Stupid mice got into my ponies!

[BlueChaos]

I was getting ready to put my new finds into the Rubbermaid tote with my other ponies, when I found a mouse or three made a home in there. My ponies are disgusting! There was no chew damage, but mouse droppings and urine all over the place! The fact that I'm allergic to mice isn't really helping my sinus issues either.

What are some good products to use to clean up my ponies, and to restore my formerly white beauties back to their former glory?


I hate meeces to pieces.

[RedheadedBeauty]

*hugs* Sorry about that mice are a pain sometimes I had some chew up my electric blanket this year. *gurr* I would give them a really good bath and wash their hair with shampoo and conditioner. You could always give them a really hot bath but I would remove their heads first. Boil some water and put it in a plastic bowl and let them sit one at a time in the water for a few minutes. You might want to and some bleach or oxyclean. Make sure you let them dry really good. Best of luck hopefully nothing is ruined. 

[BlueChaos]

What should I wash them in? Is antibacterial hand soap ok?

[Rococo]

Hopefully those mice haven't caused any lasting damage to your poor ponies! It's a good thing they didn't chew up any of them... I had a rat who called my home its home for a few weeks once years ago and it would always chew a hole through my dog's dry dog food that was still in the plastic bag and chow down... 

[lochnessmomster]

You should get that cat in your profile pic to go after 'em, lol.  On a serious note, however, I am so sorry to hear about your ponies.  Surprising, too, considering they were in a Rubbermaid tote (presumably with lid)!  We had something similar happen with an old Kermit that was my husband's 2nd b-day present.  We thought he was safely packed away; nevertheless some mice snuck in and made a tasty treat out of Kermie's hands and feet, and of course did their business on him as well.  He was unsalvageable. :-( Thankfully it doesn't sound quite so bad with the ponies, although obviously the smell has got to be horrendous.  Have you tried any of those products they sell in the pet shops for removing urine stains and odors?  I would also recommend baking soda.  After washing and drying the ponies thoroughly, place them in a sealed bag with some.  No clue on how to restore whiteness, though.  Maybe someone else knows a good technique.  Good luck!


~Lochness~

[hyenacub]

Yeesh!  That sucks!  Glad they didn't chew, though.  Good luck getting them clean!

[lochnessmomster]

*hugs* Sorry about that mice are a pain sometimes I had some chew up my electric blanket this year. *gurr* I would give them a really good bath and wash their hair with shampoo and conditioner. You could always give them a really hot bath but I would remove their heads first. Boil some water and put it in a plastic bowl and let them sit one at a time in the water for a few minutes. You might want to and some bleach or oxyclean. Make sure you let them dry really good. Best of luck hopefully nothing is ruined.

I've heard mixed reviews on bleach and oxyclean, some good, some bad.  I tried something similar to oxyclean once and I don't think I caused my ponies any harm.  What are your experiences with it?

[ponylovingmomma]

I've used oxi-clean lots and it has never damaged any of my ponies! Hope this helps some and sorry to hear about the mice. Yuck!

[lochnessmomster]

What should I wash them in? Is antibacterial hand soap ok?

I'm relatively inexperienced myself, but most people around here clean ponies in a variety of ways, and one of those is antibacterial hand soap, so you should be fine. :-) I don't think there are any shampoos or conditioners that are bad for ponies, but I think one expert said not to use the moisturizing kind.  I was also told not to immerse a pony in water, but to gently surface wash... maybe try a soft toothbrush w/ whatever cleaning product you prefer (toothpaste, baking soda, shampoo, soap, dish washing liquid, etc.).  Hope you are able to figure out how to restore your ponies. xx

[BlueChaos]

Oh man, my So Soft ponies are the worst of the lot! How do I clean those?

And the hair on my Goldilocks....

[BlackCurtains]

Don't wash them with hot water, it'll loosen the glue. You can clean them with the soap and then use conditioner on the flocking to make it soft and silky again. Use a toothbrush to scrub gently in small circles.

Regarding bleach and oxyclean, don't bleach the So Softs, it might turn the glue yellow. Don't Oxy TEs. It will take the coating off their eyes. Oxyclean will also make hair kind of funky... which I think just adds another step that's avoidable if you don't use it to begin with.

[sweetstuff]

I would clean them down with some enzyme cleaners first - as that's the best way to get rid of the urine/fecal mess. I swear by Nature's Miracle. You can use it on all sorts of fabrics/carpet - so I don't think it should do any damage to the plastics.

[babystarz]

I do not recommend Oxy Clean for just a simple cleaning. It dries out hair and sometimes leaves those oxy crystals on the ponies and stains them, which can only be removed with acetone, which is a pain in the butt for a normal cleaning. Bleach is also a bit stronger than I'd reccommend here, even though mouse droppings are bacteria laden. Anything that involves submersing ponies means you must take off their heads and remove their tails first, and if these ponies aren't already in that condition I certainly don't think you need to be that extreme.


I haven't used pet waste enzyme cleaners on ponies before, but it's a good suggestion and they're pretty gentle. If you can't get the odor of urine out, try coating the pony in baking soda and store in a tupperware container with even more baking soda in it for a week. Kitty litter can also help with this using the same method.

Use a good antibacterial soap and HOT water to scrub them with a cotton rag, then shampoo and condition their hair. I personally really love my Fekkai Olive Oil shampoo and moisturizing conditioner. Make sure to angle the ponies' tails and heads away from the spray of the water from the tap so they don't get any moisture inside of them. Once they are clean, style their hair and let them air dry. They should be good as new

If the SoSofts still look bad after the gentle surface cleaning, I have heard people have had success with bleach, but I don't know what concentration was used. You have to be careful with ponies and harsh chemicals.


For hair that won't respond to conditioner, try fabric softener Use it the same way you would conditioner, by combing it through the hair and leaving it on for about 10 minutes. It should soften the nylon considerably. I can't use it myself because I'm terribly allergic to formaldehyde (the main ingredient in fabric softeners) but it does work very well.

[Elfpony]

Ugh!  I live in fear of the mice because we have them in the house and I'm hoping they won't get into the pony room (we have 4 cats and we still have mice - these must be the stupidest mice ever.)

I would think dish soap would do the trick to sanitize the ponies.  The enzyme cleaner would probably work too, but I don't know if it would affect the ponies at all.  If there are stains left afterward you might try acetone (away from the symbols eyes and blush, of course.)  Hopefully the soap and water will take care of the So Softs.  Good luck!

Elf

[hathorcat]

Yuck! Thats such a horrible nuisance...but at least they didnt nibble the plastic...there would be no fixing that!

I think everyones ideas here are nice and thorough - especially Babystarz...its going to take some elbow grease and time and I think because of what they have been mixed in with a good body and hair clean is certainly the first step!