Preserving Your Dolls

Yes, dolls are fun and should be but if you want to keep them in a nice condition you need to follow some general guidelines.

Don't display your dolls in bright light

This includes sunlight, bright and hot incandescent lights and florescent lights.  Bright light not only fades beautifully colored clothing but also fades and causes damage to a variety of doll materials like the vinyl in Barbie dolls.

Keep your dolls dusted

Do this often.  Dolls allowed to gater dust can be ruined.  Dust can dull clothing colors and set into wigs then requiring cleaning which can decrease their value.

Store dolls in temperature controlled areas

Attics and basements are usually hot or cold and damp.  These extremes can ruin your composition, plastic and other doll materials

Keep your old original doll clothes

If it is a bit dirty or torn, it can be beautiful and valuable again with tender loving care.  You can use a vacuum to remove dust.  Contact a doll doctor for more extensive cleaning instructions or to have it done for you.

Keep your pets away

Cat's love mohair wigs can scratch the doll's material with their claws.  Dogs love to chew on anything.  So either keep them seperate or display your dolls in cabinets

Always store antique dolls face dolls

Antique dolls have eyes held in with hardened plaster.  If they lie face up for an extended period of time, the weight of the eyes and plaster can cause them to drop out, breaking the eyes and possibly the head itself. 

Keep dolls in vented boxes.

Wrap the doll in tissue paper and then place face down in a vented box with a lid.  If you don't have a box, wedding dress storage boxes from a Dry Cleaners establishment would work nicely.  Air tight plastic containers can hold in even a little moisture causing mildew and mold on the doll, which can be impossible to remove from some doll materials.