Vinegar is a great natural fabric softener, and works great for common kid-related messes that might involve vomit or urine. Mix one part clear vinegar with two parts warm water and dash of lemon juice or dish detergent.  You can pour the diluted vinegar solution right into the laundry bag and let it soak before putting in the machine wash. If anything is caked onto the stuffed toy, use a sponge liberally soaked in the solution to get any messy matter off before tossing it in the mesh bag. If you have a top-loader that doesn't have a separate compartment for detergent, get the water running and put down detergent before you place the toy inside. It's best to use a machine without an agitator. Never use a high-powered laundromat machine.  Use a very small amount of mild detergent, such as Woolite, or just use the vinegar solution you made. If you go with detergent, a teaspoon or so will do, depending on the size of the stuffed animal.  Soap nuts also have hypoallergenic properties, which are good if your child has a dust mite allergy. Fabric softener is normally unnecessary and can harm the plush. The gentlest cycle possible will reduce the risk of parts torn off. Don't use hot water, or you'll discolor the stuffed animal. Hot water is especially harmful for any glued parts the toy might have.
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One-sentence summary -- Presoak with a vinegar solution. Place the toy and detergent inside the washer. Set the washer on cold and use gentle cycle.


The most surefire way to break in a stiff new softball glove is to use it to play catch frequently. This way, you’re using it for what it was designed for, and won’t have to worry about damaging the glove’s materials using unorthodox methods. The downside of simply playing catch to break in your glove is that it can take many hours of catching to soften the glove up enough. When catching a softball with a new glove, concentrate on enveloping and squeezing the ball with the area around the thumb and forefingers to form what is known as a “pocket.” This will give the glove a natural contour the size and shape of a softball and make catching easier as a result. Use both hands to bend, pull, stretch, squeeze and roll the glove. Working the glove manually can also be a time-consuming way to break it in, but the upside is that it can be done absent-mindedly while you’re busy with other things. After a while, the repetitive contact will cause the leather of the glove to loosen up.  Try kneading your new glove while you’re watching TV, talking with friends or sitting in traffic. The natural oils on your hands can also be good for conditioning a stiff glove. Take out your aggression on your new glove and soften it up in the process. Punch it, kick it, stomp on it, hit it with a bat or throw it against the wall. It may seem odd to be so destructive to a new glove, but the abuse you dole out will simulate the pounding it will eventually take on the field. Just make sure you don’t damage any weaker areas of the glove, like the stitching. Softball gloves are fashioned from thick, durable leather, so you’re unlikely to damage the glove, as long as you don’t employ extreme measures like running it over in a car or dropping it off a cliff. One traditional method for breaking in a new glove is to fold it around a ball, stick it under your mattress and sleep on it for a night or two. What makes this effective is the constant heat and pressure from having your body weight on top of it for an extended period. As the glove warms up, it will begin to conform to the shape of the ball, while positioning your shifting mass over it while you sleep will massage away tension in the new leather.  Make sure there is a ball in your glove before sleeping on it. The point is to form a defined pocket, not to flatten the glove out. Play catch with your new glove by day and sleep on it at night. Between the two, the glove should be thoroughly broken in in no time.
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One-sentence summary --
Use the glove to play catch. Knead the glove by hand. Rough up the glove. Sleep on the glove.