by Breidi Caparatta

Created on: February 17, 2009

If you happen to be a collector of stuffed animals, or just need some tips and advice of how to take care of stuffed animals, look no further! I have been collecting stuffed animals since I was a baby. My very first teddy bear has been part of my collection since the day I was born. Though I am partial to bears, the tips and advice I will share with you work on most all types of stuffed animals.

Basic care of stuffed animals begins when you bring them home. If you have a stuffed animal you want to keep nice, it is a good idea to display it in an area of your home where there is little dust. Layers of dust can dramatically change the color and appearance of a stuffed animal. If you paid a lot of money for the stuffed animal, a glass display case may be your best bet for maintaining the original color and appearance.

Another good tip for taking care of stuffed animals is to avoid storing or displaying them in direct sunlight. After periods of contact with direct sunlight, the color of the stuffed animal may fade in places and damage the original beauty. Once the stuffed animal suffers sun damage, there is no way to bring it back to its original luster.

Removing dirt spots from a stuffed animal is not as hard as you may think in most cases. The best way to remove spots is with a warm wet wash cloth and soap, preferably dawn liquid soap. Add a few drops of soap to the wash cloth and gently scrub the dirt spot on the stuffed animal. You can add more water and soap until the spot is clear. Take a dry towel and blot afterwards to remove any excess water left behind. You can also use a hair dryer for faster drying of the stuffed animal.

If a stuffed animal is too dirty and requires a thorough washing, you can put stuffed animals in the washing machine. The best way to do this is to tie the stuffed animal in an empty pillow case and wash on a cold water delicate setting. Use a bleach free washing powder. After the washing machine cycle ends, immediately remove the stuffed animal and place on an air fluff dryer cycle. You may choose to hang the stuffed animal out to dry. You can always use a quick five minute air fluff just to bring it back to life.

Many people collect stuffed animals and have no idea what the proper cleaning methods are. After reading this, I hope it has lead to a better understanding of how to properly clean stuffed animals.

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