Cleaning ponies in the washer?

[Squirrelypaws]

Has anybody ever tried putting ponies in the washer to clean them?

The reason I ask is because I had a bunch of grubby G3/G3.5 baby plushies, with plastic heads, that I washed today, and I was really surprised at how well their heads cleaned up just from the washer. Even one with molded hair and lots of dirt in the crevices of the sculpting came almost completely clean.

I was thinking this might be a good cleaning method for regular, all-plastic ponies as well, but wanted to know if anyone else had tried and what their results were before I ruin any of my ponies by washing them.

[rybett]

I got a box of baits that I beheaded and tossed in the washer with a few shirts.  Added Oxy to the soap.  Much cleaner ponies.  Lots of flocking loss on the two so softs I planned on de flocking. 

[Cynosure]

Hm, that's a really interesting way to clean them. Did you use hot or cold water, and was their any loss/rubbing to their paint?

[Squirrelypaws]

Glad to hear someone's tried it and had success!

I'm seriously thinking about doing it with some fakies and McDonalds ponies; that way I can see how it works, and not risk damaging any of my sales or collection ponies with an untested cleaning method.

What I'm worried about, with washing my collection/sales ponies, is not being able to get the water out completely and having them get moldy or rusty. I don't really want to behead any that have firmly-attached heads. Can you drain the water out by hanging them so it'll run out the hair plugs or the tail?

Hm, that's a really interesting way to clean them. Did you use hot or cold water, and was their any loss/rubbing to their paint?

Cold water. And I didn't notice any damage to the paint, although I admittedly didn't check them over all that well; just took them out and set them near the heat register to dry. I'll give them a better check later and update with a more definitive answer on that, but for right now, I'm going to say there was no damage to the paint at all.

Forgot to mention this, too: I put some fabric softener in with the plushies, and one of them was one with frizzy "regular" pony hair. The frizz looks a lot better after the wash, so I think the fabric softener works sort of like hair conditioner.

[rybett]

I used warm the first time, then tossed the flocked ones in a hot wash the next time to get more fuzz off.  Did not notice any paint rubs either time.  I wouldn't try them alone in a washer though.  They need some padding. 

[HavACrumpet452]

Do you have a washer with an agitator?

[plum]

Interesting - I may have to try it. I guess you could put the ponies in a sock to give them a bit of protection. Has anyone braved the dishwasher - or would that be too hot?

[Squirrelypaws]

Do you have a washer with an agitator?

Mine has an agitator, yes.

[hathorcat]

I have heard of people using a dish washer for ponies in the past - but mainly for pony bodies and heads, open bodies and the tails removed. I cant think of too many mentions of a regular washing machine though - sounds interesting!

[BlueyBirdy]

With a European-style front loading washer I'd be concerned about the spin cycle causing damage. You could always put the ponies in there in a tied-up pillowcase to try and prevent damage.
I don't know if a gentle/wool wash would have much benefit.
Really, for any toy you're concerned about, hand-washing followed by air-drying is always the safest bet.

Of course, if anyone is trying this on a pony you actually want to keep looking nice, you'd need remove the head and tail first. An intact pony will trap water inside it indefinitely and then you end up with internal mould and rusted tail washers. On a G4 where the seals are tighter you'd certainly never be able to drain the pony all of the way.

[Aurora]

I've had lots of old ponies that have gotten wet, mostly from play but some from washing, and if you set them so their tail is down (like sitting on a glass or jar) the water can drip out. It's not foolproof, but it has worked for me!

This sounds cool, especially for deflocking. My Halloween Bucket pony got something really gross on her so I had to wash her, and it mutilated her hair. I don't even know what to do about it now, but I think lots of conditioner is in her future.
Let us know what happens!

[Pythia]

Be careful with using it for deflocking, you don't want flocking all through your clothes afterwards, it can be really itchy!

[PinkRosedust]

  I don't get why anyone would want to put their precious ponies in a washing machine! MAYBE it would be okay for baits, but seriously why risk messing up their paint? And I can't imagine hair coming out okay...

[Pickenprod]

Of course, if anyone is trying this on a pony you actually want to stay intact, you'd need remove the head and tail first. An intact pony will trap water inside it indefinitely and then you end up with internal mould and rusted tail washers. On a G4 where the seals are tighter you'd certainly never be able to drain the pony all of the way.

Agreed. I personally would never trust a wholly intact pony to dry properly inside. I'd feel like the mildew and rust was building up in there, plotting against me!!

[baby_yoyo]

Ive had success on a delicate cycle using Daz and Comfort softener, I put about 12 baits into a pillowcase and tied a knot so they wouldn't come out and also put a towel in for extra protection.

They came out sparkling clean!! Obviously I didn't put in any with glitter symbols or princesses.

I use the washing machine all the time for doing plushes and care bears, works a treat