I was at the Thrift Store the other day looking for some cheap crafting supplies and I found 28 Little People toys -the animal alphabet set (minus the animals for O and U) and four Little People people, a farmer, a tourist, a zoo keeper, and a little girl- for $3. Yes, yes. 28 looked-like-new Little People toys for $3!
I brought them home, and to get rid of the Ew-factor, I tossed them in a pot of soapy-hot water -which was a mistake. I forgot all about the holes on the bottom of each toy, and now they were filled with water. I tried squeezing and shaking the water out, but I wasn't getting very far. My mom suggested I stick them in a pillow case and throw them in the drier, so I did.
It sounded like we were in the middle of a war zone, but after about an hour total (I kept checking every so often) they were finally dry. Their paints melted onto each other a tiny bit, and since they came out of the pillow case at some point, the inside of my drier has rainbow streaks, but... I didn't have to throw them away, which is a good thing.
So, bottom line: Toss them in a drier set to low for an hour or so... more or less as needed. I had like 30 of them, so it probably took a little longer.
8 comments:
VERY good to know! I think I"ll pin this!
Ah now all I need is a drier ;).
I wonder if you would get the same effect just sticking them outside on a hot day... I'll be experimenting! :)
Bless you, bless you, bless you. I put a whole set of them in the dishwasher for my son's teacher, and got stuck with the same problem. You've saved my life!
While I was hoping this would be the answer, be aware that it leaves the little people looking beat up and color streaks transfer to one another. I am disappointed I did it - now my people are not looking good at all. It did get a lot of the water out if that is all you are caring about.
What if you wrap them in towels when putting them in the dryer? That's what I did
I just watched a video where a lady microwaved the water logged little people for 30 seconds to soften the plastic. She was then able to use a stick to pull the hole downward and the water came squirting out. Genius! Be careful because it's hot!
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