Cleaning So-Soft ponies--advice?

[LadyMoondancer]

Cleaning So-Softs has always been frustrating for me, because it seems like once their flocking gets dirty, that's it, it's over.  Here was one of my latest attempts--cleaning up a dirty Skippity Doo.

Skippity Doo before:

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Skippity Doo after:

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I used soap, shampoo, and conditioner on her flocking, scrubbing her with a washcloth and toothbrush.  And she did get cleaner in the sense that dirty water was sluicing off her, down the drain.

But at the same time . . . she doesn't look that much better and I still can't see her body color or symbols properly.

Does anyone have any advice for cleaning So-Softs?

Incidentally, the 2nd set (Bangles, etc) seem much easier to clean.

[silverdawn]

Power sprayer nozzle on my sink is the only thing that gets the dirt out... it's like magic!  I really need to start doing some before and after on my restores lol!

[Elisto]

I used a little liquid laundry detergent on one, scrubbed it in with a soft brush and continued to scrub it while rinsing, and it came out really nice, but others have looked terrible and dirty no matter what I did.

[Nimrodel]

I have used Dreft or Woolite to clean my so-softs. 

[Leave a Whisper]

Power sprayer nozzle on my sink is the only thing that gets the dirt out... it's like magic!  I really need to start doing some before and after on my restores lol!

I'll remember that when I finally start adding SSs to my herd.

[ponyqueen]

I remember MoondancerMilkyWay was putting her SS through the washing machine...lol...

I can't remember what worked, but she was doing a lot of experimenting.

ACTUALLY! I remember I had some very good results hydrogen peroxide-fading a dingy Truly!! I don't think I ever posted the results, but it was a dramatic change, even after regular baths with cleansers and shampoos failed to work!

[Lady Starflower]

I scrub with tooth paste and tooth brush, rinse, then shampoo and conditioner.

[Elisto]

Oh, I've used peroxide too! It worked, but not on all the ones I tried it on, and I'm always afraid it will weaken the glue.
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(the difference when dry was not actually as dramatic as it looks here since the dirt/dinginess didn't show as much when dry to begin with, and some of the difference is due to the flocking coming off as well)

[hathorcat]

I tend to tread with a lot of caution when it comes to so softs. Its so hard to know if the glue is going to be stubborn or whether it will have weakened over the years (not to mention that different pressure points are often susceptible to loosing their flocking even when you have the most stubborn of glue on the rest of the body).

I go with a body massage of toothpaste and baking soda - left for a while (although keeping it damp) and then rinsing with warm but tepid water. Repeat a few times. I find it tends to work although I have to repeat the process occasionally.

[ponyqueen]

Found my pics! Had planned on posting in a tutorial, probably will if I ever get the time... but anyhow here are the results:

*Sunfading in Hydrogen Peroxide bath (1/4 HP, 3/4 water). Duration- like a couple days?

Truly Before Sunfading in HP bath: (In this picture she had already been washed alternatively with shampoo, probably whitening toothpaste, and oxiclean. She was still this dingy.)

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Truly After Sunfading in HP bath: (Much better! There is still a little "five o'clock shadow" of dinge from her eye to ear where her head bobbed out of solution while bathing. Notice her muzzle is a touch whiter than the fur around her eye- her muzzle was still submerged. Important to keep entire pony weighted down in solution for even fading! Hair was tin-foil wrapped to prevent fading of mane and tail.)

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As you can see- the Before Truly was a deflock candidate. After Truly is ready for the salon and display shelf!!! (Well, a little touch up fading on face...)

*Notice: no flocking loss was observed on this pony!

[Elisto]

Hm, I tried sunfading a Truly without the peroxide, and the glue turned yellow, so I guess if anyone else tries this, be careful.

[shabbychicdee]

i will be trying a lofty soon, not sure which option to take.
doesn't any of these roughen up the flocking and thin it?

[daffodil101]

That Truly is lovely, Ponyqueen!

[Katika]

I've always used OxyClean dissolved into hot water that I let cool back to room temperature (the hot water seems to help it dissolve better).  I try to do most of my scrubbing with my finger tips and use a soft bristle toothbrush for the parts that I catch myself wanting to use my nails on.  There are some SSs (my Twist is this way for sure) that no matter how clean I get them, I still can't see their symbols clearly underneath their flocking, and I wonder if it's just how some of them came off the card?  I don't remember that far back, but it might make sense that some of them came out with denser flocking or thicker glue?