Cleaning Stuffed Animals
After some time, owners of stuffed animals begin to have a sentimental attachment to them, especially children. So whenever a stuffed animal becomes dirty, the instinct is not to discard it but to clean it. Depending on the composition of the stuffed animal and the way it is constituted, some people just throw their in a washing machine and add detergent, kind of the same way they would wash heavy duty fabric. Again, this depends on the fabric it’s made of and what other gadgets are attached to it.
Another way to clean stuffed animals is to wash them by hand using regular detergent without submerging them. Care should also be taken as to what kind of detergent to use. Bleach can wash away the colors and also affect the context of the fur material. The water needs to be medium heat as opposed to cold or super hot. Woolite detergent is normally preferred but others that are not too harsh on the fabric can do just fine.
Sometimes, depending on how the stuffed animal is made, you can cut the seams and remove the stuffing then do laundry on the fabric material the same way you would a regular heavy-duty fabric. Then you would re-stuff the animal either with the same stuffing or with new stuffing.
Another way to clean stuffed animals is to use baking soda. Again, read the label or manual that came with it to see whether there are any restrictions. Baking soda can be used inside a paper sack. In this technique, there is no need to use the washer.
Some people also use hair brushes to clean stuffed animals. This is done by applying gently bath soap or gel and then brushing off. Care should be taken to ensure the brush is not too hard (steel-brushes should be avoided). After brushing off the stuffed animal one can use a hair dryer to dry it. This works if the dirt is not severe or if the stuffed animal is not very old.
Perhaps the most popular way of cleaning stuffed animals is to stuff them into a pillow case and then use the washing machine. The pillow case protects them from the washing machine’s rotor which may otherwise damage it. Regular washing detergent can be added but again, read the label to see whether there are any restrictions.
