The Way to Wash An American Girl Doll...

Washing An American Girl Doll...

I am not a doll lover. Frankly, they give me the creeps. Barbies and fashion dolls are okay if a little trashy, but large dolls bother me. I hate their eyes - always staring at me.  I was a little scared of dolls even before I saw Trilogy of Terror or any of the Chuckie movies.

I've avoided buying the girls any baby dolls or the very popular 18" dolls. It was easy with Amanda - she preferred other toys. It's more of a challenge with Danielle. She clearly prefers playing with her stuffed animals to the one baby doll that she has so I've never had to confront my irrational fear head on.

However two of her very best friends received American Girl dolls for Christmas this year. I'm not a huge fan of "keeping up" so under normal circumstances this wouldn't be a concern. So what if Danielle doesn't have one?

Then one of the moms mentioned that she was considering having her daughter's January birthday party at our local American Girl Bistro.  Being who I am, I looked it up online. The site said "for girls and their dolls to enjoy a special day together!" So I called the store and asked about whether or not the doll had to be an American Girl doll. While they didn't exactly say "yes" they didn't say no either. The response was that any girl who brought an American Girl doll would get the special treatment for her doll. Anyone who didn't bring an American Girl doll would be welcome to borrow a doll for the duration of the party. Okay, not ideal, but not so horrible. What's wrong with a loaner doll for the day?

Then I remembered meeting friends at a "fancy dress" restaurant. The man hadn't realized that a jacket and tie were required. He spent the evening uncomfortably wearing an over-sized yellow jacket that the restaurant kept for just such occasions. We all felt awkward and out of place. The yellow jacket was as glaring in a room full of dark coats as a Scarlet A. I didn't want Danielle to feel that way if I could prevent it.

Luckily, one of her cousins had saved her American Girl doll from the mid-1990s. Her mother generously boxed it up - along with several outfits!- and mailed it to Danielle. She was lovely and Danielle was thrilled to get the package.

Then I noticed that the doll smelled...off. Musty. I tried Lysol. I tried Febreeze. I looked up American Girl cleaning instructions online. Following them I tried a gentle sponge bath. Then I tried soaking it in the sink... It still smelled weird.

I looked up the American Girl "doll hospital". Basic cleaning costs $24 (plus shipping). I even checked into the cost of a replacement body -$39! More than the price of the knock off doll sold at Target.  Finally, I put it in the washing machine, cringing the entire time at the thought of putting a $100+ doll in the washing machine. Here is what I did:

Step 1: Remove the head. Turns out it's only tied on to the cloth body. Brush hair. Sprinkle baking soda inside head, place in a sealed plastic bag with a small cloth bag full of activated charcoal. Creepy decapitated doll head.. yuck! at least the eyes are closed.

Step 2: Soak the body in the sink using mild detergent (Woolite) and baking soda.

 Step 3: Wrap and tie her in 2 clean pillow cases then into the washer for another rinse and a spin. Somehow I feel a little like I'm drowning a bag of kittens...


Step 4: She survived the washing machine! Now to dry her.
I've moved from the morbid to the vaguely obscene...

I'm drying her upside down to get any water out of the hollow vinyl arms and legs. I figure 24 hours in front of the fan and then a week in a bag with activated charcoal. If that doesn't get rid of the smell... well, I guess that's what perfume is for.