Cleaning So Soft Ponies

[ponygirl74]

I bought this girl from eBay and she arrived today http://www.ebay.com/itm/301369416202?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I knew she was in very played condition so I made an offer and  it was accepted, I've cleaned her up some (she needs to dry) but she still has some dirt on her flocking, along with some missing.  Should I see if she'll come more clean or have someone de-flock her? When she's dry I'll take pictures, but if I wanted to see if I can get the rest of the dirt off her, if it's not that bad after the first attempt, what's the best way?

[Rachel-Eyes]

There was a Facebook discussion about this not too long ago that suggested washing So Softs in a COLD Oxy bath, as opposed to a HOT one. Hot will melt the glue and cause flock loss, so what you'll want to do is start a hot bath to get the chemicals nice and mixed, but then let it cool. Scrub GENTLY with an old toothbrush, and that will apparently take care of it.

I've never tried Oxy before, but I plan to get a bucket soon because I recently got a Skippity Doo with some pink on her cheek, and I've had an otherwise mint Posey forever with some dirt on her leg and lip. I guess we'll be trying it together!

I hope that helps. Good luck! And congrats on getting a Magic Star... she's a lovely pony that's been evading me for a while now!

[ponygirl74]

There was a Facebook discussion about this not too long ago that suggested washing So Softs in a COLD Oxy bath, as opposed to a HOT one. Hot will melt the glue and cause flock loss, so what you'll want to do is start a hot bath to get the chemicals nice and mixed, but then let it cool. Scrub GENTLY with an old toothbrush, and that will apparently take care of it.

I've never tried Oxy before, but I plan to get a bucket soon because I recently got a Skippity Doo with some pink on her cheek, and I've had an otherwise mint Posey forever with some dirt on her leg and lip. I guess we'll be trying it together!

I hope that helps. Good luck! And congrats on getting a Magic Star... she's a lovely pony that's been evading me for a while now!

Thanks, I will try that, I need to get some oxy clean. Magic Star was one of the ponies on of my sisters had that I loved, unusual as yellow is my least favorite color but two of my favorite gen 1 ponies are yellow, her and Bubbles. 

[cricket]

I have actually found a really lazy way to brighten them up .  I toss them in a cool bowl of Oxy clean and leave them for about a week turning them every morning.  No scrubbing, rubbing or other effort required.  Once the week is over I shampoo and condition their hair and then leave them with tail pointing down to drain any water until they are dry.  It's a long process but I don't have to do much and I don't have to worry about damaging the flocking.  They clean up well with this method.

[amazonarabian]

I have a few grubby so softs I just unpacked.  I'll have to try this, too!  I like the sound of the lazy method...
Also, I never thought about hot water causing flocking loss.  Good looking out!  I totally would have given them a hot bath. 

[Leave a Whisper]

congratz on a beautiful magic star and here's something on the MLP Preservation site about cleaning so softs. I can't wait to get that lovely girl myself

http://mlppreservationproject.webstarts.com/body.html#SoSoftPonies

[kestral_kitsune]

yeah i would say don't use hot water, I learned the hard way that my tap water gets hot enough to deflock just by itself when i was cleaning a so soft

[FarDreamer]

There was a Facebook discussion about this not too long ago that suggested washing So Softs in a COLD Oxy bath, as opposed to a HOT one. Hot will melt the glue and cause flock loss, so what you'll want to do is start a hot bath to get the chemicals nice and mixed, but then let it cool. Scrub GENTLY with an old toothbrush, and that will apparently take care of it.

This is a really nice tip!  If this is working for you guys I'd like to add it to the site. 

[princess]

I think I was the person who asked the question on facebook? :p
I asked about for my Lofty, with greyed flocking from dust, and bright pink marks on her.

I got some oxiclean in warm water, waited for it too cool down even more, and used a  tooth brush and  VERY, VERY softly went over her flocking, so the brush wouldn't take any off, but still got to the dirt. Didn't want to submerge her in water, because I was afraid of her getting rusty or moldy and losing her curl...  She's much livelier looking now, and the pink spots are even duller! I might try again to see if I can get them removed completely.

[Mirnyj]

I was advised once to take my dirty Paradise, take the head and tail off, put her in a pillow case and then wash her in the machine with cold water and gentle cycle. She turned out quite fine actually, so that could be an option with beyond-all-hope SS's.

[Chi]

I actually used Lysol bathroom cleaner the other day to clean one of mine. I didn't scrub, just let her sit for a couple of hours. Rinsed thoroughly, let her dry.
I don't think the cleaner I used has bleach.

Post Merge: November 03, 2014, 06:23:31 AM

Oxiclean is one of the best options, but I dont have any.
I have used Resolve carpet cleaner with great results in the past, some of them have oxi  in it.

[hathorcat]

I am never a fan of things like oxy as I honestly have found that cold water and a toothpaste or baking soda scrub will often shift most of the problem. But I do agree if you are using oxy then tepid water is the best idea. But no matter what method you use, just be aware that with a so soft, depending on the condition of her glue, she can loose some of her flocking even with the gentlest cleaning method.