My teddy bear keeps getting mold on him

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I wasn't sure where to put this, so sorry if it's in the wrong section.
I really don't know why or how my teddy bear is attracting mold, as he lives on my bed next to my pillow. I've washed him (hand-washed because he's too old and tattered to cope in the washing-machine), and it did help but now the mold has returned, all over his nose. I made sure he was thoroughly dry after I washed him, it took about 5 days but he was definitely clean and dry eventually (he has a hole on the side of his face so I put my fingers through to feel his fluff and it felt bone dry).

None of my other teddy bears are attracting mold, just this one. He's always been there for me and over the years he's gotten tattered and torn and has lost most of his fur but he's still special to me. I don't really want to wash him again as he takes ages to dry again. Does anyone know of any products or ways to scrub the mold off without having to get the whole bear wet? I looked on Google but it just said to use bleach, but I don't want to use bleach on cloth in case it ruins it. I heard white vinegar is good but I don't know if I'd have to wash it out or not, as vinegar can smell quite strong.

Please if you know of any tips I would be most grateful. It's like mold is cancer for objects, and I don't want my bear to have cancer.

My daughter had a favourite plush bunny, and she used to suck on his tail and ears as a baby. Needless they got pretty nasty from germs and they eventually fell off (he's now an amputee hedgehog).

When she was at the height of her bunny-sucking stage, our paediatrician said to put him in the freezer in an airtight bag every couple of days. The freezer killed germs. The other option was boiling him but the thought of a boiled bunny didn't strike my fancy (Fatal Attraction).

I'll try to google and see if freezing is an option for mould as well. Maybe it would crystallise and you could kind of pick it off?

Vinegar is a good solution as well but I know you don't want to get him wet. I understand that. How about putting him outdoors in full sunshine? That's usually recommended as well.

As someone who killed their best vintage ragdoll in the wash, I wouldn't advise soaking him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-ozon ... _treatment

I wonder if that might work. Not to remove it, but to kill it and make it stop coming back. You can rent a small ozone generator for £35.00/day (according to the very brief search I did) and build something around it and the bear to try to get a higher level of ozone in a smaller area.

How about a lint roller or a fabric shaver like this? ^

These things are really good for removing pilling on clothing without hurting the fabric.

It looks like nothing gets removed from the item, but inside the shaver it collects tiny particles from the outer layers.

Depending on how long your teddy's fur is, it might do the trick?

Isabella knows what she’s talking about.

Thanks guys, very helpful advice.

Yes, I don't want the same to happen to my bear to what happened to poor IsabellaLinton's lovely doll.

I don't mind getting the bear a bit damp, I just don't want to soak him.

He's mostly bald, with patchy fur here and there, and the fur is not long at all.

I will try these useful tricks to get my bear thriving again.

I've used vinegar succesfully to get rid of bad smell in shoes and to clean off mold on felt in board game boxes.
The vinegar smell went away after about two days, I'd guess that it will go away faster if left outside/in the sun.

/Mats

Lotrimin powder might help.

We don't really have anywhere to hang him outside, plus it's near winter so it's usually damp and cold outside.

https://ohsospotless.com/how-to-get-mol ... f-clothes/

I'm a bit late, but I agree with the others here. Doing a gentle soak in hot vinegar water and then putting it on gentle/tumble dry may be helpful. If you can put him in a sunny window after, that would help too!

Is he staying in a damp room? If so, running a dehumidifier in your room would help prevent it from happening again!

You could try alcohol, too. I've done that for pillows/mattresses before, but I was too afraid to keep using the pillow, and just replaced it instead.

I've always just put stuffed animals in the dryer. Maybe that's not good for them?

Are you going to bed with wet hair? Maybe that's causing the mold?

Otherwise, it's probably just that the spores aren't being killed completely and are growing back.

For mould on fabric make a strong salt solution. Brush it on and leave it to dry. Then brush off the salt crystals. The salt kills the mould spores. You can also put a few drops of clove oil in the solution if you want to be extra sure.

I applied vinegar on him weeks ago, and although it seems to have stopped the mold from growing back he still reeks of stale vinegar. I miss his old smell of warm hugs.

I don't know if there is a doll hospital anywhere that will wash him for me, as he is so tatty that he needs to be carefully cleaned by someone who knows what they're doing. But they might only take dolls, and my teddy bear hates being referred to as a doll.

But otherwise at least he hasn't got any more mold on him as far as I know. I just hope it's not inside him in his fluff. He's only stuffed with soft, white fluff, not mohair.