Soft toys are items that quickly accumulate dust and dirt, so they must be cleaned and disinfected regularly. It is better to do this several times a month. The complexity of this process is that not all toys can be washed. Many models need to be cleaned manually. This applies to both large-sized products and toys that are complemented by a music block. Therefore, you need to choose the right tool to perform this important task. The following article will tell you how to clean soft toys at home.
Basic rules
There are important requirements to consider before cleaning:
- Large soft toys are best handled with soda or foam. However, they can be disinfected by any means (for example, using a steam generator).
- Some plush toys will need to be washed by hand. If this is not taken into account, they will simply deteriorate during the washing process.
- Toys with a built-in music block must first be disassembled and the electronic mechanism removed from them. But as a rule, to removefrom the surface of these products of stains and dirty marks, the dry method is applied.
- Before cleaning a soft toy at home, you need to see what material it is filled with. If it is a synthetic winterizer or polyurethane foam, contaminated areas will have to be removed manually with foam or soda. In addition, these products are often decorated with zippers, buttons, bows, etc., which can fall off due to machine washing.
- Yellow stains are recommended to be removed with lemon juice diluted with a little water.
Cleaning in the washing machine
This is the easiest and best way to clean a soft toy at home. However, you should first check the tag for recommendations, as not all plushies are machine washable. In addition, you need to check the quality of the toy. If there are holes or the seams have parted, they must be sewn up with dense threads. To clean a soft toy, you need to follow this instruction:
- Put the product in a special washing bag for shedding clothes and place it in the drum of an automatic machine.
- Pour baby powder into a special compartment. The main thing is that it does not contain zeolites, phosphates and other harmful substances.
- Select the delicate wash mode, without spinning and with an extra rinse. The water temperature should not exceed 30 °C, so dust mites will not die in this case.
- Wipe the toy with a towel and wait until it dries completely.
- Combfibrous cover (lint) with a clothes brush.
If the soft product is faded or discolored as a result, then it must have been washed by hand. But maybe it's just made from poor quality materials.
Hand wash
Many soft faux fur items should not be washed in a washing machine. Therefore, you will have to clean the toys manually with professional preparations. To protect your hands from the negative effects of harmful substances, all actions must be carried out with rubber gloves. Housewives came up with an effective way to clean a soft toy without a washing machine:
- Pour into a bowl, sink or other container of warm water.
- Add powder or special gel to clean baby clothes.
- Dip a soft toy into the container and wait approximately 15 minutes.
- Wipe dirty areas with a microfiber cloth or damp cloth.
- Rinse the toy in water several times so that it is cleared of any remaining gel or powder particles.
- Wring out the soft product and wipe it with a terry towel.
- Put the toy in a warm and well-ventilated place and wait until it dries.
However, greasy places should be treated with a special degreasing compound (for example, baby dishwashing detergent) or ethyl alcohol. As a result, the treated areas should be wiped with a brush, rinse the toy and put it to dry on the table, because in suchposition, it does not deform.
Cleaning soft musical toy
This product is recommended to be treated with a harmless antimicrobial agent. Housewives use a simple way to clean a soft toy equipped with a music block at home:
- Vacuum thoroughly.
- Hold the toy under a quartz lamp, which will destroy harmful microorganisms.
- Dip a clean cloth with toy cleaner.
- Treat contaminated areas and finally wipe them with a dry towel.
If the described option is not suitable, before cleaning a soft toy in a home washing machine, you will have to pull out the musical mechanism from the product. Solving this problem is easy:
- Get a part that manufacturers have in a special pocket.
- If there is no such secret place, then the mechanism is sewn into the product. In this case, you need to carefully cut the seam from the bottom or back with scissors.
- Pull out the music block.
- Sew up the hole with threads.
- Wash the toy.
- Wait until the product dries and rip it again.
- Insert the mechanism inside and sew it up, pulling together the edges of the fabric.
If the music block cannot be removed, you will need to clean the surface of the toy with baby gel and shampoo.
Using baking soda
It's safe and versatilea method by which you can clean a soft toy without washing. To remove stains with soda, follow these simple steps:
- Place the soiled toy in a plastic bag of a suitable size and fill it with half a glass of baking soda to absorb dirt and grease.
- Release excess air from the bag and tie it with a rope so that the contents do not spill out.
- Shake it for 10 minutes. If the toy has been heavily soiled, it should be left in the bag for an hour.
- Remove the product and vacuum its surface.
- Take the toy outside.
You can use potato starch instead of baking soda.
Cleaning a large soft toy
This product will not fit in the washing machine, and soaking it in a basin or sink is a bad idea. Don't worry too much, though, as there are many good ways to clean a large soft toy:
- vacuum cleaner;
- foam;
- baking soda;
- upholstery cleaner containing harmless substances;
- lemon juice diluted with water.
Using the last resort, it will be possible to remove old yellow spots. To make foam for cleaning a large toy, you need to mix liquid baby soap with water. However, you should first remove the dust with a brush from a soft product. Next, apply the foam to the contaminated areas with a sponge and clean them with a damp cloth. At the end, the treated areas must be wiped dry.towel.
If you need to clean a soft toy from dust, as a rule, a vacuum cleaner is used for this purpose. The rules for brushing are simple:
- install a furniture cleaning nozzle instead of a regular wide brush;
- set low suction power;
- Places with small parts (eyes, nose, etc.) should be vacuumed carefully.
Disinfection Methods
Destroy dust mites that accumulate on toys at least once a month. To disinfect the product, use a steam generator and an ultraviolet lamp. Bacteria can be killed by washing toys in water that is over 60°C. Also, dust mites can't stand extreme cold.
If you have a steam generator at home, it is enough to treat toys with hot steam once to kill harmful bacteria.
Conclusion
The article discussed in detail the popular ways to clean a soft toy at home. For these purposes, both conventional folk remedies and special preparations are used. The main thing is that they are harmless, because toxic substances can harm a person. Therefore, it is necessary to responsibly solve the problem of cleaning toys.
However, in this article, there are good ways to quickly clean soft items of any size using baking soda or foam.
