Cleaning 30-Year-Old Doll

[lizzywednesday]

OK, so my DD has bonded with my childhood baby doll, Buttercup.

However ... Buttercup is well-loved, though in great condition (except for her nails, which I believe I tried to polish as a very adventurous preschooler), and rather scummy looking due to being played with, then displayed on an unprotected shelf (dust! oh the dust!) and, finally, being stored for the last 10 years in a Rubbermaid tub in my in-laws' basement.

She is a cloth-bodied, vinyl head-and-hands doll, possibly by Madame Alexander (she's got some sort of markings on the back of her head that I need to examine more closely) with an internal "cryer" box that I replaced when I was 9.

Her (rooted) hair is a dreadful mess, but, thanks to the internet, I've learned what I can do to try and fix it. (Sending her back to Madame Alexander's doll hospital for hair re-rooting is a total last-resort. It's pricey.)

Any tips to get most of the grunge off of her? She doesn't have to be perfect, just cleaner.

[Blue Hydrangea]

Have you googled? I know there are tons of sites out there on doll cleaning and restoration. You'll probably need an old toothbrush, Q-tips and toothpicks(for digging dirt out of creases, like between fingers). You can use a solution of watered down dish soap to get dirt off the vinyl first, then see where you have stains and work on those. I remember a thread on here that I read once about using acne cream on ink on vinyl dolls, the cream faded the ink, so you can try that too. Good luck!

[lizzywednesday]

Have you googled? I know there are tons of sites out there on doll cleaning and restoration. You'll probably need an old toothbrush, Q-tips and toothpicks(for digging dirt out of creases, like between fingers). You can use a solution of watered down dish soap to get dirt off the vinyl first, then see where you have stains and work on those. I remember a thread on here that I read once about using acne cream on ink on vinyl dolls, the cream faded the ink, so you can try that too. Good luck!

Haven't Googled yet, but I figured someone on here (and hopefully Setivonzu, since she is the resident doll-expert!) could give me IRL tips.

I don't much care about the pen marks (she has some on the soles of her feet; I distinctly remember writing those as a small child) but I do care about the cloth body since I probably shouldn't just chuck her into the washing machine like I wanted to do!

[Seitvonzu]

oh goodness! i'm not a restoration specialist AT ALL...but i would probably use baking soda for the "grime." take a clean cloth, dampen, dip in a bit of baking soda and wash doll. this is what they used to sell to clean american girl dolls which are vinyl. i confirmed this recently at the store (they use it at their "salon")

madame alexander babies are made of vinyl same as the AG dolls.

hair is much scarier than the skin :) for ink/pen marks people often have success with zit cream (weird i know) --but you'd want to test that on an inconspicuous spot first in case it discolors the vinyl :)

i wish i had my childhood babies. this actually reminds me that ihave a madame alexander pussycat doll put away for my daughter and it's really time to get her out. she's new, but i had the doll store i worked at put a crier i found in her :)(they don't have criers anymore!!!! or didn't when i was "in the biz" :)

[Seitvonzu]

one last thing- when your doing the baking soda business be sure to keep it AWAY FROM THE EYES....and keep water away from the eyes too (especially when you are doing the hair! :)

:)

[lizzywednesday]

oh goodness! i'm not a restoration specialist AT ALL...but i would probably use baking soda for the "grime." take a clean cloth, dampen, dip in a bit of baking soda and wash doll. this is what they used to sell to clean american girl dolls which are vinyl. i confirmed this recently at the store (they use it at their "salon")

madame alexander babies are made of vinyl same as the AG dolls.

hair is much scarier than the skin :) for ink/pen marks people often have success with zit cream (weird i know) --but you'd want to test that on an inconspicuous spot first in case it discolors the vinyl :)

i wish i had my childhood babies. this actually reminds me that ihave a madame alexander pussycat doll put away for my daughter and it's really time to get her out. she's new, but i had the doll store i worked at put a crier i found in her :)(they don't have criers anymore!!!! or didn't when i was "in the biz" :)

Thank you!

It's not so much that she needs "restoration" because she's in fairly great shape for such a beloved and ill-stored dolly, so your tips are VERY helpful.

I wasn't sure what the "cleansing powder" AG used to sell (seriously; they sold it in a little round shaker-box, like you'd put toilette powder in) was, so knowing that it's just baking soda (which we have TONS of) is great.

The hair, well, I'm going to try using the fabric softener & water in a spritz bottle trick (probably will do that on my My Little Pony tails as well) that someone posted here ages ago. If it works, great. If not, it's only going to cost me the price of the softener.

Honestly, I don't mind the pen marks so much as I mind the perception of filth I have on the fabric body. I'm going to have to get creative about fixing that.

[Seitvonzu]

you could surface wash the body with a damp cloth/baking soda-- i dont' think baking soda would hurt that either -- and i'm sure it would "freshen" it up a bit esp. help with any old smells you might perceive. it won't look as clean as the vinyl of course...but it might help enough to get rid of your squeamishness

pen marks don't really bother me either :)

and yeah... i had that little powder container from AG. my mother always laughed and said "i just spent 8 dollars on baking soda"-- :) the salon workers couldn't confirm that those containers were baking soda (they were all too young to even know about it), but they do use baking soda NOW to clean the dolls (so i think it's a safe bet)

baking soda is abrasive, so i wouldn't use it for daily cleaning or anything...but for grime, it's definitely useful :)

[lizzywednesday]

you could surface wash the body with a damp cloth/baking soda-- i dont' think baking soda would hurt that either -- and i'm sure it would "freshen" it up a bit esp. help with any old smells you might perceive. it won't look as clean as the vinyl of course...but it might help enough to get rid of your squeamishness

pen marks don't really bother me either :)

and yeah... i had that little powder container from AG. my mother always laughed and said "i just spent 8 dollars on baking soda"-- :) the salon workers couldn't confirm that those containers were baking soda (they were all too young to even know about it), but they do use baking soda NOW to clean the dolls (so i think it's a safe bet)

baking soda is abrasive, so i wouldn't use it for daily cleaning or anything...but for grime, it's definitely useful :)

I know it's an abrasive, but just for getting Buttercup cleaned up initially, I'm willing to try it.

She mostly smells kind of musty, as a result of ending up in a dark container in a basement, I think.

[lizzywednesday]

So, with DD's "help", we cleaned Buttercup's face, arms & legs today.

I never expected her to look brand-new again, but she does look much better!

Thanks for the baking soda tip!!

I'll report back once I've done the hair thing.