Today is Winnie the Pooh Day and a Great Day to Learn How to Clean Stuffed Animals
The name Winnie the Pooh conjures up delightful images in our heads. We’re likely to envision the stories from the beloved books and films, the many sweet friends that live with Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood, and so much more. How about the idea of a bag of germs? Seriously, does ole Pooh Bear make you think of millions of germs? Unfortunately, all the love our kids give to stuffed animals typically leaves those toys covered in grime from both outdoor and indoor adventures, including loads of germs.
To honor Winnie the Pooh Day (which is author A.A. Milne’s birthday, too!), we’d like to walk you through the most successful method of cleaning the many stuffed animals, including Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet, and so many others that can become portable bags of germs.
After all, what is more endearing than watching our kids and grandkids, nieces and nephews, and even pets, curl up with their favorite stuffed animals? The pure love, affection, and comfort that on display make us want to ensure they have those toys for a very long time. Remember, it was Pooh who said:
“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
So, let’s learn how to keep those little stuffed animals clean and safe for years or decades to come. They bring so much joy and can often become treasures, so let’s learn how to care for them over a lifetime!
By Machine or By Hand?
It can be so tempting to believe washing machine makers, like Whirlpool, who say you can use a gentle cycle to wash most toys. Yes, the gentle or delicate cycles on modern machines live up to their names. The question is: Are they gentle enough?
Older stuffed animals, handmade toys, and stuffed toys with eyes or other decorations using glue can face a lot of damage in the machine. Let’s take a look at a fail-proof (or nearly so) method for machine washing toys, and then we’ll go through the (preferred) hand-washing approach.
Machine Wash – With Great Care
The very first thing you always do before washing any toy is look for a care label. This will often warn owners about the risks of machine washing, or even say “spot clean only.” This little lie is the toy maker’s great escape. When something is a spot-clean-only item, it cannot be washed or dry-cleaned. It may even have colors that bleed and run when they meet any sort of cleanser. So, always do the gentlest hand washing if any item has that notorious phrase on the care label.
If it does allow for machine washing, you will need to:
Protect the Bear (or rabbit, dragon, etc.) in a mesh laundry bag. You can find these online quite easily, and we always use an environmentally friendly brand rather than a microplastic shedding zipped bag. You can find ours here.
Use the Delicates OR Gentle OR Handwash (or whatever indicates the lightest) cycle on your machine. Place the bear in alone, without anything else to bump or bang into it during washing. Use a cold water wash to prevent or limit color fade and/or bleed. We also follow New York Times writer Julie Kim’s suggestion and pad “the load with towels to protect the stuffed toy during the cycle.”
Choose your detergent – We use commercially available, eco-friendly soaps and products from Kreussler. When we suggest regular consumer products, we always steer people to either the Molly’s Suds line or the Dirty Labs line. They are super safe and gentle but get the job done.
Run the cycle – Once the toy is done with the wash-up, remove it right away and air dry. I lay animals on towels and leave in our guest bathroom with a dehumidifier running. This guarantees it dries very quickly without any risk of mildew. I flip it a few hours after removing it, change the towel, and let the process complete. You can also hang to dry by a sturdy limb or ears, but I really advocate that dehumidifier trick if possible.
And what if the toy is not a good candidate for the machine? Handwashing works as effectively if done properly.
Hand Washing the Stuffed Beasts
While not as quick and simple as machine washing, handwashing guarantees the stuffed toy emerges intact and without any damage. To wash away grime and germs most effectively, you will want to:
Soak the Bear - Fill the sink or a good-sized bucket with enough COLD water to submerge the animal.
Choose your detergent – We use commercially available, eco-friendly soaps and products from Kreussler. When we suggest regular consumer products, we always steer people to either the Molly’s Suds line or the Dirty Labs line. For this method, you need only two teaspoons of detergent for every gallon of water.
Video: Julie Kim
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/guides/how-to-clean-stuffed-animals-and-dolls/
Dunk the Bear – This is the trickiest part of handwashing because you’ll need to get enough agitation to lift away dirt and debris, BUT you’ll also need to do so in a way that doesn’t damage the toy. Press down on it and sink beneath the water, squish or scrub gently with your hands, do this a few times on each side and then leave the bear to soak for 15-60 minutes.
Rinse the Bear – Empty the water from the bucket or sink and refill with cold, clean water. Repeat the sinking and scrubbing of step 3 and empty the bucket again (without soaking). Refill and repeat. Finally, before you remove the bear from the water, gently squeeze it into as tight a ball as possible to remove the water, and lift it out. Then gently squeeze limbs and other areas to remove water.
Dry the Bear – This time you will use a few towels to roll up the animal and get out even more water. Then you can lay the animal out on a towel and use the dehumidifier trick. A good fan can also help reduce drying times. The goal is to do it quickly to eliminate any risk of mildew – so get it dried within hours of removing it from the wash.
That’s it – one clean bear or other type of beast all ready for another round of cuddling and adventure. If you are worried about tackling this process, we are always glad to wash stuffies for our customers and can even come by and pick up an entire zoo’s worth of animals with our free home pickup and delivery! Just visit the site today or call the shop to book your visit!