Some Stuff About Doll Washing

  Thanks to everybody who said such nice things about the Kermit ornament. You guys are going to make me conceited! I do appreciate what you said, because I always down everything I make. I'm never satisfied with how anything turns out. I need my confidence boosted.
  Just a note to Raging Moon here. I don't know if you got my email,but the Lee Middleton doll is waiting. If you don't want it, that's fine. Just let me know, so I can make the offer again and someone else can take him. 
  Now! I've had a request, One of our newest readers asked for details of my Doll Spa treatments. So this post is going to cover that. It really isn't any big deal. I'm also sure I do things that are not recommended by experts! So you have been warned!
  Not all dolls are able to be submerged, of course. Some dolls can only take a wipe down,and even then you have to be careful what you use to wipe them with. If a doll,such as a modern or vintage  vinyl or rubber doll, can be actually 'washed',as in, with soap and water',the first thing I do is make sure the water is warm, but not too hot. Warm water cuts the grease and filth. I'm always afraid water that is too hot might damage the paint or even the plastic, or loosen the paint,. If the doll is very dirty, I start with dish soap. Dish soap is made to cut grease and stuck on crud, so it works well on dolls.
 

This mildew covered Tammy from a yard sale washed up quite easily.

That's her in the middle,with the rest of the dolls and some of the clothes that  I got at that yard sale. You can see that post HERE.

If the doll is fairly clean, and just needs a general cleaning, I'll just use the same shampoo I'm going to wash the hair in anyway.
  As for the shampoo, I use the cheap stuff on dolls. I usually use one of the really cheap Suave,VO5,  or White Rain shampoos for normal hair.

I never use the shampoo for oily hair because that Suave 'grease cutter shampoo'  really strips your hair. I only use it on my hair if I've had to skip washing my hair for a day, because it does get oily. But then I have to heavily condition the ends, which are far from my head.
  I wash the doll thoroughly. If there is surface dirt that doesn't come off with a simple wash, I get out the baby toothbrush. You really have to be careful even with a soft baby toothbrush though. Don't use it on vintage Barbie eyes or lips. It's possible to scuff the paint.
  If the dirt is still stubborn I use baking soda for things like vintage Barbie and family bodies and limbs,(But not the face!). I've used baking soda on MANY Skipper legs. Be careful using baking soda. It's mild, but it's still an abrasive. Of course, don't use it on shiny surfaces, like plastic dolls. Never use it on Barbie faces,or other doll faces made of soft material. Also be careful not to use it where there are painted nails,or other painted surfaces. So you can use it on vintage Barbie legs, but not those painted toenails! It works best if you make a paste of baking soda and water, and use that as a scrub on a baby toothbrush.  I find baking soda can be good for scrubbing rubber doll legs too. Just be careful.

This dirty $2.50 Francie from the flea market...

...cleaned up into this pretty girl.(Plus she got some new blush and a lip touch up.) You can see her post HERE for more pictures.

  As I said, I wash the hair with cheap Suave,VO5, or White Rain shampoo. Then I do something I have heard many times that I shouldn't: I condition it with the matching scent of cheap Suave,VO5, or White Rain conditioner. For especially bad hair I use a better quality conditioner, like the one I use on my own hair, Fructis. I know! I'm supposed to use fabric softener! Supposedly human conditioner can build up in the doll hair and make it...gunky. But I don't like fabric softener, and I don't use it on my clothes either. Smells bother me. Some make me cough,or get a sore throat,or even a headache. Most just annoy me. I don't like the smell of fabric softener. It's also more chemical crap that I don't need or want in my life or future ground water. I've had enough cancer scares in the last few years, that I am super wary of artificial scents anyway. (They're highly toxic.) So fabric softener is not going to happen. I haven't had a problem with using human conditioner. I know they say human conditioner doesn't penetrate the artificial fibers of doll hair, and fabric softener works much better. I have done pretty well with what I use though. I make sure the doll hair is drippy-wet. Then I use the conditioner. If the hair is really ratty and tangled,I leave the conditioner in, and comb the hair out. When it's untangled I thoroughly rinse out all the conditioner with warm water. (Conditioner is basically hair oil,so to rise it out you have to use warm water to cut through the grease.) I make sure the hair isn't getting retangled when I rinse the conditioner out. I keep running my fingers through the hair as I rinse it. I usually like to give the hair another run through with the comb once it's rinsed. Then I usually squeeze the hair out, gently, and leave the doll to dry. With some hair I don't even squeeze it out. I just leave it to drip dry. This is for hair that I don't want to lose it's shape,like curly hair,or hair with a nice wave.

This Animator's Collection Merida came from Goodwill. This is before she got the spa treatment. She had dry, matted hair,and green marker 'accents'.

She was a hard save, but she looked at least this much better after her spa day. Even most of the green marker came off with a baking soda scrub. You can see her whole post HERE.

  But what about cloth bodied dolls? I have also heard that you aren't supposed to wash dolls like American Girl because water can become trapped in their plastic limbs and form bacteria. But I have a thing about second hand items. I like them. I have loads of second hand items. As I sit here, I am surrounded by second hand things: fabrics, knick-knacks,dolls,doll furniture,vintage blankets,etc. But I'll tell you one thing: they've all been washed! I am really paranoid about second hand things,and I wash everything I can possibly wash! If something is going to spend it's life in the glass case, I'll let it go if it looks nice. But second hand books get their own book case,and most things get washed. Call me weird. (My family does.) I love old things, so this paranoia makes life difficult sometimes!
  But back to the dolls. I like things sanitized, and spraying it with disinfectant just doesn't do it for me. If I'm selling a doll to someone for their child,I want them to know it's clean and sanitary if that child puts the toy in their mouth. So I wash dolls like American Girl,Bitty Baby etc. The thing about that is, you have to drain them properly. More on that in a minute. 
  I have washed many dolls like that. You may have read my post on washing dolls like that HERE. I don't run them through the wash cycle of the washing machine. I hand wash them in laundry soap,rinse them completely,and then run them through the spin cycle of the machine. The trick to that is,always put the machine on SPIN ONLY, (You don't want the agitator running, and some machines agitate on 'rinse and spin'.), place the doll in a knotted pillow case, and place in the machine FACING the agitator. That may sound like a bad idea, but that insures that when the machine spins the dolls face isn't thrown against the machine. Centrifugal force will throw the doll's back against the outside of the tub,protecting the face. Do this on a very hot,sunny day, and place the dolls outside to dry. The other very important thing to remember is to turn the dolls repeatedly while they're drying. Water gets in the head and limbs. The doll can feel dry until they are moved, and water runs out. And,as mentioned above, you don't want water sitting in their limbs or head and growing bacteria. I usually hang the dolls from the clothesline, or prop the dolls upright,with their arms and legs in the air. Their position is changed over and over until no wet spots show up when they are turned.

These guys are draining on the line. They then sat upright, turned on their heads,and various other tricks, until they were completely drained. You can see their post HERE.

 Do not submerge dolls with metal eyes! Vintage dolls with tin eyes, or plastic eyes with a metal interior can't be washed like this! The metal eyes will rust,leaving you with a very jaundiced looking doll, or worse!
  Dolls that can't be submerged in water can be cleaned using other methods. I have found that baby wipes work very well on dolls like Tutti and friends. (You may have to use a fingernail in the wipe to get off really stubborn dirt on the torso and limbs.) They can leave the doll sticky though, so you may have to go over the doll with a damp cloth afterward to remove the residue. Just make sure it's not much more than damp. Tutti's body and limbs contain wires that you don't want getting wet. They'll rust and ruin your doll. There are ways to clean vintage hard plastic and composition dolls, but I haven't tried them.
  I'm no expert, so keep that in mind. There are many others who know more than I do. Here's an  article to get you started:
How to Clean Vinyl and Hard Plastic Dolls