5 tips for cleaning and washing soft toys – cleaning soft toys at home

Soft toys are constant companions of children. And not just children – even many adults have a passion for collecting teddy dogs, bears or pink ponies. All these toys are good – cute, soft, creating coziness. Only now the dust is quickly collected. This is what mothers call soft toys (especially those huge bears that occupy a good half of the room) – dust collectors.

Do I need to wash them? Definitely yes! At least once every 3 months.

And how to do it right, we’ll figure it out now …

The content of the article:

Dry cleaning of soft bears and bunnies at home

The method is suitable for small toys:

• We take a large plastic bag.
• We put a toy in it.
• Fill in the same classic baking soda or starch (for 2-3 medium toys – ½ cup).
• We tie the bag tightly and shake vigorously for a couple of minutes.
• We take out the toy and shake off the soda along with the dirt with a dry brush.

Vacuum large toys carefully, changing the usual wide attachment to a special one for upholstered furniture. If it is possible to change the suction mode, lower its level so as not to accidentally “suck” the eyes, noses and other details.

See also: Toys that keep children under 3 years old for a long time. Mom is resting – the child is playing

How to wash soft toys with foam?

For felt toys:

• Lather the cloth with baby soap.
• We squeeze out to the maximum, thoroughly wipe all contaminated areas.
• We take a clean cloth, soak it in clean water (without soap), wring it out, clean the toy again.
• We spread the toy on the windowsill (dryer) until it is completely dry.

For toys with glued parts (noses, eyes, bows, etc.) and balls inside:

• Put water in a small bowl.
• Pour in baby shampoo and beat until a thick, high foam is formed.
• We collect foam on a sponge and start cleaning the toy, trying not to completely wet it.
• Wipe with a barely damp cloth.
• Blot with a terry towel.
• Dry by spreading the toy on a linen cloth, or put it on a battery.
• Gently comb the plush wool with a brush.

If yellow spots appear on the toy (these appear from time to time), then before cleaning, pour lemon juice on the spot and dry it in the sun.

Hand wash soft toys – how to do it right?

Little toys, which dry quickly, lend themselves to hand wringing and do not have an abundance of small parts, can be washed by hand in the following way:

• Pour warm water into a bowl.
• Lather the toys with baby soap and leave them soaked for 10 minutes.
• If necessary, we reach it with a brush (and if the texture of the toy allows).
• We rinse the toys, wring them out, hang them to dry, put them on a battery or “spread them out” on a dryer under the sun.

And remember a few rules for washing toys:

• Toys filled with balls (anti-stress and for the development of fine motor skills) can only be cleaned using the wet cleaning method. It is strongly not recommended to wash them in the machine: even at first glance, strong seams can come apart during the washing process. As a result, you can spoil both the toy and the car.
• If you have batteries (musical toys), first carefully open the seam and take out the batteries. Sew up again (with a large stitch so that the filler does not fall out), wash in the most suitable way, dry. Then we put the batteries in place and sew again.
• Before washing, we treat greasy stains on toys with a sponge dipped in regular medical alcohol or with a dishwashing detergent.
• Toys made of knitwear and velor (without accessories, balls, batteries and plastic parts) can be machine washed by packing them in a special net designed for washing delicate items of clothing. As for the bows, hats and other similar details sewn to the toy, they will also remain in the net if they come off.
• Do not wash / clean toys with chemical agents. Only baby shampoo or baby / laundry soap.
• After cleaning / washing, the toy should be rinsed / cleaned well so that no soap, powder or soda remains on it.
• Not all musical toys can be “stuffed”. There are also options where the musical blocks stretch along the entire length, including the legs and head of the toy. In this case, it is simply impossible to pull out the unit without damaging the product. Therefore, the cleaning method is only dry or wet.

Do not forget to regularly process all toys with a special germicidal lamp.

See also: The best educational toys for children 2-5 years old – rating of educational toys

All about machine washing soft toys at home

Rules for machine washable toys:

• Be sure to study the tag on the toy. Not all are machine washable.
• We check the toy for the presence of musical blocks, batteries, ball fillers, loose seams. We take out everything that can be pulled out.
• We put the toy in a special grid.
• We wash in the delicate mode.
• We use only baby powder!
• Increase the number of rinses by at least 1 rinse.
• The water temperature is not higher than 30 degrees. If there is a risk that dust mites are already in the toy – from 60 degrees (after studying the label!).
• Do not wring out the toy in the car, so as not to damage it and keep its shape. We just drain the water and “wring out” the toy itself with a terry towel.
• We dry toys in a suspended state or on a battery, if there is no such function in the machine. We dry knitted toys only in a horizontal position.

How to get rid of soft toys from ticks with the help of frost

If your toys are so old that they still remember your prom, then you can rest assured that dust mites live in them. Do not panic, do not rush to throw them out of the window – the cold will help to cope with ticks!

• We wash small toys at temperatures above 60 degrees.
• If you can’t wash, put it in a bag and put it in the freezer overnight. Or even two – for fidelity.
• We take out a large toy to the balcony, vacuum it thoroughly and leave it in the frost for a night or two. If it’s far from winter, put the toy in the closet – the child should absolutely not play with a toy teeming with dust mites.

Don’t “run” toys. Regular cleaning and washing of toys will not only preserve their appearance, but, most importantly, the health of your child.