Cleaning our Girls...

[Candie D]

Hey, okay I just got my Sam and Molly in from an auction that I won last week. They are both premattels and I am sooo excited. They are in really good condition, I think! At least all their problems are fixable ones, like they both need a downy dunk and Sam could use some curls again! Okay, their arms and legs need some overall cleaning, any suggestions. There are not hugh marks or stains or anything of that nature, just over all dust and dirt. I did a search on here and found some suggestions for baking soda? I also have some of the cleaning powder that I got dd for Christmas to go with her new Kit doll. Is that good for this? Also, I am trying to get in touch with twin pines as that was suggested too, in some of the other emails in my search. I was just curious what others had or do use to keep the dolls clean or just for an overall cleaning THANKS!!!!

[TaffyCheerful]

Doll cleaning tips...

BTW, I have found Carol's Miracle Doll Cleaner, offered on eBay and from All About Your Dolls, to work extremely well...

Taffy

[mom_to_an_americangirl]

I acutally pull the heads off, stuff the bodies into a pillowcase, launder on delicate with dreft and then hang them by their toes to dry.

And no, I do not work for the syndicate [img]wink.gif[/img]

It works well.

[ponydreamer]

Actually...the cleansing powder from AG, is baking soda. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I have used and liked Baking soda. The thing I like the best? Ajax dish soap. It's got a de-greaser in it. I just put some on a wet cloth, and scrub the vinyl. I then take another wet cloth, and wipe it off. Sometimes you have to repeat the process. It works very well. I have used it to make a few dolls with dirty vinyl look like new!

I haven't needed to put one in the washer, but I would certainly try it if I needed to.

[MareGathersWords]

Not to sound stupid...though four hours of holiday shopping can do that to a person...how do you use the baking soda? In power form or in a paste?

[MapleLeaf]

I like to use baking soda and water to clean my dolls. I add a couple of tablespoons to about a cup of water and then dip a washcloth into the mixture and clean the dolls. Then I wipe them with plain water after. It does the trick!
Nia [img]smile.gif[/img]

[chauster]

Congrats on your new dolls! I just bought a few pre-mattel dolls off ebay too. They looked clean to me as I bought them in excellent, displayed only condtion. But being the cleanliness nutcase I am, I always wash everything that is not new or when I don't know where they've been. So my favorite method that I find really well with the vinyl limbs is regular old dish detergent and a soft nailbrush. I scrub gently with it and you would not believe the amount of dust and dirt that comes off even when there seemed to have been none! For the face I spray a bit of all purpose kitchen cleaner (I use Safe Science products) onto a paper towel and wipe all around, works wonders! Hope this helps, good luck!

[ponydreamer]

I make a paste, so that it has a little bit of an abrasion affect.

[[email protected]]

I like the washing machine method, and there's pictures in my "Restoration" album. Be sure to use a gentle cycle, though!
Joy

[Candie D]

Hey thanks for all the advice.. I am gonna give it a try. That is funny about the pwdr from AG being baking soda...ha, I was duped! Oh well, my daughter is a cleaning nut (wonder where she gets it from) and I thought she would like to "wash" them with the cute wash clothes and stuff, so I got it! I am working on the hair still and then on to the body! I am having bang issues...ugh!