How to Wash Stuffed Animals Safely

Keeping stuffed animals and toys clean can be a difficult chore. It's ironic that children's favorite toys are usually the one's that end up the dirtiest and require the most cleaning which can make them more delicate than they already are.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. First try spot cleaning with a damp cloth. Rub gently especially over seams. If the cloth doesn't work, try using a nail brush or toothbrush.

2. Use a delicate soap or detergent for more difficult stains. Try using children's hand soap or Woolite. Put a bit of soap on a cloth, nail brush or toothbrush and scrub the affected area. Cleaners like carpet stain removal products can be tempting to use but they're much too harsh.

3. Rinse the toy thoroughly. You want to get all the soap out to keep the toy fresh and soft. Also, you don't want any soaps or detergents left that could be harsh to your child's skin when they're sleeping or cuddling with their stuffed friend.

4. Dry the stuffed toy completely before letting the child play with it again. Air drying is best as the clothes dryer can be too damaging for most toys. However, you may want to toss it in on the "fluff" cycle for a few minutes to bring it back to it's original fluffy, stuffed look.

Tips & Warnings

• Teach children to take care of their stuffed bears and other plush toys.

[chrismhen]

on 8/28/2009 Air drying is fine so long as the stuffy is only surface washed. If more than just the outer surface is wet air drying will actually make it likely that mold will grow as the inner stuffing will take too long to dry.
~Chrissy

[betterbody]

on 5/30/2009 Very good tips for washing stuffed animals.