Oxyclean

[Gator]

I'm attempting to clean my first so-softs.  Can oxyclean get on the hair?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Oxyclean is a great way to DEFLOCK if the glue is loose.  ESP with hot water.

Avoid that chartreuse colour like what Surprise and Ribbon have!!! It'll just leak and bleed all over the pony...

[Gator]

Oops, I was trying oxyclean to get lipstick off this really nice Twilight and a Buttons.  I was afraid to scrub to hard and lose flocking.  So I don't think I hurt the flocking, but sadly the lipstick did not come off.  I hate how nice Twilight is and I can't fix her.  A baby Starbow in the same lot had lipstick too.  Magic eraser worked on her.

[Baby Sugarberry]

Oxyclean is a great way to DEFLOCK if the glue is loose.  ESP with hot water.
Avoid that chartreuse colour like what Surprise and Ribbon have!!! It'll just leak and bleed all over the pony...

Neon orange and red too, and possibly some of the other colours. 

Oxyclean is NOT a safe choice for cleaning ponies, especially so-softs!  It's a harsh set of nasty chemicals that have a bunch of adverse reactions and we also don't know if there are any long-term consequences.  I wouldn't use it on anything but hopelessly filthy (mould, other biological contaminants) or bait ponies.  Magic Eraser is just a very fine sandpaper, also can be destructive if used indiscriminately.

(Why do people insist on using Oxy as their first choice these days?  Whatever happened to good ol' dishsoap and water?)

[Gator]

I'm sorry, I've been reading so many tutorials and watching so many videos, I thought one said to soak stained so softs in oxyclean.  I hope I haven't damaged them, I tried to rinse really well.

[achab1984]

I have lots of good luck with dish soap and a child's super soft toothbrush!   I use the wal mart brand of Dawn and it works great! I go in circle motions on the pony and don't push hard. I let it sit while I work on other ponies. I let it sit on the pony for a few minutes and then rinse it off under cold water! Don't use hot or warm on SS ponies. If its still dirty do it a second time.

[Baby Sugarberry]

I'm sorry, I've been reading so many tutorials and watching so many videos, I thought one said to soak stained so softs in oxyclean.  I hope I haven't damaged them, I tried to rinse really well.

Oh that doesn't surprise me, you probably did - there's a lot of partial or just plain bad information out there, and well-meaning folks who offer advice without the relevant safety precautions or caveats.  I mean people *still* try to nuke age spots with peroxide and Oxy and even bleach (Yikes!), and think that it spreads like the common cold, despite common sense proving that it just doesn't work that way.  And that we've likely lumped a whole host of different problems under the umbrella term 'age spots'. 

Almost as bad as the feather-heads who endorse using nail polish to make custom ponies. 

So.  So-Softs.

Let's talk about these lovely ladies.  They're middling-difficult to deal with correctly, and take a very gentle hand.   You'll want to first figure out how tenacious your so-soft's glue is.  Some of them cling like barnacles, others you look at them sideways and they shed like a dry christmas tree.  Usually this can be ascertained by handling and inspection.  Do you see little clear bits of fuzzy fibres if you rub the flocking with your fingers? Look carefully, because it's easy to miss, the flocking is transparent.  If so, you may not want to try cleaning the pony at all, or you can accept the fact they're likely to lose a bit of plushiness in the process. 

If the flocking seems solid, soap and water is the go-to.  Preferably the head's loose and you can disassemble the pony for cleaning, but if not - for the love of pony feathers - don't soak them!  Getting every bit of water out of a sealed pony is a task and a half (I'm not even sure it's possible.)  Soap up with hand-soap and maybe brush with an old/soft toothbrush.  Gently, like you're applying make-up to your face.  Do not use hot water, and most people hesitate to even go with warm.  I use room temperature or cold. Rinse.  Allow to dry, preferably by hanging up the pony in such a way that the flocking isn't crushed down.  Don't lay on the side or something like that, she'll end up with weird smushed fur at that spot.  Now's also a good time to clean the mane/tail and condition.  Oftentimes a lot of the 'dirt' on so-softs are little bits of stray fibre they've picked up over the years.  You can see it more clearly with a magnifying glass.  Some of this can be brushed out with a fine soft brush, but only once the pony is fully dry.  Otherwise you again risk pulling off flocking.   

I've had very limited success with so-softs that are heavily worn - when the flocking is gone, the dirt sort of sticks into the glue and gets really hard to budge.

Edited to Add:

Generally Safe if used Gently
- Toothpaste, non-whitening, preferably without dyes.
- Dish soap, the kind for hand-washing, NOT for dishwasher appliances.
- Shampoo / Conditioner. 

Things that Should Be Avoided:
- Peroxide / Oxyclean - harsh.  Known to damage certain hair colours and finishes.   Boiling in Oxyclean is sometimes used to deflock ponies permanently.
- Alcohol.  Can dissolve the flocking glue, though it's slow.
- Acetone. Dissolves flocking glue, paint, and other things, faster than alcohol.  Nasty stuff.
- Abrasives.  Think pumice soap or magic eraser or sandpaper.  Will take out flocking but not the glue.
- Bleach.  Yellows glues, plastics, very harsh.

NEVER EVER EVER.
- Acne Cream

[Sky_Rocket_Sammie]

I have two manky So Softs headed my way I want to deflock. Can using Oxy to deflock make Shady's hair color run or fade? I've heard plenty about Ribbon and Surprise,not so much about Shady. If Oxy is a no go because of the hair I'll use another method.

Also, can it help get rid of marker as in Crayola markers marks? 

[Gator]

Thank you Baby Sugarberry.  I appreciate the help. 

[Baby Sugarberry]

I have two manky So Softs headed my way I want to deflock. Can using Oxy to deflock make Shady's hair color run or fade? I've heard plenty about Ribbon and Surprise,not so much about Shady. If Oxy is a no go because of the hair I'll use another method.

Also, can it help get rid of marker as in Crayola markers marks?

Shady has the same neon-chartruse hair colour as Surprise and Ribbon - it will react to Oxyclean.  Unlike pony vinyl bodies, the nylon hair was much more standardized.  Oxy won't take out marker marks or anything that isn't a surface issue.  For penetrating stains, the only effective method (so far) is sunfading, which has its own risks and problem ponies that shouldn't be treated.

Thank you Baby Sugarberry.  I appreciate the help. 

You did good - always best to ask before you dive into something new.  Profit from everyone else's hard won knowledge, and don't repeat the mistakes!   

[LadyMoondancer]

The 2nd set of So-Softs (which Twilight beongs too) has different flocking than the first set.  It's shorter, less fluffy, closer to the body.

I had a SS Bangles who was filthy and she cleaned up extremely well with regular shampoo / conditioner (Dawn would probably work too) under high pressure water (a shower head.)  This method NEVER worked on 1st set So-Softs, but Bangles was near mint afterwards.

It sounds like you're dealing with something more than dirt, so I don't know exactly what will work on Twilight, but my general point is that something that is effective on Buttons or Wind Whistler may not work on SS Twilight, and vice versa.  I would have a go at just soaping her up and blasting her with water and see what happens.  (If your showerhead doesn't have a high pressure setting then you could put your finger over the end of a garden hose to spray her.)

[Baby Sugarberry]

I had a SS Bangles who was filthy and she cleaned up extremely well with regular shampoo / conditioner (Dawn would probably work too) under high pressure water (a shower head.)  This method NEVER worked on 1st set So-Softs, but Bangles was near mint afterwards.

I'd wager you had a ton of stray fibres in your Bangles, which was making her look dirty.  That'd explain why soap and water pressure got rid of it.

[Sky_Rocket_Sammie]

Thanks for the information Baby Sugarberry.  You've saved a pony and wasted time for me.