Fursuit Care Tips
7 years ago
Above anything, ASK if you are unsure. I have much more cleaning related testing to do, and I'd be happy to test specific situations before you potentially ruin your suit. Whenever I mention disinfecting I'm referring to something similar to this! There are also care products like fursuit spray and fursuit shampoo you can use.
Here's a pretty good video on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dISoG8QbFKc
HEADS
While some heads can be machine washed, I'd strongly suggest against it. Your best bet is to stick with spot cleaning. Make sure to cover your eyes if you will be spraying products with alcohol near them. The best thing you can do to clean your head on the outside is use carpet cleaner(I use Folex). Folex is great for getting out stains and making white fur white again. You'd be surprised how gross necks and faces can get! For the inside, I leave heads un-lined almost entirely for cleaning purposes. It's a lot easier to clean filth you can see! Just disinfect the inside using the method shown above! Please wear a balaclava with your head, that will keep your head much cleaner.
My heads continue to be more durable as I learn new methods. Feel free to squish your head, or even chuck it across the room, and it'll be fine! Try not to keep the head squished for too long though, or it might stay that way. The ears especially might get bent if squished into a small space. And of course like with any fursuit part, do not leave it in a hot or humid area because it might get damaged.
HANDS
To wash your handpaws, you can simply put them in a pillowcase, tie it, then toss it in the wash on gentle. You can wash them in the tub first to get out stains. They can't be turned inside out as easily, so it's easier to put them in a pillowcase, same with tails.
FEET
Right now, all my feet are made with foam built on shoes, so you probably shouldn't fully immerse them. Spot cleaning is your best bet. The bottoms of your feet may wear down over time, and I'm happy to fix it.
TAILS
Tails can vary a lot. Smaller tails are probably safe to be chucked in the wash in a tied pillowcase but bigger ones may be a bit of a problem. If your tail is pretty skinny, it should be fine, just make sure you dry any tail thoroughly! If your tail is attached to your bodysuit and does NOT have a zipper, it's fine to wash with the body. If it does have a zipper, remove all the stuffing from the tail first, then you can wash it and re-stuff it when it's dry. With bigger tails, if you wash it, make sure you fully dry it! Folex helps a lot for dragging tails.
BODYSUITS
These are pretty simple, just turn it inside out, toss it in the washing machine on DELICATE and COLD, and then hang right side out to dry. Any detergent should be fine. You can wash it in the tub first for more controlled cleaning for stains and such. It's better to use a front loading washing machine with any suit, since the agitator can be rough, although I've used a top loading one with no issue. All my digitigrade suits have removable padding pillows so you can wash your body with ease.
GENERAL CARE
-You should always wear a balaclava and underarmor with your suit! It helps to not only keep you cool, but also to protect your suit.
-Brush your suit! Brush it after washing and before and after every wearing.
-Don't leave your suit in the car, especially when it's hot! The best place to store your suit is a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.
-Do not squish your head for a long period of time. You could permanently bend things out of shape. You can squish it briefly for travel purposes, but don't store it that way. Be careful with your ears!
-When you take your suit off, put it in front of a fan to dry off faster. Get a fan to help with drying after washing as well.
-Don't get your suit too hot or wet. Foam takes a long time to dry and could possibly grow mold. Heat can melt hot glue and fur and permanently damage it.
-DO NOT put your suit in the dryer. If your dryer has a no heat setting, test it on a piece of scrap fur first, but please be careful
This helped me out greatly thanks ^-^