Hi,
You all have always been so helpful to my questions - thank you! My almost 9 month old son uses a "lovie" to fall asleep ... it's one of those bears where the body is a blanket. He essentially just sucks on the face of this bear while he's falling asleep. I noticed last week that it reaked - I'm thinking there must be mildew inside the bear or something. So, I washed it in the washing machine and when it was still damp, the mildew smell wasn't as strong, but still there. Now that it's dry, it primarily smells like the soap to me, but my husband says he can smell a little mildew. We've given my son a different blanket to sleep with and he can't seem to fall alseep without his bear. He used to go down without crying for every nap and bedtime, and now without the bear he cries for at least 40 minutes and then doesn't stay asleep long. At night it's a little better, but not much. My question is, do you know how to clean a stuffed animal well? I guess I should just make him adjust to sleeping with a blankie I can wash easily, but I thought if any of you have gone through this and had some tips, it might save us all some tears! Thanks!
Add some white distilled vinegar to the wash. It helps disinfect and get rid of bad smells. Good luck!
Make it a GREAT day!
S.
My dog has lots and lots of stuffies. Obviously they get pretty nasty. So I throw them in the washer with bleach. Seems to do the trick pretty well. Even the ones that aren't white seem to be fine with the bleach. Good luck to you.
Have you tried washing it with a scoop of OxiClean? I buy Oxi 15 pounds at a time (three boys) and it's my answer to most things--yucky soccer uniforms, dirty socks that got left in the car, towels used to wipe up barf--you get the idea. It's rather hard on delicates, but worth it if you want something really clean because it "eats" any organic soil. So I think Oxi would eat away any old goobers or mildew and have your lovie fresh again.
I often use cloth diapers and I have found that nothing freshens them up after a good wash like drying on a line in the sunshine. That might help. Some people I knew who ran a charity of distributing refurbished stuffed animals just machine washed the animals and line-dried them, and then fluffed them up a bit in the dryer as needed. They looked good as new.
If you still can, you might want to get a duplicate lovie and start alternating them to spare the original too much wear and have an alternate available to get some equal wear. (We have "Rufus" and "Back-up Rufus" at our house, long since outgrown but still cherished.)
Good luck!
P.S. Have you read the children's book "Owen" by Kevin Henkes? It's totally cute and funny, about a little boy who is very gently and respectfully allowed to outgrow his need for a lovie blanket. If you take away the lovie, you'll need to fill his need for connection and reasurrance in other ways. I know people may disagree with me, but I think it's OK for children to be attached, especially to people but lovies meet a need, too. Best wishes.
Try washing it with a little white vinegar. It works wonders for getting smells out. And then dry it really well. Good luck!
B.,
I just washed my little guys lovie too. He likes to suck on the tail and it definitely smells after a week or so. I washed it normally and just like yours it still smelled ( think I waited to long to wash it). So I soaked it in vinegar and then washed it with oxi clean and it came out smelling just great! It helps if you have two of the same lovies, I try to trade them every week so that I can wash one and then they don't get to smelling so bad.
Good luck
E.
put distilled white vinegar in the wash instead of fabric softener it will smell like vinegar when you take it out of the wash but once its dried in the drier it will smell fresh and clean, this trick works for towels left too long in the wash too.
GL!
Saok it with baking soda and vinager wash and dry
I like the ideas given, and have a thought to add. While you're cleaning, it's time to find another lovie, too. Check amazon, or better yet the company directly. If it is no longer made, buy a similar lovie and start giving your baby the choice of which one to cuddle with: hold up both, then let him grab the one he wants. This opens the idea that more than one is okay, and hopefully as he grows he'll like the other one, too. Oh, perahps having the new one in with the toys would be good, too. Good luck!
Put it in a pillowcase and put it in the washing machine with detergent and oxyclean in warm water. Then keep it in the pillowcase and throw it in the dryer. This is how I wash all of my daughters stuffed animals and they come out great.
Wash it in hottest water & vinegar with your detergent. Throw him in the sun to dry. Repeat til neither of you can smell anything but soap or vinegar.
You don't need to pitch his lovie, just plan to wash him every so often-every 2-3 weeks should keep his funk level down.
We have the same thing. Ours is the large size made by My Banky. I put it in a king size pillow case and tie a tight knot in the top, wash as normal, although usually at least in warm, if not hot, water. I stick it in the dryer and dry it with about 4 or 5 other loads. I have found that if the knot is still wet, the bear is still wet and will smell musty. I do it as my first load and then let it dry with other clothes, so it doesn't take so much electricity. It doesn't slow the drying time of the other things. After checking the knot, make sure to tighten it again, or you get a false dry. Seems to me it takes three loads on a good day. GL!
My daughter loves her lovie. I have a front loading washer that works really well for getting stuff super clean. For the really smelly things I soak them in vinegar water for a few hours and then wash them. If that doesn't work have you thought about replacing it with a new one? It sounds like your baby boy really likes it a lot and walmart sells them pretty cheap. Better than having him ingest harsh chemicals. Good luck!!
