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Stuffe & Nonsense Lore: Cleaning Stuffed Animals
How should I clean plush toys?
Your best plan is not getting the plush in a condition such that it
needs cleaning, but since you're already looking for cleaning
information I guess it's too late for that. So in the future keep your
stuffe away from whatever soiled it this time -- or vice versa.
Information here applies only to stuffed animals or plush toys made with
a fabric covering of fake fur. The faux fur may be synthetic materials
(usually polyester, acrylic or modacrylic) or natural materials (usually
wool, wool/cotton, mohair, or alpaca). Objects with a real fur or
leather covering would need different treatment.
From making soft sculptures and selling stuffed animals we have had a bit of experience with cleaning, and more from having a house full of plush (about 200, not counting our own handmade stuffed animals
in storage or under construction). But most of our cleaning experience
came when we were buying and re-selling "previously loved" toys. Quite
a few of the recycled animals we sold required various amounts of
cleaning and repair after they were rescued from the flea market, garage
sale or thrift store. Possibly Candy's greatest cleaning success was
salvaging a bag full of soiled unicorns from Southern California.
Note: Stuffe & Nonsense is not responsible for any damage to your
toys that may occur from following cleaning suggestions listed here! Any
cleaning products you plan to use will probably have a similar
disclaimer on their container.
Dusting and preening
These steps aren't really "cleaning" -- rather basic maintenance. But
it's good to know about basic maintenance, and any more serious
cleaning ends with preening. So we're going to start here anyway.
The basic tools for plush care are a hair brush and a damp cloth. An
old terry washcloth is perfect for the damp cloth. Wet the cloth and
wring it out well; we're talking damp here, not wet.
Get a hair brush to be used only on the plush. Synthetic fur does not
need to pick up hair care products transferred from a brush used by
people. Brushes with metal bristles, intended for pet care, can work
very well on plush but can tear up the backing fabric if not used
carefully. You want a brush with well-spaced stiff plastic bristles for
most uses.
A vacuum cleaner and a lint roller are additional options for dusting.
Rub the surface of the plush lightly with the damp cloth to clean off
dust, pet hair, food crumbs or whatever else has gotten onto the fur.
Use the hair brush to straighten and arrange the nap of the plush, fluff
flattened fur or smooth ruffled fur. For long fur, use the brush gently
to separate snarls. Remember that any hair pulled out with the brush
probably will not grow back, so brush gently. The brush will also lift
out dust or debris buried in the fur. Give the surface another swipe
with the damp cloth after brushing to remove anything the brush lifted.
A lint roller can be used instead of a damp cloth. The lint roller
works especially well on pet hair. In our house there are four cats and a
dog as well as lots of plush, and plushes that are near cat walkways
have to get lint-rolled fairly often.
Pay attention to the style of fur you're working with! Don't brush
out a plush surface that is supposed to look felted, tangled or woolly.
Stick to lint rollers or vacuums for such material.
Vacuum cleaners
If your plush has accumulated a LOT of dust, you can use a vacuum
cleaner on it. First, detach the carpet sweeper. No matter what the
vacuum's manufacturer says about short-pile or long-pile adjustments you
do NOT want to use that on your plush toy! A dusting brush attachment
is good if you've got one, or just use the end of the vacuum hose if
you're very deft. Preen with a hair brush and follow behind the brush
with the vacuum. If there are costume or accessory parts on the plush,
be sure not to suck them into the vacuum.
Immediate cleanup
You can minimize later cleanup woes by promptly handling any spills
that get on a plush surface. If something liquid lands on a stuffed
animal, do not try to wipe it off. Wiping motions will just
force the liquid down into the fur more. Instead, do what an actual wet
critter would do: shake. Vigorously shake off as much of the
liquid as possible. You may want to do the shaking over a towel or a
tile floor or outside, but do the shaking as quickly as possible so the
liquid does not get a chance to soak in. Blot any remaining dampness by
dabbing the surface with paper towels or a dry sponge. Dab, don't wipe! No sense spreading the stain around.
Once the spot is just damp, dilute the spill by dabbing with a wet
sponge. Then blot with cloth or paper towels. Repeat several times to
remove as much of the spilled material as possible.
Surface cleaning
... is the only kind of cleaning you ought to be doing on plush.
For surface cleaning you'll want to use an upholstery cleaner or a
mild detergent in water. We've had good success with the Woolite
products, both detergent and upholstery cleaner. (Other people have told
us that Woolite is terrible and horrible and should never be used on
anything. Your Mileage May Vary) If you have very hard water you
may want to use bottled water to clean with. Spot-cleaning products or
alcohol may also be used for surface cleaning, but test such solvents very carefully.
Before using any cleanser on a plush, test for compatility on an
inconspicuous spot. An "inconspicuous" spot is generally a spot that is
underneath when the toy sits in its normal posture. Since you just want a
"spot" test, put a bit of your cleanser on a small applicator like a
Q-Tip and wet the test spot. Wait until the test spot dries. Brush off
any dried cleanser residue and examine the test spot. Is it still the
same color? Especially look for a ring of lighter or darker
discoloration around the test area. Pull the fur in the test spot and be
sure it's not falling out. If you see any problems with the test area,
you'll need to pick a different cleaning product or live with whatever
it was you wanted to clean out.
Remove costuming or accessories before any serious cleaning
exercises. These are usually tacked on with a few stitches of heavy
thread. Use pointed scissors or a seam ripper to snip the fastening
threads. Make a note or take a photo so after cleaning you can tack the
accessory back on where it was. Sometimes ribbons or other decorations
are just tied on and can untie easily.
After a successful test, use your selected cleansing product to clean
the plush. Have enough cleaner to clean the whole toy. Once you take
the step of using a cleaner or detergent, you will generally need to
clean the whole object rather than just a problem
spot. Especially with older toys, one clean patch will usually look
different than
the rest of the animal. Even with a tested cleaner, proceed with
caution. A cleaner that is fine for the base material may damage nose or
paw-pad fabric, or affect air-brushed details.
Use just enough cleanser to thoroughly wet the plush and the
backing material, avoid letting much soak through to the stuffing. A
sponge is generally the best applicator, and gives you good control over
the amount of cleanser applied to the plush. A plush soaked with
cleaner looks about as glamorous as a dog or a cat getting a bath, but
at least it won't claw your face off or shake soapy water all over
everything.
After cleaning, let the plush dry completely, then use dusting and preening
techniques to clean out the cleanser residue. Vacuuming can be a great
aid now if you used upholstery cleaner. Replace any removed accessories
or decorations.
Washing
All cautions aside, it is possible to wash many plush toys. But it's much safer to stick to surface cleaning.
Washing should be a last resort because there is risk of damage. We
have washed quite a few stuffed animals and have mostly had good
results, but we have also thrown out a few items. One large sheep took
on a most un-natural shape; after washing it was not at all sheepshape
and had to be sent off to the rendering plant.
Check a few things first to see if the plush is a reasonable candidate for washing. Read the tag on the item for possible information on construction and materials.
- Is it stuffed with fiberfill? Toys stuffed with styrene foam, foam beads or excelsior must not be washed. Things stuffed with synthetic fiber (usually polyester fiber) or plastic beads are candidates for washing.
- Is it stuffed really firmly? Does it feel like a pillow or like a log when you squeeze it? Even if the toy is stuffed with synthetic fiber, if it's stuffed very firmly it may never dry out after washing, and shifts in the stuffing may ruin the shape.
- Does it have stiffeners in it? Plastic stiffeners can shift out of place. Cardboard or hardboard stiffeners can collapse or disintegrate. Metal stiffeners can corrode. Washing anything with stiffeners or shapers in it is risky.
- Does it have joints? Joints are another risk area for washing. Plastic joints are not affected by water, but are not very strong and can fall apart. Hardboard joints use hardboard that can soften or warp when wet, and metal fasteners that can rust after getting wet.
- Is it made of synthetic fibers? Or is it made of fancy mohair/wool/alpaca stuff? It is not a good idea to try to wash mohair/wool/alpaca.
- Does it have clothing or accessories? If so, can they be removed? Any clothing or other accessories will need to be removed before washing, or you run a terrible chance of some very interesting "bleeding". (You know, like when not separating out your red shirt from the rest of the wash gives you pink underwear.)
- Is it just too darned big? A stuffed animal less than about 18 inches in its largest dimension can probably be judged "small". As the stuffed animal gets larger you run into greater chance of problems during washing, as the parts of the animal get pushed around inside the washing machine. Drying also poses more of a challenge for larger animals. That said, we have washed an Avanti snow leopard that's about 5 feet from nose to tail-tip and it came out fine.
As a general rule, the more expensive the plush, the less likely it
is safe to wash. If you've got a soiled item that looks like a washing
candidate, put it in a cloth bag -- a pillowcase is excellent -- tie the
bag closed and toss it in for washing. The plush (and the bag) must fit
loosely inside the washing machine. Use a bag of some reasonably sturdy
woven fabric, not a mesh bag like those intended for washing
hosiery. The goal here is to protect the surface of the fake fur so you
don't get any split ends or felting or other physical damage from the
washing process. You can put more than one plush per bag, as long as
they all fit loosely in the bag.
By "wash" we mean cold water wash and cold water rinse with mild
detergent on a gentle cycle. If you don't have access to a good washing
machine with a gentle cycle, stick to surface cleaning. Laundromat
washers seldom have a "gentle" cycle, even if they do have a button
labelled that way. If at all possible use a front-loading machine,
especially for large plush. For detergent, we've had good results with
Woolite. Don't even think about bleach, nor fabric softener.
After washing, take the still-tied bag out of the washer. If the toy
was safe to wash, it's usually safe to dry, too. Air drying is OK, but
puts you at risk of getting mildew started inside the stuffing. Still in
its protective bag, put it in a clothes dryer for a cycle on a gentle,
low-temperature setting. Two cycles may be necessary to dry larger
plushes thoroughly, or when you are washing more than one item at a
time.
Reading the tag
Tags on a stuffed animal usually have information about materials and
construction, and may even have specific care suggestions. Look for a
cloth tag sewn into a seam. There may also be something useful on the
drop tags. Here are samples of information from tags found on some
plush toys on a shelf near my computer.
--------------------------
All new material
Outer: 100% polyester
Inner: Polyester fibre
...To prevent product migration do not wash by hand or machine...
That line about "product migration" makes it sound like it might
fly South for the winter if it's washed. But the caution is actually
that the polyester fibre stuffing can rearrange itself during washing,
changing the shape of the stuffed object dramatically. In terms of
materials, this item is a good candidate for washing. The caution that
the stuffing may get pushed out of shape by washing does not mean that it will, but it is a risk to consider.
-----------------
NEW MATERIAL POLYESTER/CELLULOSE FIBERS
WASHABLE: Wash surface with mild soap and water
When dry, brush lightly - DO NOT DRYCLEAN
"Dry" cleaning in fact involves immersion in various solvents and is not usually a good option for plush toys.
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Surface washable
mild suds - cold water - air dry - brush gently
Content: polyester fibers, metal stiffener
Because of the metal stiffener this object would not be a good candidate for washing.
------------------
Covering: 55% wool/ 45% cotton
Stuffing: 100% polyester
Surface washable
Since the covering is 55% wool it would be risky to wash this object.
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Stuffe & Nonsense
Washing would not be recommended for most Stuffe & Nonsense
handmade stuffed animals. We use a lot of wool, mohair or alpaca plush
that would not tolerate washing well. And though we generally use
polyester fiber for stuffing, we often stuff very hard so shape changes
and drying would be a problem.
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