Ever Machine-wash a "Surface Wash Only" Stuffed Animal?

I always wash when my girls do crazy stuff like that! I place the animal in a pillow case, knot it and throw it in the wash, it's like magic! Good luck!

Hi Krystyn

I have had to wash my daughters stuffed animals, buid a bear, ones with the button you press that talk or make noise, etc from her vomitting on them a couple of times, i too was worried because her favorite hello kitty from build a bear which has the sound thing was one of them, they did fine, however i have a front loader i think that makes the difference the animals do not get completely soaked (sitting in the water), i would take it to the laundrymat if you do not have a front loader. i was shocked it still worked after a few different times of washing.
good luck
V.

I would put it in a a pillowcase tie the end and then wash it on the gentle cycle. Or if you have a lingerie bag use that. It should be fine. Air dry not heat.

My daughter had the flu and got her favorite stuffed animal dirty which was a surface wash only animal. I just filled up the laundry sink with some woolite and hand washed it that way and then put it in the dryer on the lowest heat possible and it came out ok. Never did it with a build a bear though but it might be worth a try to wash it that way and let it air dry too.

I do. After one wash, it doesn't really change it, but after several, the fur can start to mat some. I have NOT put, specifically, build-a-bear ones in there. I'm weird though.. if it wasn't really a true LOVEY, I would have thrown it away.

Hi Krystyn-
I washed a Webkinz that was "surface wash only" and it was fine. I tried it because my daughter got food that crusted all over the fur and because it wasn't her favorite toy, I decided to give it a try and it was fine. I would try washing on the handwash cycle by itself in warm water, that's the way I did it. Good luck!!

Nice mom! Yes, I was many of them. I either lay them out to dry or was a few at a time, if I dry them, I put 2 tennis balls in the dryer with them to help fluff them out.

I have washed stuffed animals in the machine on delicate or hand wash many times through the years and they have always come out fine. I have never washed one from Build-a-Bear though so I'm not sure on that. Good Luck!

I wash my daughter's stuffied all the time. I don't use a lingerie bag but I do wash them on the delicate cycle in cold water then throw them in the dryer on low heat. Good luck!

I've done it, and the secret it to put the animal inside of a pillowcase. Of course there are no guarantees, but a clean lumpy animal is better than a poopy or pukey animal if you ask me! Good luck!

What a nice mommy you are! I wouldn't have even tried washing it, but I know how kids get so attached to one lovey. I put my kids stuffed animals in a pillowcase tied at the top into the washer & dryer (low heat). So far they have held up well,but the fur does get a little matted after a few washings. Better clean and loved, then dirty and in the trash!

I think you should throw it away and replace it with an identical stuffed bear. Did she do this in her crib when she woke up from her nap? In that case, you will have to put her nap-time diaper on backward, so she cannot undo the velcro tabs. Also, have her wear something for sleeping that she cannot take off.

Hi Krystyn:

I have a lot of the Build-A-Bear animals. Unless they have a sound device in them, I wash my girls bears all the time. I place them in a pillow case and wash them and dry them. I have never had a problem. I have done it with all the stuffed animals we have ever owned, even the ones that say surface wash only. My girls are still hugging and loving theirs and I wash them periodically.

Happy Washing!

Hi Krystyn!

I was my kid's Build A Bear animals in the machine all the time. I put them in a pillowcase and toss them in. I've never had a problem.

Good luck!

I have washed stuffed animals in a lingerie bag on a delicate cycle and they have come out fine. However, I wouldn't wash any stuffed animals with electronic parts (like the sound chips that you can put in your build a bear animals). Hope this helps.

I wash my children's animals in the washer all the time. As long as the animal does not have an electronic sound in it, it should be fine.
I put the animal into a pillow case, tie the end closed, and wash it on the delicate cycle with cold water. The animal is clean, smells better, and is perfectly fine.
My son has a white Lilkinz, and he fequently asks if "Sammy" can go swimming. The seal is clean and that makes both of us happy.

Hi Krystyn,
I wash all my daughter's animals in the washing machine and dry them. I don't do the one's filled with beans or buckwheat or anything like that. I don't believe Build-A-Bear has those fillers, so I'd think you'd be ok. Call Build-A-Bear and ask. A lot of times things that say hand wash or surface wash are actually fine to submerge. Good luck.

You could put in a pillowcase and wash it on the gentle cycle. I've done that with a few stuffed animals when my son got sick on them and they came out okay.

Good luck.

J. R.

I wash my kids surface-wash-only lovies all the time. The reason they are surface wash only may have to do with the polymers in the stuffing. Many of them give off noxious fumes when they get hot. Otherwise, if stuffed with natural materials, you could have problems with mold building up over time. That said, I wash my twins lovies when they get urked on or urinated on, and put them in the dryer on a low setting. Sometimes it takes several dryer cycles to dry them. I haven't noticed any degradation in the quality of the fabric or items from washing them -- though it might hurry the falling-apart of well-loved pieces (like bug-bug's antennas, which my boy likes to rub between his fingers while he's going to sleep).

Good luck!

I do it ALL THE TIME! I put my daughter's favorite stuffed animal in a lingerie bag to wash and dry. It takes a little extra time to dry, but we've never had a problem. We have been doing it for almost 2 years! Good luck!

Just yesterday I had my daughter take her favorite monkey stuffed animal into the bath tub with her because he was so dirty. It is surface wash only but we had him soak in the tub and I washed him with shampoo. He dried just fine and is perfect (and clean) now. I would be worried about how the agitator on the washing machine would affect the bunny though. Maybe you could just soak it instead. Good luck!

I always machine wash stuffed animals. I've never done the build a bear ones.

Just make sure it dries completely. Also note, that most fur will change from being machine washed.

Surface wash only applies to furniture and carpet in our house ; )

I toss my son's "dog dog" in a lingere bag and wash it. Just hang to dry though.

I've always put them in the washer. I've always wondered how producers of stuffed animals really think surface washable only is realistic for kids?? But when my daughter had a bad flu and her favorite panda got the brunt of her illness, I replaced him altogether with an identical one and she never knew the difference. Good luck.

I have thrown ALL of my 26 mo old daughter's in...she only did the poo-poo diaper thing 1 time but she vomited 2 times before when she was ill and also peed through her diaper a few times. I throw them in a delicates mesh bag (or just straight in the washer when I felt lazy a few times) and washed on delicate. I even washed them in hot the poo-poo time but I probably won't do that again for fear that something will shrink :) I use fabric softener and haven't noticed a fur issue...A few that have bean-bag feet I let dry laying flat on a drying rack them threw in dryer for just a few minutes on hot then fluff air to make sure they were completely dry. The others I threw in the dryer for a full cycle. She has these little handmade bla-bla rattles she is attached to (Piggers) and I throw all 3 of them in weekly and rotate them throughout the week. Good luck!

As another poster has said -- I have not specifically thrown a build-a-bear in the washer/dryer....let us know how it turns out!

Sounds like it was a fun party!

At a recent visit to Build-A-Bear, they shared that if you need to wash a bear, bring in to them first. They will "unstuff it for you" then you can go home and wash it and bring it back to have it restuffed free of charge.

In the past we have washed them when needed, but it has changed the appearance of their fur. Good luck!

YES, I machine wash ALL my children's animals and loveys. And I put them in the dryer. (It's usually too complicated to find the time and wash and air dry between naps and bedtimes.) I've read advice in the past that you can put them in a lingerie bag or pillowcase before putting them in the washing machine, but I have never bothered.

Eventually, the laundering wore down some of the satin material that covered the paw of my daughter's Lovey...but it was no big deal. Also, after "losing" my son's lovey one day, I bought a couple back-ups...so if one ever gets ruined, I've got another.

My son loves to give his stuffed dog a bath (shampoo) with him in the bath tub. Then they both dry off in towels, the animal gets a good squeeze in the towel, he brushes him and puppy spends the night on a dry towel.

yes, maybe not so much those that sound like they have 'beans' or sand-like stuffing. i put them in a lingerie bag so that they dont get too streched or caught in anything. same with the dryer, so that they dont get scorched. we dont have a build a bear to wash yet though. we have a gift certificate we havent used!