Surface Wash Recommendations?

T.,
First, if she is sucking on it, I would NEVER use any chemical cleaners like spray n wash or dry cleaning. If there are any residules left in the fabric they may be harmful.
Second, I would not put it in the washer either. What I have found is the batting (stuffing) doesn't dry very well and can produce mold.

One way to keep items fluffy in the dryer is to put tennis balls in with them. It is very noisy but works very well on my feather blankets, etc.

I would wash by hand only the nose trying to keep the rest of the animal dry. Use very little soap. Rinse well under the faucet and wring really good. I also use towels to remove excess moisture. If you have a two story house and have registers on the floor, set the animal on it (the damp part) and turn it every so often. Fluff it as it is drying.

For spot treating the rest of the bear, try using non scented baby wipes. Baby wipes work miracles for us especially carpet stains. (Go figure)

The stain probably won't come out of the animal because of her saliva, but at least you have comfort knowing it is clean.

Best wishes to you.

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I put stuffed animal toys that say "surface wash" in net washable bags and toss them in with the laundry. It's always worked just fine.

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Kids N Pets!
You can get it at Safeway in the cleaning isle on the bottom shelf at my Safeway. It is one of my best friends, it works on the pee smell for both aminals and kids, and many stains. I have used it succefully to clean the stuffed anuimals. You can either pour it directly on the stains, or put it in a spray bottle and mist all over and then lilghtly massage around. our multi colored pig chair is now pink again! blot the wetness up with a towel then air dry, if you get a sunny day then out side, or on low heat in the dryer. some of the "hair" type fluff will not be as soft in the dryer though. I tried just "dusting" the stuffed toys that way, most were fine, but some of the "hair like" ones or cheeper ones singed even on low. I don't recommend washing the toys with music if you care about them in the machine.
I have used "Kids N Pets" to get the stains out in the ceiling of the car and the car seat and stroller as well as the potty training accidents on the floor.

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Hi T.,

I have always washed my kids' stuffed animals in the washer. If they had that "hair" stuff or voice boxes, then I didn't put them in the dryer, but air dried them, either outside, or somewhere in the house. Yes, occasionally, the voice boxes didn't work afterwards, but sometimes that was a small blessing <wink>(I have ruined very few babies in all my kids' combined years). When they were babies, I always washed them in Dreft, which always had scents/dyes until a few years ago, but now they have scent free in all laundry aides--you could wash her stuffedies in something like that, especially Dreft, which is specially formulated for babies, and now comes scent/dye free if you prefer that. When the kids were older(age 5 or so), I just used regular laundry soap.

As far as stain removal, put some Shout or Spray 'n Wash on a rag and spot treat it like that, that way you are getting as little on the toy as possible.

Hope this helps,

K. W

P.S. I loveloveLOVE the pillow case idea! Keeps them from rubbing on the agitator in the washer, and the ribbons might not shred(I have shredded some ribbons :( ).

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My four year old daughter has this stuffed dog that she has had since birth. He goes everywhere with us and she sleeps with him every night! So needless to say I wash him on a regular basis (the dog even goes camping with us)! The best way to wash any stuffed animal is to put them inside a pillow case and then throw it in the washer and dryer in the pillow case. This keeps the stuffing from coming out and also helps to keep it in better shape. I have done this numerous times and it works great every time. The stuffed dog is four years old and is still holding up nicley, which is great becauase I am pretty sure he is going to go to college with my daughter!:)

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If my kids touch it-- it needs to be washable. Stuffed animals go through the washing machine all the time at my house. I tie them into a pillow case and run it through with the kids clothes-- washer and dryer. Sometimes they go through a "transformation" but they are clean. Suprisingly most stuffed animals survive the process-- just make sure your frontload washer isn't on high spin cycle.

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I would not use any chemical cleaners. Get some items from PCC or Whole Foods, or I can tell you where to get the best and most natural cleaner I've ever used offlist.
Best wishes!
Liz

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I've washed stuffed animals and soft dolls in the washing machine without any problems. It might get a little "pilly" but otherwise, I would guess it will be fine. I dry them by putting them in the dryer on air only.

As for stain removers, don't put any harsh chemicals on it. Washing it might just solve the problem, but if you're still worried about stains (I'm sure your daughter doesn't mind them) try natural products, oxygen cleaners or things like baking soda, vinegar, etc.

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I wouldn't use spray and wash because she sucks on it. There is a product called "teddy bear wash" that I got at thriftway, I've also seen it online and at build a bear workshop or their website.

I personally wash all stuffed animals in the machine and dry or air dry them depending on the material. The only thing that has gotten matted in the dryer was a horse's mane (that fuzzy nylon material). Good luck!

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I always threw my daughters stuffed animals in the washer and washed them with woolite...it seems to keep them softsnd fluffy. I know what you mean, my daughter had an elephant and she sucked on his nose.
I am sure it would be fine on a delicate cycle and make sure that you dry it in the dryer on a warm cycle. You want to make sure that it gets dry all the way through.
iWAS NOT AFRAID OF WASHING IT IN WOOLITE...THAT IS WHAT I USED ON HER CLOTHES AND BEDDING.
Another mixture that takes out formula stains is salt/lemon juice. You can try that on his nose even before you wash him. L.

L.

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I always wash my son's suffed toys in the washer on delicate. And I hand dry them, then put them in the dryer for 1 or 2 min. to soffen them up.

Good luck!

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I have washed several of my daughters "Surface only" toys in the washing machine, and no ill came of it. I just put them in a little net bag {(they sell them by the detergent) to protect them from the agitator. I couldn't tell the difference between before and after.

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My three year old daughter has a little stuffed poodle that she can't bear to be without. It says surface wash only. I have thrown it in the wash and there has been no problems with it. I have also washed it by hand by soaking it for a while in a pan with oxy clean and a little detergant and then thrown it in the dryer. It comes out beautiful every time. It is white and pink. Blow drying would help retain fluffiness also if your worried about that. J.

you know, i just throw them in the wash with the clothes and so far not one of them has fallen apart. i do let them air dry just in case the heat might harm something. what's great is they come clean and smell so good after!

I have put my daughter's build a bear in the wash serval times and it does the trick. I use a handwash cycle and then pop it in the dryer. I am sure this is probably not the best, but so far it has worked the best. Good luck

I always wash my kids' stuffed animals when they start to get icky. Just in with my regular wash, and then tumble dry. It seems fine to me!

I've machine washed numerous "surface wash only" stuffed toys with no problem. Just know that yours might be the one in a hundred that doesn't make it through the process in one piece.

I use the gentle cycle and tumble dry on low. If it needs fluffing, through a few clean tennis balls in the dryer with it, just like you would if you were drying pillows.

I'm not sure I'd use Spray and Wash simply because I'm not sure how well it would rinse out, and you know your child is likely to put it in her mouth again. It might be safer to pretreat and wash with a nontoxic detergent.

I would definitely err on the side of caution especially if your daughter will be sucking on it afterward. Use environmentally safe cleaners and rinse it really well. You might buy her a second one and giver her that one while you stain treat the old one and that would give you plenty of time to make sure all the cleaner and washed out so she won't get sick from it. Also if the other one gets destroyed in the washer well you would be safe!
An enzyme cleaner might work well since they are food and bodily fluid related stains but again I would be REALLY CAREFUL about washing it all out before giving it back to her. Who knows what that stuff would do to her insides!

I wash my kids stuffed animals in the washer on gental and put them in the dryer on air dry no heat. I havent had any problems.

Hi T.,

The other responses you have received is great. My son has been sucking on his stuffed monkey since birth. I wash his about once a month. It does not look nice, but he can tell when I wash it. The smell is washed off (I have to snuggle with it)
I have also noticed when I wash his monkey he gets a runny nose. He has became immune to his own bacteria he leaves on it.
Just something to think about.

P. S. My son has to have everything else of his spotless.

I put delicate things and stuffed toys in a pillow case, secure closed with a rubber band. Wash in your washer on the delicate cycle. You can also dab the nose of toy with bleach to help get it clean.
D.

Here are my thoughts. I won't use any chemicals on it if she puts it in her mouth. I would try to hand wash it with a mild soap and soak it for a while with some vinegar water, than rinse it with water and put in no heat dryer. But may be the first thing I would do is to go out and buy at least another 6 toys. When I had my son that was one of the behaviours I was aware of. I got him "in love" with "washing towels". I bought 50 (2 packs X 25 peaces). Yes, they were not "cute" but it was one of my best moves as a new mom. I still have quite few left. He got addicted to them and we had them everywhere with us. We used them to wipe his face and he did soak on them and hold on until his 4th birthday. He never liked the new ones I bought for him around his third year, but those 50 pcs did a great job for us and I did never run out of clean ones. My friend's son is almost 5 and he is still addicted to his "Mr. Cow". Back than she had 6, now they are down to two and you can't recognize it that is a cow. May be it is not too late to get her "in love" with something that you can wash and buy at least 10. Hope I was helpful. Good luck!

I always put in the wash. if it has the beads inside don't dry otherwise shouldn't be aproblem.

Yes, you can wash it in the washer! I put my children's lovies inside a zip up pillow case to keep them from getting damaged. Then I toss the whole bag in the dryer, too. If you are concerned about chemicals you could try just washing it in warm water or try adding a little vinegar to the wash as opposed to detergent. Or someone mentioned an ecofriendly cleaner.

depending on what makes it fluffy, they dryer could ruin it. the washing machine might be okay, but don't put it in the dryer or you will likely regret it. spray and wash should only be used if you are going to throw it in the machine. you might try something mild on it first...like dish soap and water or woolite and water...hand washing in a sink with woolite might be a little better than the washing machine so to protect the fluffiness of it...just make sure you rinse it well.

Don't wash it in the washer. I did that to one of my son's favorite stuffed animals. It turned out curly and ugly. He never liked it afterward.

If your daughter is constantly sucking on it, you probably want to use something to clean it that is non-toxic. White Vinegar mixed with water is a good antibacterial, and baking soda is usually a pretty good bleacher. I would surface wash it with one of those at a time and see if that helps. :)

If she sucks on it, I wouldn't put chemical cleaners on it...My son has a stuffed animal bunny, and I finally decided that it needed to be washed - I took my chances and threw it in the maching alone on delicate wash with woolite cleaner...worked just fine. Also took my chances and threw it in the dryer wrapped in a towel - came out fine...THe fur is a little matted, but I would rather have that than have a dirty stuffed animal. I wash it now nearly every week, and it is holding up just fine. Of course, we have a second one (that is still brand new) just in case. you can also try taking it to a dry cleaners.

Put it in a pillowcase to wash it.

HI T.:

My son has allergies and asthma and is not supposed to have stuffed animals around. I have been washing his animals for years. I have never had a problem with them falling apart or loosing their fluffiness. I wash on hot and dry on a medium setting.

M.

I haven't had any problems throwing anything in the wash as long as it doesn't have electonic parts. All my "surface wash" stuffed toys come out just fine with the regular laundry (or you might try a garment bag also).

I always washed them in a pillowcase in the washer. Then let them air dry. I figured that having them clean was better than having them filthy!

I've been washing my grandkids stuffed animals in the washer and if they're large, with a fluffy stuffing, drying them in the dryer. I've only washed a couple of large ones. Small ones like "Beanie Babies" and similar ones that I buy at Walmart for .99 I let air dry. They're filled with pellets.

My granddaughter plays with her small animals in the tub and they've always come out clean and still soft.

The one stuffed bear that her mother washed I'd bought at the Dollar Store. It's coat was fluffy but not after washing it. She still sleeps with it. I bought her another one and she refused to play with it or sleep with it.

I wouldn't be concerned about using the same detergent or soap that you use with her bedding and clothes. After all babies suck on the blankets and clothes and suffer no harm.

If it doesn't come clean in the wash do not dry it. Soak it in OxyClean. You might want to start with the soaking. Oxy gets out nearly all my stains if I haven't dried them first. And I buy it in a 5 lb box at Costco. This is a whole lot cheaper than buying the small packages at the grocery store.

I washed my daughter's stuffed clown. The exterior was cotton percale cloth and the stuffing polyester. Eventually the stuffing matted. I opened up a seam and put in new stuffing.