This guide is valid for StuffedTails fursuits. If you don't own a fursuit made by us, we highly recommend to ask your maker all the information you need to wash your suit. I can not guarantee that you can have good results following this guide for a fursuit that is not made by us.

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General Rules:

• Be sure to brush your suit frequently and be careful brushing around the eyes and the nose.

• Use a Fursuit Spray to disinfect your suit after every use.

• Always use a light soap, like a wool soap.

• Never use excessive force when hand washing fur. Do not pull on seams.

• Do not leave fur in water longer than necessary.

• Do NOT use a hand dryer to dry fur unless there is a cold or cool air option. YOU CAN MELT THE FUR THIS WAY.

• DO NOT USE HEAT !!

 

Handpaws

• For the fur gloves, hand wash them in warm (not hot) soapy water.

• Rinse with warm or cold water until there are no more suds coming out.

• Squeeze out all the water you can.

• Leave to air dry in a dry, preferably cool area. (This will take a day or more.)

• You can even wash them with washing machine, but be sure to put the handpaws inside a pillowcase. Follow the same instructions of the bodysuit!

 

Head

• To keep the inside of your head clean, we recommend always wearing a balaclava.

• If the inside of your fursuit head gets dirty, use a lightly damp rag or a spray like febreeze to very lightly clean the inside foam and then let air dry.

• Fur on the outside can be cleaned with a lightly soapy rag to gently rub clean specific areas that need spot cleaning.

• Never submerge your fursuit head in water or use a lot of water. It may ruin the glue, eyes, or be impossible to dry in certain places. Do NOT wash the head in the washing machine!

• If you have a Bissel you can use it for washing the head. It's the best way to clean fursuits head!

 

Tail

• Similar to the head, spot clean dirty fur areas with a lightly damp, soapy rag.

• Spot rinse with a not soapy damp rag and then let air dry.

• If you can turn it inside out you can wash it on the washing machine.

 

Bodysuit

Machine Washing

The easiest way to keep your suit clean, washing machines! However, lots can happen here too. ONLY USE WASHERS ON COLD SETTING. AND NEVER USE A DRYER. Heat ruins the fur used on your costume as it is made from plastic, so do not use heat in any way. Use it on cold setting only, and also gentle or normal settings recommended. If you have an agitator washer, we recommend to advising us before throwing it in there. As sometimes agitator washers can cause damage. Otherwise, top or front loading machines can be used, but again, cold settings only. This way of washing can be for Bodysuits, Handpaws, and Tails. Our Feetpaws are made with foam so we suggest to not machine washing them.

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To use your washer for your fursuit, follow these steps:

• Give all items a nice brushing, this way any tangled or matted fur does not get worse in the wash.
• Turn bodysuits inside out. Sleeves and leggings can also be turned inside out if possible. Put hand paws and feet paws into a mesh washing bag, or pillow case. This helps if any paw pads or claws come loose they are in the bag and not lost in the machine.
• It has been said that any detergent will work, but some have also said that gentle detergents work the best and are the most safe. Regular hair conditioner can be used as a fabric softener. If you want a nice smell added, buy scent crystals which are in the laundry section of stores. (Crystals only! Not the pellets! Pellets will leave residue! Also only use liquid detergent, the detergent pods are not good for suits, the plastic from those can get stuck in the fur)
• Once you have double checked the settings, you can start the washer, and then it's the waiting game! Make sure the spin cycle has done it's job, if not, put it back in on spin cycle.
• Once it has finished, pull pieces out, give them a good shake (fluffs up the fur and helps loose fur balls come off the items) turn everything right side out (Or you can leave it inside out to dry the backing, either way works) and then hang them up to dry. (Using a washing machine helps a lot when it comes to water, it spins out most of the water so drying time is much faster.)
• Be sure to thoroughly brush all items right after hanging them up and/or turning them right side out, that way the fur dries straight and in the correct direction. Be sure to go and brush the items every 30 minutes to an hour to help keep it fluffed as well as help the fur dry straight. This step is VERY important. If you don't brush while drying, the fur will look nasty, so always brush! Brushing also helps aid the drying process.
• Some people have said that dryers with no heat settings can dry, but I personally never have as some people have had damage still happen to their suits. If you want to use a dryer, please test on a fur scrap first!
• To dry your suit, hang it up with a fan (or two) blowing onto the outside, and if possible, have a fan on the inside. This keeps all the air circulating and will help it dry much faster!
• For pieces other than body suits, make sure hand and feet paws are propped open, and have a fan blowing onto them, move them around every hour or so to make sure everything dries. Same for the tail, move it around, or have it on a hanger to make sure it dries thoroughly.
• You want to many sure all pieces are dried thoroughly and quickly! While items are drying check them, move them around, brush the fur, etc.
• Feel around the item, make sure you do not feel any moisture, continue to dry any area you still feel it. If they are dry, you are done! Good job!

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How to wash with bathtub:

• Zip up your bodysuit before washing and place into a bathtub.
• Fill the bathtub with slightly warm, soapy water. Use the light, not harsh soap recommended in the General Rules
• Lightly apply a little extra soap and scrub spots on your bodysuit that get extra wear, like your underarms, crotch, and any spots that may have gotten dirty during wear.
• After a light scrubbing and letting all of the fursuit get water on it, drain the bathtub of water. Press out any remaining liquid from the bodysuit. You will have to wash out the soap from fur that still has soap on it. This will take a bit of time. Make sure to get out as much water and soap as possible. A little soap on some fur won’t ruin it.
• IMPORTANT STEP! To dry the bodysuit, you can hang it up and air dry it from this point. Note that this will take longer than the washing machine method described in the next step. If you choose to do this, make sure to brush your bodysuit fur down every few hours so as to prevent a wavy nature to your fur when it dries.