Mold and Rust in Ponies

strawberrypony32

Its a berry, its a cherry? No, Its a Strawberry!
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Dec 29, 2012
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So I have an entire box of moldy ponies that I cleaned several years ago. I found them at a antique mall in bad shape. Since then the mold has regrown inside their hooves and around their hairline which is why theyre in a box by themselves. These past 5 years have been really hard for me, I havent had the time to clean them again in all that time.
I know many people soak ponies in Oxyclean but ive never had to. Aside from these ponies in this box, I have never had moldy ponies aside from some pindot mold on two ponies from childhood. The pony preservation project doesnt mention Oxyclean for mold but I know people use it for that.
Im inexperienced in this method so I dont know how much water to use, how much oxyclean powder to use, how long to soak. I do know that soaking ponies in Oxyclean can make them more firm, cant put tinsel in oxiclean, secret message symbols, twinkle eyes, or glitter. I also dont know how successful this is with mold. Hydrogen Peroxide generally does kill mold but does anyone have experience with mold not growing back after an Oxyclean bath? Were your ponies color effected by the bath, were your ponies firmer? Any issues at all? Has anyone done this years ago and seen no problem arise?
Sorry so many questions! :lolpony:

Concerning rust, the MLP preservation project mentions soaking beddy bye heads in Rit rust remover but doees that mean straight undeluded? Or a deluded solution? Does anyone experienced have anything else they use?

Thanks for reading :ponylove::purpleheart:
 
Dealing with “My Moldy Pony” right now. She was FULL of nasty black mold. None on the outside, all inside.
Are your ponies still in one piece? Are you trying to clean them only from the outside? Sorry- wasn’t sure if you had already removed the heads or not. If you have mold on the outside, you certainly have it on the inside, so be prepared to remove all of their heads. Some folks are unwilling or scared to do this, but you can always watch some YouTube videos on how to do it safely. First, I would try to take some general soap or dawn soap and take a toothbrush and clean them off with that to start- inside and out. Rinse off soap. Then, heat up a glass bowl full of water that is capable of holding at least one pony at a time. Some folks get the water to boiling, which is fine- just don’t burn yourself….. cont’d in next message…

I will take my pony, dip it in the hot water, and see if that loosens up more of the mold by itself first. Make sure to completely submerge the pony and leave in the hot water for maybe 15 minutes (hot water has never damaged my ponies or their hair). If you don’t feel comfortable with that, then soak them as long as you are comfortable. I am not sure about BBE, but my twinkle ponies have never been impacted by this.
So soft ponies CAN NOT be put in any warm or hot water- this removes the flocking because it loosens the glue holding the flocking in place. Cont’d next message……

For moldy so soft ponies, you will have to try and use cold water, gentle soap, and soft bristle brushes first, then submerge those ponies in COLD water with Oxyclean. If you don’t want to remove their heads but still use OxyClean, you can use the Oxyclean stain remover spray- it is chlorine free and color safe- you can spray the pony with it and gently use your soft bristle brush to try and clean off the mold and avoid getting water in the seams of the neck and the tail when washing off the cleaner. I am afraid that your problem will persist if you do not attack the mold inside, though.
Back to the hot water- i did not have my “glitter cutie marks” negatively impacted by the hot water, but I didn’t leave them in the hot water very long and I certainly was careful to avoid scrubbing the cutie marks with the brushing when I was cleaning them. Oxyclean will damage the glitter cutie marks- you can try using a magic eraser, but go around the cutie marks- I am afraid there is no cleaning product I have found that will not damage the glitter. If the mold is real bad, you may have to sacrifice them to save the pony, but we all try to avoid that! I did Oxyclean a Sunbeam pony- her glitter is still there, but they did fade. I had a tough choice to make with her, but she still shows fine and I got rid of the mold on her butt- I hope to find a good “reglitter” technique soon. Will post if I do!
Once you have allowed the hot water to “loosen up” the mold, use a soft brush, scrub the pony out again, and then soak the pony- still hot water- and add Oxyclean to the water and submerge her for 2 hours and let the Oxyclean do the job. My current mold pony has had 3 hot water Oxyclean soaks so far and she STILL has a little bit of mold that won’t let go in her head. Every case is different, but this pony no longer has hair or cutie marks (she is a total refurb), so I am willing to do this. Her eyes are still intact and I do not believe that if she had a regular cutie mark that it would have been impacted by the Oxyclean. You will have to monitor your ponies on a case by case basis to see if you think your pony would need another round of Oxy treatment. I have let some ponies soak for 3 hours at a time and their eyes and cutie marks were fine, but I have never soaked them longer than that. These are just my statements to try and give you some perspective- I work to restore G1 ponies and other generations may have other issues I am not aware of. But I do a LOT of research on the chemicals out there and have spent a lot of time researching effective techniques to save these girls- they deserve it! I am also not there to see your ponies- you can send a picture if you like so I can see what you are working with- it may not be so bad to warrant more than an exterior scrubbing(?). I will help in any way I can! ❤️

My ponies did not get “firm” with the OxyClean. Maybe because I used the hot water(?). Also, I have not dealt with the beddy-bye rust issue yet- I have not researched that situation, but if she has rusty eyes, she probably has rust in her tail (usually those ponies were played with in a bathtub at some point in their life). Rust can leave permanent staining on a pony that even oxy won’t be able to hide, so if you have any rust around pony tails, you will need to remove the head, remove the tails, replace the metal washer holding the pony’s tail together and replace it with zip ties (great YouTube videos on that!) and retail your pony after cleaning out the inside.
Trying to address all of your questions- sorry so wordy…. Looking up water to Oxyclean ratio now…..

My glass container I use to soak my ponies holds 6 cups of water to fill it, so I use about 5 cups of water to about 1/4 cup of Oxyclean, maybe a little less.

Haven’t had mold return as of yet, but I make sure the pony is completely dry before gluing their heads back on- sometimes I let them dry For more than 24 hours to make sure. The mold will start from the inside - if you see mold on your pony’s hair, then it is most likely inside the pony. If they get the mold after these treatments, you have a high moisture environment and need to store them in bounce sheets and/or dry rice to help with that. Bacteria/mold/insects/vermin are repelled by bounce sheets for some reason (name brand, no knock off brand).
Concerning hydrogen peroxide- I have never tried that, but I have tried a little isopropyl alcohol, but only at the end of a q-tip inside the pony. I do not get alcohol on cutie marks or eyes- I don’t think they will be damaged, but I avoid it at all costs. After using alcohol swabs, I always rinse the swabbed area with water- I am overly cautious and worry that overexposure to it may cause fading of the color or compromise the plastic. I hope that makes sense.
Sorry for the long messages and I hope this helps- treating mold will take time for each pony, but hopefully not a lot of hard scrubbing. Feel free to keep me posted! Good luck!!!

**Mod edit to merge multiple spammed posts**
 
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I’ve been dealing with mold too. I did what I could, bleach alternative solution in hot water, and oxyclean in separate baths. I scrubbed using a baby tooth brush which got most of the mold out of the body. Q-tips for harder areas.

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The head has been off for a few days to dry completely, I will probably give another soak and scrub for good measure.

Though I do have a question- I still have black spots on inside that I can’t scrub off. Anyone have any ideas how I can clean it or prevent it from spreading again?

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Ugh gross. Can't wait to see em all clean and pretty again.
 
Ohh! @autuba Thank you for all this input! :0 I will keep it in mind! I really appreciate the measurements. Yes, to clarify when I cleaned them years ago i removed their heads and tails. All metal was removed then and zip ties applied. I never reapplied the heads as I never found the time to finish the restoration past cleaning them out. The mold grew back on the inside of the feet and various patches through the bodies and heads. Adding pictures for anyone who needs them. Under a spoiler bc theyre a bit pony goreish O.O"" Its various ponies, not all of them. Some barely grew back any mold, some grew back a alot 8')

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None are so soft luckily but a few have glitter cutie marks.
@DracoKat Oh noo!! All of mine looked like that too. I wish you luck!! <3 I wish us both luck lol. Im not sure about the permanent spots, ive seen online to wipe some anti microbial in the pony but I couldnt find any info on whether that was safe for the vinyl. :eek:
 
Ohh! @autuba Thank you for all this input! :0 I will keep it in mind! I really appreciate the me asurements. Yes, to clarify when I cleaned them years ago i removed their heads and tails. All metal was removed then and zip ties applied. I never reapplied the heads as I never found the time to finish the restoration past cleaning them out. The mold grew back on the inside of the feet and various patches through the bodies and heads. Adding pictures for anyone who needs them. Under a spoiler bc theyre a bit pony goreish O.O"" Its various ponies, not all of them. Some barely grew back any mold, some grew back a alot 8')


None are so soft luckily but a few have glitter cutie marks.
@DracoKat Oh noo!! All of mine looked like that too. I wish you luck!! <3 I wish us both luck lol. Im not sure about the permanent spots, ive seen online to wipe some anti microbial in the pony but I couldnt find any info on whether that was safe for the vinyl. :eek:
The term ‘pony goreish’ :rofl: It’s perfect, really, but it gave me the giggles.

Has anyone tried a mold retardant cleanser? I’m too broke to experiment right now, but there are plenty of products that help prevent mold growth. You could try a silica packet left inside the pony, too. Also, for the mold that is deep in the plastic… maybe a light scrape? Bleach?
Note: I am not an expert, just offering personal opinion, experience, or idea.
 
Never tried a mold retardant, but be careful- some have some seriously harsh chemicals in them- if you try them, I would try to scrub them with q-tips or a cloth and then rinse thoroughly. Wear gloves and maybe wear a mask, depending on what chemicals are in them.
The small stubborn dot mold will require repeated scrubbing and soaking with Oxyclean if you are ok with it. Brush on hydrogen peroxide cream 40 and expose those areas to UV light- or direct sunlight -sometimes, that does the trick, but if you don’t get it all, there I always a chance it will come back. Sometimes the sunlight/uv light treatment takes days and/or weeks with replacing the cream every 12 hours.
 
Never tried a mold retardant, but be careful- some have some seriously harsh chemicals in them- if you try them, I would try to scrub them with q-tips or a cloth and then rinse thoroughly. Wear gloves and maybe wear a mask, depending on what chemicals are in them.
The small stubborn dot mold will require repeated scrubbing and soaking with Oxyclean if you are ok with it. Brush on hydrogen peroxide cream 40 and expose those areas to UV light- or direct sunlight -sometimes, that does the trick, but if you don’t get it all, there I always a chance it will come back. Sometimes the sunlight/uv light treatment takes days and/or weeks with replacing the cream every 12 hours.
Thank you for weighing in on that. :) I’ve never kept any that were really bad inside.
 
I have yet to get a pony I will give up on! I loved all my ponies and since I am older, I have the patience to keep working on the tough spots. Good luck!!! I am hoping that you can get it all out! ❤️
 
I have yet to get a pony I will give up on! I loved all my ponies and since I am older, I have the patience to keep working on the tough spots. Good luck!!! I am hoping that you can get it all out! ❤️
Next time I get some that are beyond me, I’ll have to send them to you! I didn’t give up on any, not really, I just find them a home.
 
i think sometimes mold will just flat out stain the vinyl even if youve killed the actual mold, so its not necessarily an indication that its still alive if you can see remnants(mostly regarding dracokat's little spots on the inside of the pony)...although i guess it doesnt necessarily mean its not even if you cant. ive never had mold grow back after an oxyclean bath and its never negatively affected one of my ponies colour wise, only made them a little brighter! they dont seem stiff at all to me either. if youre worried about it growing back still white vinegar will kill most types of mold though, and as far as im aware its safe for pony vinyl. so if the mold is stubborn it wouldnt hurt to pour some white vinegar into the hooves and let it soak for an hour or two on top of the oxyclean for good measure!
 
I have yet to get a pony I will give up on! I loved all my ponies and since I am older, I have the patience to keep working on the tough spots. Good luck!!! I am hoping that you can get it all out! ❤️
I refuse to give up on them too! They deserve new life, whether its restoration or a custom! If I find they are beyond restoring back to original as possible, into the custom box they go for a new identity in the near future
 
Good advice, DracoKat! Vinegar smells bad, but is a nice treatment as a preventative. I will be doing that for my current pony- she has some in the tips of her ears that is being quite hard to get out.
I have enjoyed taking on the tough cases- will gladly help anyone with the ponies they just don’t have time or energy for- so satisfying to make even the saddest cases pretty again! Sharpie/markers takes the longest to remove- it can take a year or more for those poor babies, but it can be done! Don’t give up! ❤️
 
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