Cleaning up / How to protect your ponies in the pony-room?

[Wadatsumi]

like many others here i'd like to display my ponies in a special room so they can finally get out of their boxes.

but my personally nemesis is the cleaning up. some of you have hundreds and hundreds of ponies - don't you have any dust-problems?
even if you clean your shelfs and boards every week - the dust also sets down in their hair and on customs maybe if they are still a bit gluey and so on.

i had a few ponies from collectors who displayed them a long time on shelfs and they all had dry and frizzy, dusty and grayish hair.

so i'm afraid of making the next step. do you have any helpful ideas or tricks to protect your ponies from getting so dirty ect.?
how do you best clean your display-rooms up and how often?
[nudging this over to the Pony Corral for you - kiwimlp ]

[Nonnavlis]

Definitely make sure that the places you put the ponies in the pony room are away from direct sunlight. My pony room is the sunniest room in the house, and it's definitely cost me. Display cases that you can fully close-off are also great. Both to deter the touching of people visiting the pony room, and for keeping away dust. Though, dust still gets in there somehow, but not nearly so much as gets on ponies just sitting around on an open shelf.

I've never had issues with dusty manes or dry, graying hair with my girls, even though they've been in a case, uncleaned (Except for a grooming every few years to reset curls), for at least three years now (It may be four...), so I can't offer tips specifically to that, unfortunately. Even my ponies that are out sitting around on shelves don't have any problems except for a swipe of dust along their back. But, those are G3 ponies, so maybe it's different.

[Wadatsumi]

thanks for the advice nonnavlis!

and how often do you clean there???

[Nonnavlis]

The pony room itself does not get cleaned except for a quick vacuum of the carpet every now and again. I don't even do that regularly, though, I'll admit. I don't do a lot in there, so it doesn't accumulate a lot of dirt.

[partypony566]

I agree keep them out of direct sunlight... also it's really important that the room isnt damp where the ponies are 

[lunar_scythe]

a lot of it depends on the area you live in.  Do you have to dust things often, or is a quick swipe every month or so enough to keep it from building up?

Dusting is an everyday thing here if the windows are open at all, so I really limit the number of ponies I have out; if I could have the room for it, I'd put them in a case of some sort to help, but remember any case that is completely sealed will need to have a moisture absorber in it.

[RedheadedBeauty]

If you have bookshelves you  could always pin clear plastic at the top and let it drape to help reduce dust or plexiglass in front of it like doors, just remember to drill holes into it to let the ponies breath.

[sarafina]

I have doors on my display cabinets - it keeps dust out, prevents sun-fading, and also keeps our mischievous kitties from running off with my toys:)

I really like RedHeadedBeauty's idea of putting plexiglass on bookshelves!

[hathorcat]

Yes dusting 600+ ponies is never fun!

I would agree a shadier room is a good idea as is making sure they are not exposed to any kind of humid atmosphere. Other than that, then to keep them in good condition, you will have to dust shelves and brush their hair to make sure they are kept clear of any build up! Unless you manage to get sealed cabinets and even then you are still best doing the  dust and brush!

[Wadatsumi]

thanks for advice!
yeah i think here it is an everyday clean-up thing if the windows are open 

we are surrounded by canola-fields so its not only the daily dust but also the yellow pollen to get rid of.
so for me personally, i should wait for display cabinets with either good doors or some kind of plexiglass.

the room where i'd like displaying is a north-room anyway. direct sunshine never comes through the windows.

i'm happy for those of you who have so little dust-issues 

[Radiance]

I kind of like dusting my ponies. Of course, I have less than 100, so it's not too bad. I use a swiffer duster and just flick it over the ponies & their shelves about once every 2 weeks or so. I also rearrange them and move them about, sort of rotating who gets to be on the best shelves.

[BabyMedley]

I have filled my pony room with glass-door cabinets as that seems to help a lot with dust. I closed the vents in that room, and the windows were boarded up to keep out light (we painted the particle board to match the outside of the house so it wouldn't look as trashy). Other than that I keep the door shut and no one goes in there most of the time to shed their dust all over the place. :-)

[HavACrumpet452]

My pony room does not ever have open windows, its very dry, and there is little movement as I only open the doors when I go in there. My apartment all together is not very dusty at all. No problems here. I wouldn't open the windows and let humidity in the pony room. Climate control is important for any collection.

[ponylovingmomma]

It depends on how much dust your house collects and whether you live in a moist/dry climate. I live in New England and I left my ponies out on open bookcases in my bedroom to display them. My house was very dry and I kept everything clean. However, I lived in a very old house made with horsehair plaster and the dust was ridiculous!! When I separated from my husband and moved out I realized how much damage my ponies went through from being displayed. Moral of the story: Horsehair plaster sucks! lol


I'd definitely recommend a glass/plexiglass display case. Something that you can close. It will protect the ponies from dust. As stated before keep them out of direct sunlight. Also, if you have mold in your house don't display them and make sure they are stored properly. I moved in February and had my ponies stored in a house that has mold. (I didn't know) I just moved last week and went through my ponies to properly store them, lo and behold a quarter of my collection has pin dot.

[RavenWolf]

I made all my shelves and I used clear plastic. Most places that sell crafts or fabric should carry the large rolls of clear plastic in different thicknesses that are sold per yard. I usually buy it from Walmart or Hobby Lobby. Anyway I use the sticky backed velcro strips to attach the plastic to the front of the shelves. After its been hanging for a week or so any wrinkles will work their way out and unless there is a glare from a light source, (which the ponies shouldn't be in the light anyway) you can't even tell the plastics there well looking at them. The velcro makes it easy to remove the plastic to rearrange the ponies.
The pictures a little blurry but as you can see the plastic doesn't really show:
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I even went so far as to build a front panel that I stapled plastic to and attached the panel to the shelf with hinges. makes it even easier to get to the ponies.
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