Cleaning up Barbies?

Question

I recently was hired to babysit two girls; one is 12, the other is 9. They will be coming to my house, & since I'm almost 20, there really isn't a lot of stuff that would interest them, except for my old Barbie collections.

I haven't touched these things in almost eight years. I have a couple of crates full of Barbies, accessories & clothes, & another couple full of furniture & add-on sets like a grocery store & a vet's office.

They're a mess! We left some of the crates uncovered & mice made nests in them; there are also these disgusting worm-type larvae in some of the clothes & hair. Gross.

I'm using Pine Sol & hot water to clean up most of the accessories & the Barbies' bodies, but I need a way to wash the hair & clothes. I want everything to be as clean as possible, for the girls I'm babysitting & also in case I decide to keep them for possible future children of my own.

Is is possible to put the clothes in the washer, or should I hand wash them? And what about the hair?

Answer 1

First, sort through the clothes, and remove any that are vinyl or plastic. Then, put all of the clothes together in a pillow case (not a flannel pillow case, a standard one), and tie the pillow case in a knot, shut, so that the clothes cannot "escape" while it's in the washing machine. Next, put the pillow case on the gentle cycle of the washer on warm setting (not hot or cold setting). Use a gentle laundry soap that is unscented and dye free such as Bioquest, Purex Baby Detergent, Woolite, or some other gentle formula. Any of the unscented detergents like "Cheer Free" or baby detergents will work well. Make sure that the laundry detergent that you use is free of dyes, scents, and does not contain bleach. Wash the pillow case in the washer on the setting described above. Remove the pillow case as soon as the washer stops.

Untie the pillow case, and lay the clothes out on a flat surface to dry (not in direct sunlight). A card table, kitchen table, or some other flat hard surface is best. In an hour or when the tops of the clothes feel dry, flip the clothes over and allow the back side of the clothes to dry. Do not put the clothes in an electric or gas dryer, do not hang the clothes up to dry, and do not put the clothes outside to dry. The colors on Barbie clothes fade and run very badly when the clothes are wet, so leave them as flat as possible until they are completely dry. Do not lay them on a towel to dry, as it will make them stay wet longer, as the towel will hold the moisture against the underside of the garments. If you want to lay something on the table, or surface you plan to dry them on, use a plastic disposable table cloth.

To clean the Barbie dolls themselves, fill the bath tub with water, and squeeze a good sized squirt of antibacterial dishwashing soap or antibacterial liquid hand soap while the bath tub faucet is running. Squeeze another squirt if necessary. (Use the kind that requires water, not the alcohol based kind and make sure whatever you use does not have bleach or bleach alternatives in it). Drop the Barbies (without clothes of course) into the water, and let them soak for 15 minutes. Remove the dolls from the water, and place them on a table covered in towels to dry, preferrably with their hair leaning over dangling down over the edge of the table. Allow the dolls to dry completely, including their hair, do not leave them outdoors to dry. DO NOT I repeat DO NOT brush or comb their hair while they are wet. Someone mentioned doing this. Barbie hair is not real hair, and it will fall right out if you try to brush it while wet.

Once the dolls dry comb or brush their hair, and then put it in a pony tail or braid it to keep it from becoming tangled again. If you are having difficulty brushing the hair, squirt a little bit of Johnson's No More Tangles Spray into your hand, and then rub it on the hair, and brush through it. (By the way you can wash plastic furniture and similar items the same way), cardboard items should be thrown away, as there is no way to clean them from bacteria. Accessories can be washed the same way, wash them in a clear drinking glass (especially shoes) so they don't get lost in the bath tub.

Your Barbies will be as good as new.

Avoid cleaning products that contain: Acetone, Ethyl Alcohol, Bleach, Bleach Substitutes, Dyes, and Perfumes when washing Barbie dolls and their fashions.

Answer 2

What a shame for that to have happened. Hopefully, the mice did not leave any diseases behind.

I really don't know about washing the clothes, but I suggest that you put the clothes in a lingerie bag (leaving out any vinyl clothing or accessories) and put it on gentle cycle of your washer (cold water). It would probably be best to use Woolite and no fabric softener. Lay them out or hang them on a line to dry.

See the last suggestion to the person who asked about washing the hair, it was very good. The only thing left out was to brush the hair while it is still wet.

Good luck!

Answer 3

You can wash the hair with shampoo.. The clothes put them in a delicates bag and wash gentle cycle. However, depending on the age of the clothes they may just fall apart.. They may not even want to play with them... Good luck

Answer 4

Those barbie clothes are mAde of cheap material and the barbie is plastic so stick it all in a bucket of soapy hot water and let it soak. Rinse and air dry. Easy and it won't hurt the toys.

DO NOT USE BLEACH

Answer 5

dont use that here is a simpler way into cleaning your barbies get a rag towel or cloth and get some rubbing alcohol and or you can se this method of putting one part white vinegar to two parts water and cleaning them that way. with the vinegar they will smell like vinegar but let the barbies air dry for a couple of days .

Answer 6

hand wash and add a little bleach
DO NOT MIX the pine.sol and bleach together