Care

These are some tips I've found along the way that work for me.

Fungus will destroy your dolls if they are not properly stored & cared for.  You will want to keep them cool and dry.  Also, inspect them every once in a while.  Plasticizer will rise to the surface sometimes and will need to be cleaned off.  This is what the fungus feeds on.  You may also wash off their scent, but that is way better than having a doll ruined by these awful spots.  They lose almost all value with spots (meaning no one wants to buy a doll with fungus.)

Remove-Zit will remove the spots, but it takes a long time... and you have to re-apply every two days.  You can't use it on their abdomens though, it will melt the hard plastic.  It doesn't work that great on arms and legs, because usually when these parts are attacked by fungus, the pigment lightens.  So, you can remove the fungus, only to be left with a white spot.  It removes all paint, so if there is a spot in their blush, there's no hope.  It also lightens the plastic on pets sometimes, so be careful (mainly green, like Tea Time & Parfait.)  Blueberry Muffin's hat will turn white!  I'm very thankful to for Remove-Zit, but there is no miracle cure for fungus on your dolls.  You may or may not be able to restore them without damage.

Buy Remove-Zit

Clothing

Cleaning:  Soap and water does just fine to spruce them up!  I can get almost any stain out with Safeguard :)

OxiClean or BIZ really brightens them, so add some of this to the water.

Ribbons:  The ribbons that are on so many outfits tend to fray really badly.  If you trim off the unraveled ends and barely touch them with a clear topcoat fngernail polish, it will stop them from getting worse.

Wrinkles from storage:  Last year I found my long lost Berry Wear stuck in a little box in my closet.  The hat to Berry Patch was super wrinkled.  I used my skinny flat iron to make it look like new!  This is good for flattening ribbons, too.

Minis can also get sticky, and get fungus spots. If you happen to buy some that are really filthy, you'll want to let them soak in soapy water.  You may even need to use a toothbrush on them, but be careful - if you scrub too hard you can take off paint (especially if it is already coming off.)  If you get some that are still scented and just need a little touching up, then a baby wipe is great.  I use Target wipes, which are like Pampers.  They are soft cloth wipes that are pretty wet.  I wiped off my '84 Mint Tulip with one and it didn't affect her scent.  It made her paint nice and shiny.

These are just a mess to wash.  Wash them by hand, and try not to get water in their heads and bodies.  I set them in a small tub of water and wash them, almost like a real baby.  You will usually need to brush their "skin" with a toothbrush.  It is almost ALWAYS a little bit dirty at least.  It picked up dirt very easily, but it also comes off very easily.  I use a blow dryer on their hair and cloth body.  Their hair is really what is a mess - if you wash it, the curls will fall out.  I have washed every single one of them, and they always fall out (except for SSC, she doesn't have curly hair!)  The curls don't always come out completely, but if they were tight before, they won't be after.

These are also a pain.  You can throw them in the washing machine on delicate and they do okay, believe it or not.  If you wash them by hand, they can end up with water marks.  If there was any dirt at all on the doll, and you can't get it all completely out... when the doll dries it shows in lines, and looks like water damage.  Someone left this in my feedback as a neutral - it wasn't water DAMAGE, it was the way the dirt settled as a result of water.  Anyway, the washing machine can make the stuffing weird though, and the tag will end up faded.  So, if you can get away with only surface cleaning your doll, that is the way to go (with a wet washcloth, etc.)  If the ends of the yarn hair are fuzzy, you can trim them with scissors.  The hair will look as good as new.

NRFB Dolls

If you see any shininess, you might want to remove the doll and pet and wash them off.  This will prevent fungus from growing, if it hasn't already.  If it has, it'll stop the fungus from spreading, or at least slow it down (hopefully, it works for me.)

Keeping a doll in its box still sealed really keeps its value high.  However, sometimes when they are trapped in a box they don't fare as well.  I usually take them out.  When they can "breathe" they do so much better.  Being stuck in a box sometimes gives them a bad smell, causes stickiness, and makes them get fungus spots.  Their clothes can fade from the stickiness and scent that is being released from the plastic of the doll, and the light colored pets sometimes absorb some of the color from the box insert.  I have a couple that are still sealed, but I can they are fine just by looking at them.  I recently opened a few because I suspected spots and stickiness, and I was right.

Loose Dolls

All of my dolls are mint to near mint.  This makes it difficult to clean them without messing up their curls and their overall mintness.  I just keep an eye on them, and I wipe their faces and bodies off with a baby wipe as necessary.  If any of them ever get really sticky, I will have to give them a total bath :)  I use plain soap or shampoo, and I condition their hair.  I try not to comb their hair very much, but I do soap it up.  Then, I blowdry it on low while I fluff.  It kind of "reactivates" the curls if there is any left in the first place.

If a doll's hair is wavy and doesn't have tight curls, it could loose almost all curl if washed.  Be careful!  Raspberry Tart's tighter curls hold up pretty well though.