You’ve probably noticed! Ever since your baby got his cuddly toy, he’s never been without it. He carries it with him wherever he goes: to the crèche, to the park, on trips and, of course, on his bed.
Your little one loves cuddling his cuddly toy, loves playing with it and sometimes even chews on it. Isn’t that cute?
Of course it is! However, before letting your baby suck and cuddle his little companion, at least make sure it’s clean.
Soft toys are a veritable nest of germs. By following your child everywhere, they end up accumulating dust, dust mites, bacteria… all parasites that could harm your baby’s health.
So as soon as you notice that your plushie is changing colour or giving off a strange smell, don’t wait any longer! Wash the plush immediately. How do I do it?
That’s what we’re going to tell you in this article.
But before we get to the heart of the matter, here’s some practical information you need to know about cleaning a plush toy.
Washing your plush: a few things you need to know beforehand!
When and how often should you wash your child’s soft toy?
The most important rule is never to wait until your plushie is in a bad state before washing it.
To keep your baby’s cuddly toy hygienically clean, wash it at least once a month, or even more often if your baby often goes outdoors with it.
This frequency of washing is necessary to ensure that your baby’s plush toy is kept clean, and to reduce the risk of your baby being infected by a microbe.
Has your baby let his toy fall on the floor and now it’s covered in mud? Or perhaps he’s put it too close to his little runny nose?
In these cases, it’s best not to wait until next month to put it in the washing machine. Clean the cuddly toy straight away to avoid the risk of baby getting sick from it.
Also, if baby hasn’t played with a particular cuddly toy for a long time, you should wash it well before giving it back to him.
The same goes for the place where you store your child’s toys. It should be kept clean at all times.
How do you separate baby and cuddly toy without causing a drama?
No matter how dirty his cuddly toy is, baby won’t want to part with it. But for the sake of his health and well-being, he will have to! So it’s up to you to separate them. But not just any old way!
To make sure baby doesn’t have a hard time with this short separation, here are a few methods that work:
- You’ve already thought about this situation before and anticipated it by buying two copies of his favourite cuddly toy? That’s very clever! All you have to do now is give her the other one while you clean up the first.
- But if you don’t have a second copy of his favourite cuddly toy to give him, that’s okay! You can always wash his toy when baby has gone to nursery or when he’s asleep. But in this case, be careful to take into account the drying time. Baby could quickly realise that the toy is a fake.
- You can also take advantage of your child’s bath time to clean his cuddly toy. You can then explain to your little one that his cuddly toy has also been in the bath.
In short, there’s no shortage of ideas for separating baby and cuddly toy. If you come up with something better than the ones we’ve put forward, don’t hesitate! After all, you know your child better than anyone. You’ll be able to come up with the best idea for separating your child from their cuddly toy without chaos.
The right reflexes to have before starting to wash a cuddly toy
Finally, you’ve managed to take your child’s cuddly toy away. Now you’ve got a few hours to wash it. Although baby will be impatient to get it back, it’s best to take your time and not rush.
Cleaning a cuddly toy to remove dirt is one thing. Cleaning it without damaging it is another.
Before you start cleaning your little one’s stuffed toy, always take the time to check the label. Why do you ask?
- Firstly, because some stuffed toys are not washable. If you put it in the machine without taking this detail into account, you could damage the cuddly toy. And needless to say, that would be a shame for your child, who loves it so much. He’ll be really sad to see his faithful companion damaged.
- But also because some cuddly toys can be washed in the machine and others can’t. Take a few seconds to read the label on the cuddly toy. Taking a few seconds to read the label will tell you which cleaning methods are suitable for your soft toy. This information is usually given on the label.
The 3 methods generally used to clean a soft toy
There are several techniques for cleaning a soft toy. They can be divided into three main categories: machine washing, dry cleaning and hand washing.
Machine washing
This method is simple, quick and effective. Unfortunately, it’s not suitable for all types of plush. So to make sure that your child’s cuddly toy is machine-washable, check the label first.
Do you have confirmation?
Then all that’s left to do is put the cuddly toy in the washing machine. But before going any further, here are a few more things to check:
- The seams of the plush: make sure they’re in good condition. If they’re not, the stuffing could come out when you put it in the washing machine.
- The weather: after washing, the teddy should ideally be dried in the sun. If the weather doesn’t allow this, it’s best to postpone washing the plush until later.
If all is well, you can move on to the next stage: gathering the materials and products you need to clean the teddy. These include
- A pillowcase or laundry net or sheet or towel to protect the plush;
- A special liquid wool detergent or a few drops of shampoo to effectively remove dirt;
- A fabric softener to preserve the softness of the plush;
- A brush to comb the plush back into its original state after drying.
Once everything is ready, you can now get down to business by following these simple steps:
- step1: slip the plush into a pillowcase, laundry net, sheet or towel.
- step2: Pour in a little liquid detergent, then add the fabric softener.
- step3: wrap the stuffed toy tightly in the pillowcase and place it in the drum.
- step4: As plush toys don’t tolerate too much heat, set the washing machine to a low temperature. 30°C will be sufficient! The spin speed should also be low, ideally between 400 and 500 rpm.
- step 5: Take the plush out of the washing machine and dry it in the sun, keeping it wrapped in a towel.
Good to know if the cuddly toy is in poor condition, it’s best to wash it cold. In other words, set the temperature to 0°C. The same goes for the spin cycle, which should be as low as possible, or even zero.
Finally, now that the plush wash is finished and your little one’s toy is clean and dry, all that’s left to do is brush it a few times and it’ll be as good as new.
Here, however, it’s best to use a cardboard brush. But if you have a soft hairbrush, that can also do the trick.
Dry cleaning
Have you bought your child a big cuddly toy? It’s sure to be filled with cuddles and tenderness. There is, however, one small drawback often associated with this type of cuddly toy. It has to do with maintenance.
A big cuddly toy will never fit in a washing machine. It will also take a lot of time and effort to wash by hand.
So how do you clean a large plush?
So far, dry cleaning remains the best solution. This method allows you to clean the cuddly toy without getting it wet. And it’s quite practical for eliminating dust mites. So how do you go about it?
Here are a few frequently used methods:
- Cleaning plush with bicarbonate and flour
Start by mixing 2/3 bicarbonate and 1/3 flour in a bag. Then put the dirty lint in the bag. Now shake it so that it mixes well. Wait about 5 hours before removing the lint from the bag. Shake it again to remove the mixture. Finally, brush everything clean.
- Cleaning plush with dry shampoo
Take some dry shampoo and dust the plush with it. Then knead it with your hands and leave it to rest for an hour or so. Then shake the toy to get rid of the powder. Finally, gently brush the fur to remove all traces of shampoo.
- Cleaning plush with potatoes
This is a fairly old method, but it’s still an effective way of cleaning and caring for a stuffed toy. What’s more, it’s very simple! All you have to do is apply the potato pulp to the soft toy to be cleaned, leave it to rest overnight and then brush it off.
Note that this is not an exhaustive list of dry lint cleaning methods. There are many more. And our article on how to clean a plush that can’t be put in the washing machine will show you some of them.
Hand washing
Finally, you can also wash your little one’s plush by hand. But once again, you’ll need to check the label to see whether or not the toy can be washed in this way.
If it is, then here’s how you can proceed:
- First, prepare the basin by pouring in lukewarm water
- Then add a mild cleaning product. Here, a few drops of shampoo may be enough.
- Now place the plush in the basin and gently rub the stained areas with a soft brush.
- Then rinse the plush with clean water to remove any traces of shampoo or cleaning product.
- Finally, gently wring out any absorbed water, then dry the plush in the sun.
Conclusion on how to clean a soft toy
Soft toys are an inseparable companion for your child. They form an emotional bond with them that’s hard to break. Your little one loves cuddling and kissing his cuddly toy. However, this could lead to illness or allergies, as these toys are not always clean.
To make sure your baby doesn’t get sick from prolonged contact with his cuddly toy, it’s vital to clean them regularly. By hand, machine, dry… there are lots of different ways to wash plush toys. It’s up to you to find the one that’s best for your baby’s cuddly toy!