Author Info Last Updated: June 29, Get a brush that you can scrub with. The brush should have soft yet firm bundles of bristles, like in a nail brush or tooth brush. A makeup brush is too soft and a hairbrush is too stiff, so choose something mid-range.
Fill a bowl or sink with water. The temperature of the water should be as warm, but not hot or steaming as it may scald your hands or damage the synthetic fabric of the plush. Warmer water will aid in dissolving dirt or oils that may on the toy and also kill bacteria. Choose a gentle soap such as shower gel, a non-exfoliant face wash or even shampoo. You can either create a bubbly lather in the water by swishing it around with your hands, or you can apply the soap to the brush and create lather directly on the toy.
If the toy has been in a very dirty environment, is going to be given to a very young child, or is bought secondhand from an untrustworthy source, you may also want to use a heavy duty soap or even an antibacterial soap. This will kill bacteria more thoroughly. If the toy is stained with dirt or similar substances, you can use a small amount of laundry detergent or borax in the water to get rid of stains.
Ask an adult to help you since these materials can harm skin and be toxic. Dampen the plush preliminarily with the water. Do not fully soak the Beanie Boo if it's not that dirty: soaking a soft toy can create the risk of mold forming, which is harmful to both the integrity of the toy and for the health of the owner.
Use the brush and the soap to scrub any visible dirt patches. Scrub gently to prevent ruining the fibres on the fur of the toy. Rinse after scrubbing- if the stain is still present, consider using a more heavy-duty soap. Dry your Beanie Boo. First, use a towel to thoroughly dry the surface moisture on the toy. Then you can follow up with a more intense drying process as follows: Place the toy in indirect sunlight on a warm or windy day for about 12 hours.
Avoid direct sunlight, as it may discolor the toy. You may also want to hang the toy on a clothesline to aid the drying process. Use a hairdryer on a cool or warm setting do not use hot, it will damage the toy or catch on fire for about five minutes, keeping it at a safe distance. Place the toy in a cool and gentle setting in a drier. Make sure to not leave the Beanie Boo in the drier without checking on it regularly- it may become damaged.
However, this step will dry the toy thoroughly. When the machine is about one-quarter filled with water, add the bag containing the Beanie Babies. Do not add fabric softener to the wash. As soon as the washing machine has stopped, remove the bag or pillowcase from the washer. Take the Beanie Babies out, and place them on a shelf or table to dry.
Drying Beanie Babies into the dryer is not recommended. If your Beanie Babies have wiry antennas or other non-plush materials, consider hand washing those toys to avoid damage. It is OK to place the bag containing Beanie Babies in the washer with other clothes to be washed on the gentle cycle, but make sure the clothes are not brightly colored to avoid any chance of them bleeding colors onto your Beanie Babies.
It is possible that damage could result from washing your Beanie Babies in the washing machine. Then rinse a lot. Use cornmeal in a bag and put stuffed toy in bag and shake it around. The cornmeal can be vacuumed off. This works for very old fragile items. Thanks for the suggestion! If it is metal, I would say handwash only. For washing a stuffed animal, would 12 years old be too old? My daughter has a stuffed rabbit that she has had since she was two.
She is now fourteen and it is getting dusty up on that closet shelf. Would it be possible for me to wash it like you have previously stated? If it is a pretty sturdy toy, you can probably put it in the washing machine like the post suggests. If you have any doubts at all about how fragile or delicate it is, I would handwash it just to be on the safe side!
Any tips on cleaning these without messing with the animal body? I want to clean my sons Carter stuffed dog with a pull string in the tail music box. Please help my 18 month old loves to put the ears nose and paws in his mouth. Now Dog is beginning to smell like a puppy dog. Wendy, Try washing it by hand. Here are instructions for washing a stuffed animal by hand. Thanks for this! With 5 years of grime, a surface cleaning is definitely not enough!
Oh you ARE the type of person I write for: anyone that is looking for laundry help. I hope it cleans up well for you! Hi we have a stuffed bear that we cleaned. Every time it is dry it has a slight sticky feeling. I know its not residue from our cleaning because we have flushed it with clear wafer. Any suggestions? The manufacturer is fiesta toys. Hi, I know that this comment was forever ago, but I was just wondering if that sticky feeling ever goes away.
Thanks so for this! I have one where the tag says do not wash, do not dry, do not iron. I was wondering, my dryer has an air fluff setting, and my daughter got a German cartoon character stuffed animal that smells like cigarette smoke, would I be able to put a dryer sheet in the dryer on air fluff? Jo Ann, I think you could safely do that. If the weather is still nice in your area, I would also try letting it hang on a clothesline for awhile. Fresh air seems to really help smells. Thank you for your post, great information.
I actually have lots of stuffed animals that have never been washed before. Can I just put them straight in the washer and have them all washed up in one cycle? Wafaa, I think it depends on how durable and sturdy the stuffed animals are. To be on the safe side, I would definitely put them in something. Mesh bags are easy to find — Walmart, Target, Amazon. Anyone have any experience with this?
But my guess is that the little beans are totally dry. We recently discovered some white mold growing on the rafters of our attic where we have stored some of our childrens stuffed animals in plastic bags. Is there a course to take besides your suggested washing instructions to insure that they will be mold free when I clean them? Thanks for any advise! You want to make sure that all of the fibers of the outside of the animal have been scrubbed to remove the mold.
Such an informative article, and the photos are definitely a great addition, as well! I have a stuffed animal that only has beans in his hands and feet. I was thinking about using a pillow case instead of a mesh bag.
Also used cold water… Going to hang him on a hanger in the closet. I just wanted to add that the stuffing material inside of animals like beanie babies is not styrofoam balls, it is actually little hard plastic pellets. Stryofoam stuffing in animals has not been used in a number of years, except maybe if the animal you have is really cheaply made, I suppose then there is a chance.
I washed them in my HE washer on the hand wash setting with a small amount of normal detergant, then dried them in my dryer on very low heat. Good to know about the inside stuffing! Thanks for that. Glad the beanie baby came out so beautifully! Thrills me to hear great reports like that.
Thanks for letting me know. I had a teddy bear that had been chewed on by dogs. It was torn up, missing an eye and had rough spots all over it. I knew that if I put it in the washing machine it would lose its softness and so I first sewed the ripped it up then rubbed water on the rough spots and blow dried it dry.
It worked really well for me and it looks good as new. I didnt know if this would be of any help or maybe you could let other people with the same situations know of this possible solution. Thank you Karlie. Yes, you can soak it in soapy water with baking soda and then gently hand scrub it. After rinsing with clean, running water, I would wrap it in a towel and squeeze as hard as possible to remove the excess water.
Then hang dry. Thank you so much. I tried it this morning and it worked great. Just tried this to wash my Scooby Doo that I sleep with. Have had him for over 5 years and never knew how to wash him. But the smell recently got so bad that I could sleep with him anymore and had to use a pillow.
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