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A Guide to Cleaning and Fixing Toys

By Jennifer King Lindley

When Ted E. Bear takes a tumble or falls prey to a pooch, he needs medical care—stat! Real Simple asked toy-repair experts for cleaning tips and patch-up strategies so your child’s buddies can get back into play.

For These Serious Cases, Seek Out a Specialist

If a stuffed animal has been maimed. Hanna Hach of Hanna Bruce Bears & Teddy Hospital, in Lititz, Pennsylvania, recently healed a rabbit melted by a lamp, then overnighted it back to its relieved owner, vacationing at Walt Disney World.
If an eye or some other critical part is missing. “I just fixed an American Girl doll who had been injured when two brothers pulled off her arms and a leg,” says Cheryl DuFresne of Cheryl’s Doll Hospital, in Almont, Michigan.
To restore an heirloom, like a Madame Alexander doll.

For a directory of doll hospitals, check out DollDoctorsAssociation.com. Visit AmericanGirl.com for the American Girl hospital.

For plush creatures, Google “stuffed-animal hospitals.” Some hospitals can diagnose patients by mail. E-mail a photo and the hospital will send you an estimate. (Toy fixes start at about $30.)

Next: Action Figures

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