How to Clean Cloth Dolls

If your daughter has a cloth doll, chances are she takes it everywhere she goes. At some point the doll is going to become dirty. This can happen when the doll is taken outside, or when some food or drink is accidentally spilled on the doll. The good news is that the cloth doll can be cleaned fairly easily. In fact, you just may want to clean the doll once per month to keep it looking brand new.

Things You'll Need

• Shout stain stick
• Dish pan
• Woolite
• Water
• Toothbrush
• Fan

Instructions

1. Look the doll over to see if there are any stains. Use a Shout stain stick to pre-treat any stains. Let the Shout penetrate the doll and work on the stain for at least 1 hour before you are ready to wash the doll.

2. Fill a dish pan with warm water. It is best if you wash your doll by hand rather than throw it in the washing machine.

3. Add 1 teaspoon of Woolite. Mix the Woolite in the water and then add the cloth doll.

4. Squeeze the doll several times to work the soap inside the doll. Use your fingers and a toothbrush to help work out any of the stubborn dirt and stains.

5. Empty the dish pan and fill it back up with warm water. Squeeze the doll over and over again until you get all of the soap out. You may have to drain the water and fill it back up more than once to get all of the soap out of the doll.

6. Wring your doll out and set it out to dry. You may want to place some fans in front of the doll to get it to dry faster.

Tips & Warnings

• You can open the back of the doll and remove the stuffing. This will allow you to wash and dry the doll much faster. The only downside is that you will have to sew the doll back up when you are done.

• Some types of cloth can't be placed in a dryer because it will cause the fabric to shrink. It is best to allow your doll to dry naturally.

References

• Cleaning a Cloth Doll