Procedure for getting new ponies

[HoustonCollector72]

Used or New ponies ,all get a spa session ,sometimes even new ponies have dirt or bad hair so I just do it to all of them,is a good practice ,plus I use aromatic conditioner and I enjoy smelling it when ever I pick up a pony here and there in the  pony room

Moc ponies get a wipe down with windex

[Baby Sugarberry]

Windex is a terrible idea for cleaning MOC's - you do not want to be putting any kind of wet or chemicals on cardboard, it will very easily ruin the packaging and potentially the plastic as well.  If you really need to clean a bubble, use eyeglass cleaner that's listed as safe for plastic/coated lenses and be careful to keep it away from the paper.  Otherwise stick to a dust rag and just wipe clean.

I've never heard of significant problems with pests in MOC packaging, but I'd imagine if you were concerned about where it'd been, a freezing cycle treatment similar to that for books would likely be okay.

[IreneL]

I do not (so far atleast) buy MOC/MIB so never thaught about that.
And I am not afraid of bacterias (if I would know there is something plague-ish going on in the area I bought it, I would reconsider! ) lots of people travel so bacterias tend to spread all over the world anyway.

(FYI, I do not clean stuff bought from the store before using either, unless it´s food-related.)

I am rather picky with my ponies so I prefer buying from collectors and get a good description of the pony. Then I usually only fix the hair if I want it in a different hairstyle or put it on the shelf right away. They are not always clean when arriving from collectors either, and if they are dirty I remove the stains of course. But if I can, I do not clean the mane and tail. 

If I buy lots of unclean ponies at bargain prices, I start with just washing them enough to see if they would be suitable for my own collection. From there, I decide how much effort I would want to put into the cleaning and hairstyling.

[HoustonCollector72]

Windex is a terrible idea for cleaning MOC's - you do not want to be putting any kind of wet or chemicals on cardboard, it will very easily ruin the packaging and potentially the plastic as well.  If you really need to clean a bubble, use eyeglass cleaner that's listed as safe for plastic/coated lenses and be careful to keep it away from the paper.  Otherwise stick to a dust rag and just wipe clean.

I've never heard of significant problems with pests in MOC packaging, but I'd imagine if you were concerned about where it'd been, a freezing cycle treatment similar to that for books would likely be okay.

I do not spray the windex on the moc itself,I damped a paper towel with some and wipe the bubble/box with it, but I do have lots of eyeglass cleaner here so will switch to it .

[applejackbunny]

I have a touch of OCD so I like to disinfect and clean every single pony! I clean them with a mix of fairy liquid (to wipe off grease/dirt/stickiness etc.) and *very* mild bleach solution in hot water to kill any germs that might be present (each pony only ever gets this treatment *once* as I worry about the harsh chemicals). I clean them gently but thoroughly with a sponge before shampooing and conditioning their hair. Then, if their hair is frizzy I run the straighteners over it, trim any straggley ends (*very* conservatively and ONLY if there are obvious stragglers!) before drying the pony thoroughly and displaying.

If there are any stray paint marks or other marks that haven't come off with this cleaning regime, I then use acetone on a cotton bud. None of my ponies have suffered any ill-effects from this method of cleaning and I've had them for many years, so I'm assuming it's ok.

Hope this helps! 

[hathorcat]

All ponies get a good wipe down with a good antibacterial baby wipe but honestly I seldom send them to a full out wash down spa. I dont like to wash ponies unless they have their tail washer out and if I remove a pony's head then I typically would want to be upgrading it to one without a loose head fault. So it kind of defeats the purpose for me. So yes they do get cleaned but no they dont go all out soaked and scrubbed.

The cardboard for MOCs dont run quite the same issue as many old books will but if you are worried a freezer cycle is a good idea. For me they get a dust and with cardboard/tape/plastic all being so old and a little delicate, they get a dust and wipe with a soft/dry cloth but thats all.

[sleepykris]

Great replies everyone, I appreciate it!  I have three ponies arrive and they were all in such good clean condition (I like mintier ponies), so I just pulled them out and didn't even wipe them.  I will probably get to wiping them down one of these days.