How do I clean a large stuffed animal?

[dragon]

My little guy has a well loved (and now pretty funky) very large
stuffed bear. I've tried rubbing it down with a damp cloth, but that
doesn't do much. Anyone have any tried and true ways to clean such a
thing? All ideas appreciated!

dragon

[[email protected]]

dragon wrote:
> My little guy has a well loved (and now pretty funky) very large
> stuffed bear. I've tried rubbing it down with a damp cloth, but that
> doesn't do much. Anyone have any tried and true ways to clean such a
> thing? All ideas appreciated!

If it looks like it would survive being washed, I'd open up a seam,
take the stuffing out, very gently wash the outside (maybe by hand),
let it dry, then re-stuff.

Beth

[Jeff]

"dragon" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> My little guy has a well loved (and now pretty funky) very large
> stuffed bear. I've tried rubbing it down with a damp cloth, but that
> doesn't do much. Anyone have any tried and true ways to clean such a
> thing? All ideas appreciated!

My mom used to put my snoopy in the washer and then drier. I remember when
my grandma used to do surgery on him, by putting more stuffing in.

If you have one of those carpet steam vacs with upolstery attachments, can
you use that?

jeff

> dragon
>

[enigma]

"dragon" > wrote in
ups.com:

> My little guy has a well loved (and now pretty funky) very
> large stuffed bear. I've tried rubbing it down with a damp
> cloth, but that doesn't do much. Anyone have any tried and
> true ways to clean such a thing? All ideas appreciated!

how large? commercial washer size?
most stuffies can survive machine washing & air drying. do NOT
use any heat in the dryer or you will ruin the fake fur. my
dryer has a sweater rack & that's great for stuffed animals.
if you don't want to chance machine wash & dry (if losing
Bear would cause major trauma) then look for Bubble Gund bear
wash or Build-a-Bear's bear wash. it does a really good job of
surface cleaning if you follow the directions. i have washed a
38 year old bear from a house where people smoked heavily & i
was shocked to find it was *white*. it looks almost new (and
no longer stinks)... but it took a full bottle of bear wash &
some work.
lee

[Stephanie]

"dragon" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> My little guy has a well loved (and now pretty funky) very large
> stuffed bear. I've tried rubbing it down with a damp cloth, but that
> doesn't do much. Anyone have any tried and true ways to clean such a
> thing? All ideas appreciated!
>
> dragon
>

I do all the animals in the washing machine, then line dry. Could you take
to to a laundromat with a big front loader?

[[email protected]]

dragon wrote:
> My little guy has a well loved (and now pretty funky) very large
> stuffed bear. I've tried rubbing it down with a damp cloth, but that
> doesn't do much. Anyone have any tried and true ways to clean such a
> thing? All ideas appreciated!
>
> dragon

Depends on what it's stuffed with, and what its surface decoration is
like, and whether it matters if some colors run.

We've even washed animals that weren't supposed, according to their
labels, to be washed. Put them in a pillowcase, tied or zipped so they
wouldn't fall out (one bear per pillowcase). Washed them on the
cold-water gentle setting. Air dried (actually sun-dried), fluffing up
the fur and sort of pushing the critter back into shape...it takes a
day, or maybe 2 or 3.

They did fine with that routine. What eventually totalled a bunch of
our stuffed animals was when they were washed, then put away damp in a
crowded bunch. Their fur was ruined, and so was their shape.

You probably could also dry it in a dryer with the shoe shelf, though
we never tried this.

Rupa

[Sue]

I've put many stuffed animals in the washer. If I don't think it would
survive the dryer, I will let them air dry or put them out in the sun.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

"dragon" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> My little guy has a well loved (and now pretty funky) very large
> stuffed bear. I've tried rubbing it down with a damp cloth, but that
> doesn't do much. Anyone have any tried and true ways to clean such a
> thing? All ideas appreciated!
>
> dragon
>

[lenny fackler]

wrote:
> dragon wrote:
> > My little guy has a well loved (and now pretty funky) very large
> > stuffed bear. I've tried rubbing it down with a damp cloth, but
that
> > doesn't do much. Anyone have any tried and true ways to clean such
a
> > thing? All ideas appreciated!
> >
> > dragon
>
> Depends on what it's stuffed with, and what its surface decoration is
> like, and whether it matters if some colors run.
>
> We've even washed animals that weren't supposed, according to their
> labels, to be washed. Put them in a pillowcase, tied or zipped so
they
> wouldn't fall out (one bear per pillowcase). Washed them on the
> cold-water gentle setting. Air dried (actually sun-dried), fluffing
up
> the fur and sort of pushing the critter back into shape...it takes a
> day, or maybe 2 or 3.
>
> They did fine with that routine. What eventually totalled a bunch of
> our stuffed animals was when they were washed, then put away damp in
a
> crowded bunch. Their fur was ruined, and so was their shape.
>
> You probably could also dry it in a dryer with the shoe shelf, though
> we never tried this.
>
> Rupa

We messed up a couple of stuffed toys by machine washing/drying. They
look kind of weird to me but the kids don't seem to care.

[Catherine Woodgold]

"dragon" ) writes:
> My little guy has a well loved (and now pretty funky) very large
> stuffed bear. I've tried rubbing it down with a damp cloth, but that
> doesn't do much. Anyone have any tried and true ways to clean such a
> thing? All ideas appreciated!
>
> dragon

One method is to use a cloth that's really wet with hot
water and some soap or detergent, and really do a lot
of scrubbing. On a big animal it would take ages.
The next step is to alternate rubbing with a wet, non-soapy
cloth and drying with a dry towel.

You could try this on some of the dirtier spots, at least.
--
Cathy
A *much* better world is possible.