How to clean Charlie Bears
It is important to clean your teddy bears, most especially if these are your kids' bears. But having hygienic teddies is also important even if they are part of a display collection. This guide will take you through the reasons why it is important to clean your teddy bears, before then going through what is the best way of cleaning your Charlie Bears.
Why should you clean teddies?
If the teddy bear in question is the faithful companion of a certain little one in the house, then teddy bears might become dirty through food spillages, or through being taken outside and left down on the ground. Plus, if ever your child gets ill, then the teddy will most likely then carry the germs. On top of that, there is a certain amount of dust that will settle on teddies even if they are kept safely indoors and away from food.
As a result, even teddies which are part of a collection will need cleaning to keep them in top condition. Just in the same way that a cushion will eventually become faded and even damaged if it is never freshened up, so too will a teddy bear suffer if left without being cleaned. Although a little bit of dust doesn't in the very first instance cause too many problems, it can become the settling ground not only for more dirt but also for household pests. To avoid this, a regular system of careful and gentle cleaning will do the trick. In just 4 easy steps you'll be able to restore your bear back to it's former glory.
- Assess your Charlie Bear
- Work out which type of Charlie Bear you have
- Wash your bear!
- Let your bear dry
You won't may not need to give the bear a full wash if there is a very localised spillage. On the other hand, if the bear has had a long day out in the garden having a tea party with the little ones, then a more generalised wash will be a good idea to ensure that your Charlie Bear is not carrying around bits of mud in its fabric.
As a more general suggestion, a Charlie Bear belonging to a child should be washed around once a month even if it seems to be clean. To add to this, light dusting using a clean and soft brush can help through the weeks to keep the teddy stay fresh till the next substantial wash.
Your Charlie Bear will come with information to tell you if it is machine washable or not. To give you an idea before you purchase one, however, Charlie Bears Baby Collection and Bearhouse Bears are all machine washable. These are smaller bears which are made out of soft plush material that is fine to go in a machine on a heat of 30°C using a mild detergent. Bears from all other ranges should be washed by hand. Some are too large and detailed to go into the machine without risking damage. Others, such as those bears in the Isabelle collection, are made out of materials such as mohair or alpaca which are too delicate to be machine washed.
If your Charlie Bear is machine washable, then you should place your Charlie Bear in a mesh laundry bag or a pillow case before putting it into the machine. This will help to protect it from damage in the wash cycle. You should use a mild detergent such as a bio detergent and, as already mentioned, you should keep the temperature to a maximum of 30°C. If you are handwashing, then you should use a sponge or a cloth and lather up the fabric of your bear gently. Then you must rinse your Charlie Bear twice or even three times, so that all the soapy suds have been worked through and out of the fabric.
When you have rinsed your bear, or just taken it out of the washing machine, you should not wring it out, as this may damage your bear. Instead, simply press down on it gently and squeeze the water out. Then, when it is not so heavy with water, leave it for 5-10 mins for more water to evaporate out of the bear. Only hang up your bear to dry after this 5-10 min period, as the weight of water from a freshly rinsed bear will at first put too much pressure on the joints when hung up.
It is as simple as that! As we mentioned above, aside from this thorough wash, it would be helpful to have a soft, clean brush that you can use simply to give the bear a dust now and then. This, along with washing and rinsing it, will keep your bear's fabric soft and glowing, as well as making sure that it is hygienic for your kids to cosy up to their favourite teddy.