In a word, yes. Read on for details. My first adventure in cleaning Dy-Dee was a disaster. I had read some directions in Barbara Hilliker's book, Dy-Dee, The Complete Collector's Book, and went straight at it. Ok, tepid water, keep the body weighed down and the head above the water line, and let the doll soak for a few hours. Got it. I lovingly weighted her body down and propped her head up, and went on to other things. Three or four hours later I came back and... what I thought was my almost perfect, just dirty, Dy-Dee now showed fine crackling along her tummy, back, arms and legs. But I did it right! I followed the directions so carefully! I went back and reread the directions.... soak for a few minutes...oohhhh. First lesson: Read the directions, calmly, twice. Since then I have been cautious about soaking, preferring to use terry cloth and diluted Dawn dish washing liquid in a bowl. Rub doll with soap mixture, wipe with a clean cloth, rinse in the sink with running water, dry and try again. For the little places between fingers and toes, I've used a baby toothbrush (the softest I can find.) The dolls have gotten cleaner, but still show some of that gray grime that comes with time. A few weeks ago I was perusing Barbara's book again when I came across advice given by Nicholas Hill, an organic chemist and expert in the preservation and cleaning of dolls. He wrote that the ONLY products that should be used on old rubber dolls are diluted liquid dish detergent or diluted Formula 9-1-1. I've heard good things about Twin Pines of Maine, Inc and the products they make for dolls. They advertise Formula 9-1-1 as cleaning old blood, smoke, crayon, chewing gum, food stains, grease, lipstick, tar, tape and sticker residues, wax and most other soils out of vinyl dolls. Also excellent with "time grime". Ok, if Nicholas Hill says it's safe, and he doesn't want you putting almost anything on dolls, I'll go for it. I ordered a bottle. ($14.95 + shipping for 8 oz, but it goes a long way.) Today I tried it out, and yes, it works! Much better than Dawn. My mold 3 Dy-Dee is much, much cleaner. But it won't remove the green coloring along the hairline of my Tiny Tears or that deep blue blotch on the thigh of my well-loved Victoria doll. In other words, it's not much for stains. They have another product called Remove-Zit that they claim will remove ink, magic marker, mold, mildew, fungus and food stains from dolls and vinyl action figures. Based on the performance of Formula 9-1-1, I'm willing to give it a go. But for those of you who, like me, read something and then quickly run off to try it, BEWARE. Remove-Zit also removes paint, like those used in doll's facial features. I'll report back after I've tried it. *I know pictures would help with these articles. I'm trying! It's just hard to get it all done and still have something new to share : ) 5 Comments | Who is this lady?
I was an AVID doll mother as a girl. I spent hours each day caring for my Thumbelina and Mama Kitten, and washing a little drink & wet doll & her clothing in the bathroom sink. ArchivesApril 2011 CategoriesAll |
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