Teddy Bear Hospital 
from Teddy Bear Studio

Here at the Worcestershire teddy Bear Hospital, we see many teddy bears in a very poor atate of repair.  Often this is simply old age and lots of love, but sometimes it is environmental or insect damage or even miss handling (such as my mum washing my old bear in the twin tub washing machine, running him through a mangle and then hanging him out to dry! NEVER DO THIS).

Here we will look at some ways to help look after your teddy bear to reduce the damage, wear and tear and the cost of hospital visits.
 

Prevention is better than cure.

Okay, everything gets old and with time damage will occur.  Thats life as they say.  Teddy bears are no exception.  But there are things we can do to preserve our old (and new) friends.  Teddy bears are toys at the end of the day and many old friends were mistreated during play and lets face it, what's not to like about an old well loved teddy bear?  The sentimental nature of our attachment to our old friends is obvious when we see a bear in need of some TLC and no judgement is ever made by us here at the Worcestershire Teddy Bear Hospital/Teddy bear Studio.  We just love an old, well loved bear.

Handling

Fabric and fur are the first signs of wear and tear on well loved bears.  The fur falls out, then the fabric itself starts to wear out, and holes are formed.  Other than not handling the teddy bear at all, there's not much we can do about this.  Try to handle all bears gently, don't squeeze them and don't rub the fur.  Keep brushing to a minimum and only use very gentle brushes (see later).

Sunlight

Sunlight has a large part in helping our old friends deteriorate so try to keep your old bear out of direct sunlight.  Sunlight can bleach the colour from old bear fur whether it is a natural fibre such as Mohair, or a more modern material such as polyester or acrylic (for which it is very bad due to a process called scission in which the UV part of sunlight breaks the polymers in the fibres).  Simply keeping your teddy bear away from the window in an area where direct sunlight doesn't reach is best (no bear should be in a box in the dark and never seen!)

Handling

Handle the bear as little as possible and when you do, be gentle.  Don't rub the fur and definitely dont brush it as the fur can be pulled out. If you do need to brush the fur use a very soft (baby) toothbrush with the bristles pointing away from the direction of movement, or better still a real mohair brush.  Always brush in the direction of the pile which is usuall down the body and limbs, forwards on the sides of the head and backwards on the top gusset.  The ears usally have the fur going upwards.

Cleaning

Never put your old bear through a washing machine or soak it in the sink etc.  Use a very gentle detergent (we use Eucalan unscented) and put just a little in a small amount of luke warm water then agitate the mixture to make as may bubbles as you can.  Dip a soft white flannel in the bubbles (never coloured as you don't want any dye to transfer from the flannel to the fur) and wring it as dry as you can.  Now, with your finger wrapped in the damp part of the flannel, gently roll your finger on the fur or gently dab on and off, do not wipe or scrub.  Repeat as often as necessary to clean the dirt from the fur. It takes a lot of patience and time.  Check the dampness of the fur and stiop and leave it to dry if its feels wet.  Try not to get the fabric beneath the fur wet as this can rot the fabric.  Another benefit of the white flannel is you can see the dirt transfer onto the flannel very easily.

Dust and smoke

Dust in fur is problematic and a gentle blow with a compressed air can every few weeks is a gentle alternative to brushing and cleaning with chemoicals and detergents.  Some people use a vacuum cleaner nozzle to remove dust.  Yes this will work but a tip is is cover the nozzle with an old sock to reduce the suction so as to cause no damage, dab the nozzle on and off the bear rather than rub at it as rubbing can remove fur.

Cigarette smoke (and smoke in general) is another thing to avoid as it seeps into the fabric and stuffing and is very difficult to remove. Cigarettes can also stain the fur and is almost impossible to remove.

Moths 

Moths love old fabric and teddy bears are no exception.  If you see holes, or worst still, long holes, it could be a sign of moth damage.

There are various remedies that we have heard touted for killing the moths.  One involves tripple packing the teddy bear in sealed plastic (ensure every layer is completely sealed to prevent moisture damage) then put it in the freezer for at least 3 days.  Whilst this will kill off any moth larvae and eggs it can harm the stuffing, especially if the stuffing is wood wool, which most old bears before the 1960's were stuffed with.

A more gentle approach, which we use at the Worcestershire Teddy Bear Hospital, is to seal the teddy bear in a bin bag with several moth papers inside.  Date the bag so you remember when the treatment began and leave it fully sealed for at least 2 weeks (the moths egg/larvae cycle is 2 weeks).  We usually leave for 3 to 4 weeks to be sure.  Remove the teddy bear after treatment and inspect around the damage for signs of new damage (photo comparisons are good here so photograph the damage before treatment to allow thi)s.  Only then can repairs be made.

If you see a moth anywhere near your teddy bear, remove it before damage can be done (if you can't catch the moth, temporarily remove the teddy bear.

Pets

Dogs and cats (and other small animals such as mice etc.) Can do a lot of damage to teddy bears.  We often give toys to our dogs and often these are simply stuffed toys a lot like a teddy bear.  Your dog then sees your beloved old friend and to the dog it's just another toy, to you its that family heir loom, beloved old frind and confidant! Seconds of play and your old friend has lost an eye, an arm is torn off, stuffing is all over the floor and it's covered in slobber.  One client recently enquired about a repair where the families pet Parrot had pecked out poor Paddington's eyes and some stuffing.  Keep your teddy bears well out of the reach of pets!

Children!

It's no secret that children just love teddy bears (who can blame them).  Teddy Bears are often seen as toys, some are made for this but old bears and collectors bears are not for children.  Small parts such as eyes, cotter pin joints, even growlers and squeakers can be dangerous for children.  That's why all of our teddy bears (available at the Teddy Bear Studio website) are not suitable for children.  However children are very bad for teddy bears!  The first thing any very small child does is pick something up and stick it in his or her mouth.  Slobber soaks in to the fur, underlying fabric and stuffing.  An eye or nose gets chewed on, the child is sick on the bear and it needs a lot of cleaning which is bad for the bear.  The bear is carried around, often by an arm or leg (remember the Winnie the Pooh story where Christopher Robbin climbs the stairs with sound of Pooh clump, clump, clumping from step to step?) .  Often the arm or leg stuffing is broken (especially with wood wool stuffing) and then the fabric wears and part of the arm or leg falls off (yes I've got an old bear called Allan (bought at auction) who has just such a shortened arm and a leg with broken stuffing: one day I will repair him).  Then there's the squeezing and cuddling that wears the fur off and reduces the stuffing to dust. Oh, and taking the teddy bear outside and getting him covered in mud!  In short Teddy Bears, especially old collectors bears are best kept away from children.

Heat

Just like wet, too much heat can wreak havoc on old bears.  Yes we need to keep them dry but close proximity to heat sources can make them too dry and they go brittle (especially the fur).  Keep your old bear well away from radiators and definitely don't put him near an open fire or even a log burner: we don't want stray sparks getting in the fur and smouldering away.  The smoke from open fires can also be a problem with soot and smells getting in to the fabric.

Cigarettes as mentioned earlier, aren't good for teddy bears but remember a cigarette is also another source of heat.  Cigarettes produce enough heat that if they touch the bear they will burn the fur.  If you do smoke, don't handle the bear while smoking to minimise the risks.

Food

Keep teddy bears away from food.  Grease is difficult to clean from teddy bear fur no matter what variety of natural or man made fur it is. Food deposits allowed to dry are almost impossible to remove without causing damage (I had one bear with Weetabix dried in to the fur and that sets like concrete!).

Definitely don't do what one client did and keep the teddy bear on display in the kitchen.  Food smells from cooking sink deep into the fabric and stuffing.  Also, when frying, it's amazing how far the oils and fats will spit and you definitely don't want that on your teddy!

Final thoughts

Hopefully this has not frightened you into  locking your precious teddy bears away in a sealed box, in a bank vault away from any hazards.  A teddy bear should be loved and not just sit somewhere out of sight and reach.  Love your teddy bears, take pleasure from them, confide in them and admire them.  Thats is what they are there for.  Take a few simple precautions and the bear will last more than a lifetime and be passed down the generations.  We currently have one small teddy bear in our hospital that is over 100 years old and was originally the life long friend of the current owners mother.  He was brought to us by the current owners daughter for new eyes and a couple of seams repairing so he can last a bit longer and be passed on when the time comes.  that is what teddy bears are for, love and memories to remember forever.