The Doll Forum

So I've had a TPE doll for 1.5 years now. She's starting to get some deep dust streaks from sleeping on her side. I want to believe that serious scrubbing with soap water will improve the situation, but it's tough! Anyone here with advice? (Good thing she's tan; if she were regular tone, I imagine the dust streaks would be much more noticeable.)

Wash her in mineral oil, one section at a time, rub mineral oil around and you should see it loosen and lift all the dirt off. Then using a soft slightly damp towel wipe it off.
Rinse the towel off in hot water and squeeze out the excess water till slightly damp.
Move on to another section. And again.
After final wipe down, let her dry and soak up any residual oil, then lightly powder her.
This may wash off some of the coloring.
You can redo it with powder makeup.
Be gentle, vigorously scrubbing will chafe your doll.

Thanks buddy, will give her another cleaning at some point. Two days ago I gave her a thorough mineral oil bath (following suggested maintenance wisdom), the first in 5 months, after a vigorous soap scrubbing session (with microfiber towels which don't scratch). My impression is mineral oil is good for agglomerating surface level dust and making it easier to wipe away with soap water, not sure how effective it is for deeper dust. I'm guessing it's going to require lots of patient scrubbing no matter what.

Is that dust or a fabric stain? Maybe from dark pants or hose?

It's definitely dust, she is not wearing any fabric. But it's not surface level dust that you can just sweep off, kinda like dust that gets into a white shirt that's been there for awhile.

Should be dust. Looks a little bit like my doll after her first oiling. Back than I didn't notice, that the oil loosens the dust and collected on the points I haven't oiled as intensive as the others. I oiled the front and the back of my doll but neglected her sides a little bit and the dust collected like on your pictures. I just ignored it for the next months and made sure I didn't neglect those spots on the next oiling. I am lazy, so my cleaning routine is probably not as good as the one FP explained a few posts above.

Did you notice the marks before or after your oiling?

If they appeared after the oil cleaning, than oiling should get rid of the marks. However you just oiled her, so another oiling session would oversaturate her. Live with the marks and get rid of them, with the next oiling in 1-3 months. (Time depends on your TPE blend and other factors.)

Just done a deep clean on my 6ye TPE doll
I found the best way to do it is , oil her up with mineral oil , then scrape off with a credit card
Start at the bottom and work your way up , scraping upwards and removing the oil on the card with some kitchen towel
You will see the muck coming out of her on the card
Then leave to dry , using the card method you remove most of the oil , so you shouldn't over saturate her

bob7892 wrote: ...
You will see the muck coming out of her on the card
...

Sounds like a good hint. I will definately try the credit card method next time. Removing the muck with just kitchen paper was a pain in the ass. Thanks.

Did you notice the marks before or after your oiling?

Before and after, with some bit of improvement in areas where I tried the hardest. Just wanted to be sure that if I tried super super hard next time, I'd do a better job of dust removal.

bob7892 wrote:I found the best way to do it is , oil her up with mineral oil , then scrape off with a credit card

WARNING - Do not leave the doll and the credit card alone together.

scooter_ca wrote:

bob7892 wrote:I found the best way to do it is , oil her up with mineral oil , then scrape off with a credit card

WARNING - Do not leave the doll and the credit card alone together.

In my case, she'd order a TPE male doll

scooter_ca wrote:

bob7892 wrote:I found the best way to do it is , oil her up with mineral oil , then scrape off with a credit card

WARNING - Do not leave the doll and the credit card alone together.

Too late Scooter! I memorized the number and security number too! Some of modern culture just feels natural, even to a wild woman!

Arashi has like density variations along the seam lines ta absorb oil and powder differently so she has slight color variations. Its not terrible, but not something bear can wash out either. She's still pretty, even with all the junk in her trunk!