Learning The Basics Of Stuffed Animal Care And Cleaning
Stuffed animals are more than just something you can treat like decoration for your bed. Stuffed animals are sort of sponges for sentiment. It takes a true cynic to be able to look at a teddy bear or a sock monkey and not feel a touch of empathy for the little guy. Technically, it’s just cloth and stuffing, but to the child in all of us, stuffed animal care takes more than just regular washing.
As with keeping any pet, stuffed or not, you can’t be a responsible plush animal owner without actually putting in the time and energy to give your animals everything they deserve. You need to keep them clean, you need to keep them happy, and you need to keep them fed… Well, clean and happy, at least.
Bathing Them
You’re taking a risk just throwing them in with your shirts. You want to wash them in cold water to prevent shrinking, and then dry them out with a blow dryer to make absolutely certain they’re not going to get any mildew from the inside out. Some stuffed animals are dryer safe, but even so, you want to dry them out with the blow dryer just to make sure they get nice and thoroughly dry. Once a plus starts mildewing, there’s nothing you can do about it, it’ll always have that funky odor.
Mending
When they get little rips and tears, don’t panic, just keep your sewing kit handy. You want some needles and some threads of various colors. Make sure you have some threads that match. You may also want to keep some fresh, fluffy stuffing handy. When the stuffed animal gets a little older, the stuffing is likely to get all battered and ratty, so you’ll want to open them up along the longest seam, and then pull the old stuffing out carefully and refill it with new stuffing.
Proper Storage
Hopefully, you never have to stuff your little buddies into a closet or a bag, but if you wind up having to move or if you take a trip or just need to put them in storage for a little while, you do have some options to store them safely and efficiently. First of all, don’t store them in a way that exposes them to the elements. Keep them in a cool, dry place if possible. They’re not perishable, but they are susceptible to humidity. So put them in one of those storage tubs or a vacuum bag. Don’t just leave them in a cardboard box in the tool shed.
Play With Them!
A stuffed animal that doesn’t get any love is just a pillow with arms and legs. If you want your little buddies to have value, the truth is that they only have as much value as you put into them. So make sure to play with them from time to time, don’t just put them on your bed and leave them there. Take care of them and CARE for them.
It’s a fact that stuffed animals care takes much more than just regular washing. Check out our great online guide to jumbo plush care for the inside skinny .
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