Pony Spas?

[KiwiSquirtBottle]

I have boatloads of ponies to clean up! I used to take a few into the shower with me and work on them in there, which earned me weird looks from my roommates, and giggles from my SO. Now that I'm looking at 50+ ponies to clean up, I'm not sure the bathtub is the best place, as too many ponies, not enough room for water! Haha.


How do you set up your pony spas? Do you simply use the bathroom sink, a bowl on a towel on the floor of your room, or bring them with you when you go to an actual spa? How many ponies do you work on at once?


I need some inspiration so I can get clean ponies but not hog the bathroom or turn into a prune while doing so. Pics, descriptions, doodles on a napkin.... Anything!

[MsTwilight]

I could use some help with this issue too. I also have about 50+ (possibly more if I can find those tubs of g3s). It takes me forever and when my SO has company over they think I'm a nutjob when they see 10-20 headless ponies on the counter next to the sink of the guest bath.  He always has people over so after the comments from some people I stopped cleaning them altogether.  I wish we had just one more bathroom so I could do my pony cleaning in peace. 

[bluemoondreams]

my solution for this was towels a lot of them, a big washing up bowl the biggest I could find and the kettle and bottled water just boil hot water and fill teh bowl using the bottled water. Usally big bottels can be brough fairy cheap from 99p stores. Then you can just refill the bottles from the tep as and when you need to hope that helps.

[PinkRosedust]

Well I definitely wouldn't suggest taking ponies in the shower with you if you're not removing the heads first. If they're going to get soaked, they need to be able to dry out thoroughly before the head is put back on.

There's no quick way to clean a bunch safely, really. Properly caring for your ponies takes time. =) Also patience, lol. Which I often lack...

I always clean mine at the sink where I have access to running water. But that's only for carefully rinsing the hair. For the bodies, I use a damp rag with some soap on it to scrub the pony. If need be I'll use another damp rag to wipe off any soap residue, then dry the pony off with a dry towel.

For the hair, I get it wet, add some shampoo, and try to be very careful around the 'roots' so that I let as little water as possible seep in. After conditioning and the second rinse, I dab/squeeze the hair with a dry towel, brush it, then let the pony sit under a lamp until the hair is totally dry.

Although I'm far less careful about the water when the head is removed. =) But I do make sure that the pony is completely dry inside before putting the head back on. It's best to place the body upside-down to allow any water inside to drip down and out the neck or tail hole.

[partypony566]

I just wash mine in a bowl, 5 at a time. The reason being I dont  like them sitting in water too long due to water getting in and causing mildew, rust etc... 5 I can do fairly quick and then get them dried and hair done etc... Then I'll do another batch

[babystarz]

You guys are going to laugh at this - I live alone in my apartment, but for whatever reason my bathroom has two sinks. So the ponies have their own permanent spa sink on the right side

I keep one towel on the left side of the sink for "pre-treatment" ponies to sit on. While I am messing around with them, combing their conditioned hair, etc. they are still considered "pre-treatment" and I'll set them down on that towel. Once they have gone through the standard spa treatment - cotton ball covered in antibacterial soap, Magic Eraser, olive oil shampoo and moisturizing conditioner - they get a close inspection and if they have no cancer or mold they move to the towel placed on the right side of the sink for "post-treatment" ponies, where they have their hair combed and styled with curlers or wrapped around their tails and they sit there to dry, or if they need a de-frizzing treatment I do that and then re-condition them. If they do have previously undiscovered cancer or mold they are quarantined until they can be opened and boiled. I never submerge spa ponies in the water, I just run the sink water over them and make sure their tails and manes are tipped away from the stream of water so they don't get too wet inside.

I prefer to keep the pre-treatment and post-treatment ponies strictly separated to keep dirt/mold/bacteria from spreading. Also the towel on the left gets gunky after a while and I pop that in the wash every so often. The post-treatment towel gets cleaned much less often because the only thing that sits on it is water and clean ponies

The only potential issue with my setup is that sometimes the "pre-treatment" ponies sit there for a while, and I do shower every day so I worry that the humidity from that is bad for the ponies :/ I may need to add a step so that the "pre-treatment" ponies only sit on their towel for a few minutes.

[NoDivision]

I use the kitchen sink for full cleaning/soaking of multiple ponies, and then the bathroom sink for washing and conditioning hair. I just pick a few ponies at a time to work on as even if I had the space I'd never have the time to work on more than about 5 ponies in a day.

[ElusiveLily]

I have my own cleaning kit It has three little bottles, each filled with shampoo, conditioner and dish soap. I also have a toothbrush, bobby pins, straws for curling, all that good stuff.

I just clean one pony at a time in my bathroom. I wet her first and then pour a dab of soap onto the toothbrush and just scrub her body. After I've done that, I shampoo, and then condition, which I let set for 10 minutes. Then I rinse and remove them from the bathroom. I used to let them sit in the bathroom and dry for several hours but I've stopped doing that. I don't want them damp and sitting in a dark place for hours, so I take them into a well-lit area to dry for 24 hours, which just happens to be the windowsill that looks out into the living room from the kitchen. My mom constantly teases me about being surrounded by ponies.

I've started reminding myself to let them dry upside down. The last pony I cleaned, I was able to pop her head off after I was done to dry the insides more thoroughly, which is what I intend to do from now on if I'm able to remove the head without difficulty.

Right now I've got a pony sitting on top of my jewelry box, separated from the rest of the herd and waiting for cleaning. She's been on the waiting list for weeks now, and many other ponies have cut in front of her. Her washer is rusted, and I wanted to try removing it and the clamp, but I'm kind of nervous about doing it. I've already bought a bag of zip ties. Now it's just a matter of working up the bravery to remove the tail and replace the washer and clamp.

[scarletjul]

I use the kitchen sink.  I have a Caboodles kit (I got this idea from another Arena member but I don't recall who it was) with magic erasers, baby shampoo/body wash, conditioner, combs and brushes (and curlers) with me and I grab a couple of towels.  I usually do about 15-20 ponies in one run.  I wash the pony under cool running water in the sink, scrub with magic eraser, wash the hair, condition the hair and let it sit for a little while and then move on to the second one.  After I've done three, I'll usually wash the conditioner out of the hair of the first one.  Then I move the first three to dry in my room - top of my bookshelves, usually, on towels - and move on to the next three.  If a pony requires additional care, cleaning or condtioning then I work on it after the initial cleaning. 

[MoongazerThePony]

I fill the sink with hoy water and close the drain so it stays. I put a towel on the counter and lay them there to dry after cleaning them in the water. Hope I helped!

[Sarah-Bee]

Kitchen sink for me. Dry ponies on one side on the counter, acetone any marks then into the sink they go (unless they have mechanisms), scrub with toothbruth and antibacterial soap, wash hair with same soap, frizzy hair conditioner on hair, leave conditioner on those who are super frizzy on the draining board, rinse everyone when conditioner done, then take them over to the kitchen table and do their hair. Hair is brushed and wrapped around neck (mane) or leg (tail) with a tissue and an elastic band, then they go in the airing cupboard (or radiator if the cupboard gets full) overnight before unwrapping the hair

[lovesbabysquirmy]

It usually takes me a few days to clean a pony, so first they sit on our hallway shelf outside the bathroom to remind me.  Then they get scrubbed up and hair washed in the bathroom sink.  This includes head removal, rust, re-clamping tails, etc.  If they need straightening, I do that and then style the hair.  Then they go back on the shelf outside the bathroom to dry, in various poses to make sure no water remains inside.

If I get scatter-brained, there is usually a giant wicker picnic basket full of ponies and their tails, heads, etc. sitting behind the bathroom door.  But I really try to focus on 1-3 at a time.

[hathorcat]

There are so many great tips in this thread...great topic to post - I ll have to have a thorough read through everything.