Washing Stuffies

Lately, I've been noticing that my daughters' stuffies have been getting rather dirty.  I've washed several loads of stuffies over the past few days so I figured I would share my tips on successfully washing your child's stuffed animals.

Qualifications:

• The toy cannot have any electronics in it (obviously).  In some unlikely cases, the electronic component can be totally removed and then it would be safe to wash.
• The toy cannot have any odd accessories attached to it.  I try to be careful if it has felt on it.  Also, my girls have several My Little Pony plushies with hair that I do not think would wash well.  Washing stuff with yarn is also probably not a good idea.  Ribbons and things like cat whiskers are fine.  
• Most stuffed toys and beanie babies can be washed without a problem.  

Preparation

• Make sure that your toy qualifies for washing.
• Thoroughly check the toys for any rips in the plush and fix them before washing.

Washing

• Smaller to medium sized toys should be washed in pillowcases.  Put 2-4 toys per pilllowcase.  Do not try to stuff the pillowcase full of stuffies!
• Try to keep any toys separate that might bleed (i.e. red and pink toys).
• Larger toys (pillow sized) can generally be thrown directly into the washer.
• Pretreat any major stains with your favorite pretreater.
• You may wash several pillowcases at once but I would keep the load small.
• Knot the open end of the pillowcase to secure the animals inside.  Use a zippered pillowcase if you have one.
• Add a small amount of detergent to the washer.  I use Tide with Febreze (makes them smell wonderful).  A gentle detergent like Woolite would also work.  Use less than the smallest amount indicated on the detergent measuring cup.
• Wash the pillowcases/toys in cold water on the gentle cycle.  Remove promptly when done.

Drying

• I normally open the pillowcases to make sure that nothing has gone wrong during washing before drying.  Re-knot the pillowcase if you do this.
• Dry the pillowcases/toys on low heat.

When you are done, you should have nice, clean smelling stuffies.

I would not recommend doing this to anything "collectible" or anything that is in danger of falling apart.