Plush Care
Figure 1: A 10 lbs box of Poly-fil premium fiber fill.
If you need stuffing for your plush, either beause you received it unstuffed, or because it needs topping up, I can recommend you to get Poly-fil premium fiber fill (see figure 1). This is one of the highest quality types of stuffing available for plush toys.
You can obtain this stuffing by searching on either Amazon or Ebay. For the US based people, you can also find it at Walmart or Joann.
If you are located in Europe, a good supplier for stuffing is Volumenvlies in Germany. Personally I prefer the one they call siliconized fiber fill. However they may not ship to your country, but you should be able to email them and inquire about an order.
After cuddling your plush for a while, you may want to clean it. This can be done in several ways.
1. If your plush is made with a stuffed head and embroidered eyes, you can use your washing machine, but empty the plush of it's stuffing first. Otherwise it'll absorb too much water and get very heavy, which can put too much stress on seams etc. Add regular washing detergent and wash at no more than 30° Celcius or 86° Fahrenheit.
2. If you want a more gentle washing, you can empty your plush of it's stuffing and wash it in a tub. Just add plenty of luke warm water and washing detergent or shampo, and gently massage it. Rinse with plenty of clean water afterwards.
3. If you don't care to unstuff your plush, you can use a carpet cleaner. This is a device that sprays water (with soap if you add it) into the fur fabric, and immediately sucks it out like a vacuum cleaner. This leaves only the surface damp but is obviously also only a surface cleaning operation.
Once you're done washing your plush, leave it flat on a surface like table, desk, drying rack etc. in a well ventilated area with low air humidity, and decent room heating (regular room temperature is fine, just not cold). For faster drying you can place a fan to blow air on the plush over night. The plush may need one to two days to fully dry. If you've left some stuffing in the plush say in the head or the paws, give it an extra day to dry.
If you're planning on packing the plush away, make sure to let it thoroughly dry for preferable a week to make sure there's no moisture left. Otherwise it may grow mold and your beautiful plush will be ruined.
DON'T EVER USE A TUMBLE DRYER TO DRY YOUR PLUSH. IT WILL BE COMPLETELY DESTORYED!
