Thursday, March 22, 2012

how to get water out of little people toys


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:

Amy said...

VERY good to know! I think I"ll pin this!

Cara said...

Ah now all I need is a drier ;).

Laurie said...

I wonder if you would get the same effect just sticking them outside on a hot day... I'll be experimenting! :)

Emily said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Emily said...

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!

Aunt Bob said...

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.

Faith Lucas said...

What if you wrap them in towels when putting them in the dryer? That's what I did

Nonnibear said...

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!