Question: How do I clean SO SOFT ponies??

[AZdreamer]

Hello, I just purchased a lot of G1 ponies off ebay....from the photos they all look great (esp because they will be for my daughter)...BUT I can tell that the 2 so soft ponies are dirty....the flocking appears to be all intact...but dirty. What can I do when they arrive? (or is there no hope!!!!!!!)

 

[thebeth]

There's a how-to in the Tutorials section!
My Little Pony Trading Post: So-Soft Cleaning Tutorial by Bluerose9978

 

[darcerin]

Hm, that mainly seemed to be in regards to pen ink spots. I actually came on here just now looking for methods to clean so softs. So funny I saw this post first. ^_^ That's good to know for pen ink though!

 

[buddafly]

Fly Like Me - My Little Pony Shrine

common pony problems/cleaning & repair

hope those help I haven't tried cleaning any of my so softs (haven't gotten any that were icky enough to need cleaning) so I can't vouch for how well they may work.

 

[cannibalcow]

haven't read the tutorials. but what i do is i rinse them off with luke or cold water. massage conditioner in the fur, rinse, add more conditioner, etc etc until they look nice. mine look nice enough and they have all their fur

 

[ladyphoenix9]

Yes, make sure you use cool water and don't scrub too hard (hot water and hard scrubbing may cause flocking loss.) A gal here said she uses hydrogen peroxide to clean them! Others have recommended diluted bleach or Woolite. I think Oxyclean is also recommended. One thing to keep in mind for white So Softs is that the glue can discolor to an ugly brown; only a deflock with fix that, as far as I know.

After the washing, if the flocking is still "plush," you'll need to work a little more to keep the flocking from clumping and looking matted when it dries. Here's a little how to from an old thread (works like a charm!)

First see if the smell and stain will come out with a simple wash.
Rise her under lukewarm water and soap her gently with your fingers, rinse her really well.

(trick to keep SS's from getting that "pilled sweater" or, "matted" look)

With a fluffy dry towel quickly blot off all the water you can on her flocking. while you are doing this, also dry her with a hairdryer set on cool. Make sure her flock is completly dry.

If you airdry her she'll get a distinct "washed" look.

 

[bluerose9978]

Hm, that mainly seemed to be in regards to pen ink spots. I actually came on here just now looking for methods to clean so softs. So funny I saw this post first. ^_^ That's good to know for pen ink though!

Actually, my tutorial is mainly for dirt, not for ink.

 

[emilysue78]

I have had a lot of luck removing dirt AND ink using the carpet cleaner method. It has improved every so soft I have tried it on, including removing red ink from Skippity Doo's belly and strange orange dots on Gusty. Be careful not to scrub hard, I removed some flocking from Surprise's neck seam. I mostly used my thumbs, but I did use a soft toothbrush on resistant spots. I also let the carpet cleaner sit on them for awhile if I didn't see enough improvement with the first cleaning. I have used it on just about every color flock with great results. I think so softs are my favorite ones to clean!

 

[Princess Locket]

haven't read the tutorials. but what i do is i rinse them off with luke or cold water. massage conditioner in the fur, rinse, add more conditioner, etc etc until they look nice. mine look nice enough and they have all their fur

This is what I do too but I give them a gentle shampoo first. The conditioner gives them their fluffiness back. Definately no hot water or scrubbing and to help them dry I wrap them in tissues to help draw the water off them so they're wet for as little time as possible.

 

[AZdreamer]

wow>>>>>>>SO MANY HELPFUL TIPS!!!!!! I AM GOING TO USE THIS KNOWLEDGE WISELY!!!! THANK THANK YOU THANK YOU TO ALL YOU PONIES!!!!! I'M SURE WHEN I GET THE SO SOFTS THIS WEEK, THEY WILL BE BETTER THAN I THOUGHT, WITH JUST A LITTLE HELP! AND TLC!!!!!