COSTUME WASHING AND CARE GUIDE
It is very important that you treat your costume delicately. It has been made with great care and attention- we want it to last and remain in good condition!
When you receive a suit from me, it will come with instructions specific to that suit on how to put it on as well as how to care for it.
Just always remember to be careful with your suit, but natural wear and tear will happen over time!
Remember to always wear under armor (long sleeved shirt, leggings and a balaclava) under your suit. This under armor should also be washed frequently.
The five major areas of caring for your fursuit are brushing, disinfecting, washing, drying and storing.
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BRUSHING
It is important to brush your suit after every wear. This will keep the faux fur from matting and will keep your suit fluffy and soft! A slicker brush will do the job nicely, but be mindful that slicker brushes are designed for pulling out fur so use it gently and 'backwards' if you can. A wig brush will also do a nice job so long as you are gentle and mindful of seams. A gentle suit brush will be included in the box when you commission a suit from me.
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DISINFECTING
Wearing a suit can get quite hot and sweaty! You should always wear a light, thin balaclava under their fursuit head as to absorb most of the moisture and prevent it from getting to the lining of the head. That being said, some sweat will always get to that lining. After washing your separate balaclava, it is important to use a few sprays of watered down rubbing alcohol (Isopropyl) inside of the head and just gently wipe the lining down with a cloth. Be mindful of the mesh of the eyes. Do not use products like Febreeze as it can deteriorate foam and damage your costume over time. Afterwards make sure you leave the head out to thoroughly dry away from direct sunlight.
You can also use this disinfecting technique on other parts of your costume such as the handpaws and bodysuit, but only after light wear. If you have been suiting for some time, you must wash those parts.
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WASHING
Washing your fursuit head can be tricky! Whilst the heads I make should be durable enough to be machine washed on a gentle cycle, I DO NOT recommend doing that. It is too easy to damage more delicate parts like the eyes. The best way to clean your fursuit head is to purchase something like the "Bissel Little Green Machine". This is a kind of carpet cleaner that can be used effectively on fursuits if you are careful (use clothing detergent, not the carpet cleaner solution it comes with).
If your head needs a deep clean, I recommend washing it in a bathtub/large sink by hand. There are some tutorials on YouTube as to how to do this.
Feetpaws can either be spot cleaned with water and a little detergent, or washed in a washing machine on the GENTLE cycle if they are really dirty. Be careful as the weight of them when wet can off-balance your washing machine. Make sure you leave them out to dry FULLY before storing them. Leaving any dampness in any fursuit parts can cause mildew.
The bodysuit and handpaws can and should be washed after every wear. You can do this by turning the bodysuit inside out, placing it in your washing machine and using a HANDWASH or DELICATE cycle. If your handpaws are stuffed, please avoid turning them inside out unless you really need to- just wash them right side out in a ‘delicates’ washing bag. You can take the small padding pillows out of the handpaw fingers if you feel you need to but this isn't strictly necessary. These washes should be done with COLD water only. Do not use warm or hot water as it can melt the faux fur fibers and ruin your suit. Heat damaged fur cannot be fixed. Should your suit be digitigrade and have polyfill filled padding, make sure to wash these as well in the same way explained above. The tail can also be washed if necessary.
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DRYING
NEVER dry any parts of your fursuit in a tumble dryer with any sort of heat setting on. Again, heat can melt the fibers of your faux fur and ruin the costume. Carefully lay your suit out on a rack to air dry if you do not have a dryer with a no-heat setting. You can add some fans to blow cool air onto it if necessary to speed up the process. Make sure you do not hang a wet suit up to dry as the weight of the wet fur will pull the suit downwards and stretch it out. Set out your fursuit head and handpaws on the drying rack to dry as well. Never tumble dry a fursuit head or feetpaws.
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STORAGE
Always keep your suit in a cool, dry place. You can hang a dry, clean bodysuit on a hanger and keep it in your closet if you wish. You can also keep it in a storage container folded up, but that is not recommended for lengthy periods of time as folds can crimp the fur.
When travelling, make sure that all parts of your suit are kept in a hard container so that it cannot get crushed and distorted. You may keep dryer sheets in the head, handpaws, feet and bodysuit if you wish, but never more than one.
Just always remember to be careful with your suit! If you need further information, please visit this handy site:
cleanfursuits.weebly.com
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, email me at 8BitWorksFursuits@gmail.com