purpose, we have prepared a small first aid kit for you, which you can inquire at your dealer or from us.

If the reason nevertheless a clear lack of the product was, we accept your complaint naturally gladly. Please contact your dealer where you bought the goods. Goods that have not been ordered directly from us can only be returned to the dealer.

You have purchased a product from one of our partners, so please contact them for a return and in case of complaint. Products can only be returned to your dealer.

Other questions

We invite you to visit the outlet at our site in Hochdorf, Germany where you can buy second quality products − items with slight manufacturing defects.

We do not operate a direct end consumer business. We distribute our goods exclusively through resellers. A list of our retail and online retailers worldwide can be found here.