How to Properly Care for Your Doll Collection

My friend Gale is an avid doll collector. She collects dolls of all different sizes. Her doll collection includes blondes, brunettes, black-haired dolls, and redheads. She has collected dolls that stand, sit, lie down, blink, cry, and wet. She has porcelain, vinyl, cloth, and wooden dolls. You name it, if it’s a doll, Gale has it in her collection. She started her hobby several years ago by acquiring a couple of inexpensive BarbieâÂ?¢ dolls. Since then, she’s continually growing her doll collection by purchasing more dolls that tickle her fancy. In reality, the finer dolls that cost at least three figures aren’t actually purchases. They’re investments. And the best way to protect these investments is to properly care for them.

If you’re a doll collector, and you want to keep your treasury – no matter how much they cost – in the best condition possible, here are some tips that can help you do just that:

1. Keep It All Together
Many dolls at least hold their value, or even appreciate over time. But only if they are kept intact. That means they have all of their original accessories on or with them. These would include hair ribbons, tiny combs, hand bags, shoes, et cetera. You also need to keep their original packing materials, boxes, and any authenticity papers that might have come with them.

2. Don’t Change a Thing
Don’t change anything about your doll, like its hair style, clothing, and so on. Don’t remove any tags. Leave the item in its original condition if you want it to remain valuable. If you want to have fun doing makeovers on a doll, use one that has no, or little value, to it instead of changing an expensive one.

3. Keys to Proper Storage

A)Gail keeps most of her doll collection encased in glass cabinets. The cabinets are located in the upstairs of her house. She doesn’t allow her guests to smoke in her house. And, the upstairs of her house is off limits for guests to wander through. She does take family and friends up to show off her fine collection, though.

Tobacco smoke can smell up your doll and its clothing. It can also leave a layer of dingy brown nicotine on your doll, on its accessories, and on its paperwork too.

B)Glass cabinets are great storage areas for keeping your doll collection in pristine condition. They keep dust and dirt off them. Plus, they are protected from spills, leaks, et cetera.

To properly care for your doll collection, just be sure that you position your dolls out of the direct sunlight. Just like it fades and damages carpet and furniture, direct sunlight will do the same to your dolls over a period of time.
Some of the lighted cabinets Gail has has fluorescent lights installed in them.
She turns the lights on when she wants to showcase her collection. However, she says that some dolls cannot withstand long periods of time being exposed to fluorescent light too. It can be just as harmful as sunlight.

C)Dolls can be stored for a long period of time in a clean, cool, dry place. Avoid storing your collection in hot attics or in damp basements. Cardboard boxes or trunks are best for storage versus airtight plastic tubs. Plastic doesn’t allow air to ventilate around your dolls. Trapped moisture can cause mold and mildew. Use plenty of sheets of white, acid-free tissue paper to loosely wrap your dolls before you store them.

4. Keep Them Clean
To properly care for your doll collection, you’ll need to clean each item periodically. To remove light dust, you can use a large, soft bristled brush to do the job. To remove any light marks on your doll’s skin, never use soap or any type of household cleaners. Instead, dip a soft, clean cloth in distilled water.

Distilled water is better than tap water because it has no impurities in it. Tap water often contains fluoride, chlorine, and other chemicals. Wipe the mark off by gently wiping your doll with the cloth.

Wooden dolls should never be immersed in water. Instead, dip a clean, soft cloth in distilled water and wipe it clean.

Cloth dolls should be lightly vacuumed periodically to remove dust and dirt. Gail has a small attachment with a brush on the end that fits onto her upright vacuum cleaner. The brush is actually designed to clean a computer, but it works well on her dolls as well.

And finally, to properly care for your doll collection, avoid handling them with your bare hands too much. The oils from your skin will get on your dolls. Either wear a pair of disposable gloves or use a clean, soft cloth to handle them.