How to clean teddy bears and other soft toys

Teddy Bears, those treasured family favourites, are lovely but they can get dusty and musty. Here are a few simple things you can do to give Teddy a new lease of life by ensuring he and his furry friends are fresh and clean. It is a simple three-step process – Freeze, Wash, Dry! 

What you will need 

• Pillowcase 
• Gyre and Gymble Eucalyptus Essential Oil 
• Gyre and Gymble Scented Vinegar 

Put as many furry friends as you can into a pillowcase and place into the freezer for 24 hours. This should be enough time to kill any dust mites and other unwelcome guests that may be lurking on our furry friends.

If a plush toy has become very dirty you could also wash it in the washing machine, but this is not recommended for vintage toys. A warm to hot wash should do the trick. Add 1/2 cup of Scented Vinegar to your fabric softener compartment.  Scented Vinegar will have the same effect as a fabric softener. 

The tumble dryer is the best solution to dry the toy as this will fluff the plush toy back up again. Add 4 drops of eucalyptus oil and 4 drops of lavender oil to each toy and it will come out of the dryer smelling wonderfully fresh and ready to be played with once again. 

If you choose to dry outside on a lovely hot day be careful about pollen as the bear will collect this and that’s not great news for people with hay fever.