To wash a lovey, read its care tag first, zip it into a mesh laundry bag, and run it on the delicate cycle in cold water with a small amount of fragrance-free detergent. Press the water out in a towel and dry it flat in moving air, not in the dryer. It will not be dry by the next nap, which is the reason for the second half of the method: own two identical loveys, rotate them from the start, and wash one while the other is on duty. For a baby under 12 months, the lovey is for awake time only and stays out of the crib.
First, the rule for babies under one
A lovey gets washed more calmly when everybody knows where it lives. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ safe sleep guide on HealthyChildren says to keep soft objects and loose bedding out of a baby’s sleep area, and its list includes “pillows and pillow-like toys,” blankets and toys. Those can raise the risk of entrapment, suffocation or strangulation. The page says its recommendations cover babies up to one year old, and that once a baby rolls both ways you should be sure there are “no blankets, pillows, stuffed toys or bumper pads” in the bed.
So under 12 months, the comfort toy is held during the wind-down and set down outside the crib before the baby is laid on their back. That holds for naps as well as nights. Babies often pick a favorite before it is safe to sleep with one, and Betteroo’s guide walks through the first-birthday line and what to do in the months before it.
Why the spare comes before the wash
The AAP’s page on transitional objects says a child will probably choose a comfort object between eight and twelve months, and that it works partly because it is familiar: the lovey “has your child’s scent on it.” A wash removes exactly that, so the wash is the risky moment.
The same page gives the fix. Having two identical security objects “allows you to wash one while the other is being used,” sparing everyone “a potential emotional crisis and a bedraggled lovey.” Three details from it are worth copying onto a card:
- Start early. If you don’t rotate them from the beginning, the AAP warns, the child may refuse the second one “because it feels too new and foreign.”
- A big blanket can be cut in two. Small children “have little sense of size and won’t notice.” Hem the cut edge so it does not fray into threads.
- A toy needs a twin soon. The page says to find a duplicate “as soon as possible.”
Check the tag, then check the toy
Not every comfort toy can go under water. Happiest Baby’s stuffed-animal washing guide says to spot-clean, not submerge, any toy that is antique, handmade or very fragile, contains a music box, electronics or batteries, has glued-on features or sequins, or is stuffed with foam balls instead of ordinary batting.
Slumberkins, which makes comfort toys, adds a seam check in its own cleaning guide: look for tears, weak seams and loose eyes or buttons, and mend fragile spots before washing.
How to wash a lovey in the machine
Both guides give the same short method.
- Bag it. A mesh laundry bag or a zipped pillowcase protects the surface. A set like Muchfun’s honeycomb mesh laundry bags does the job.
- Cold water, delicate cycle. Slumberkins says cold and gentle only for its own toys. Happiest Baby allows cold or warm, and warns against normal cycles and high heat. The tag settles it.
- Plain detergent, and little of it. Slumberkins recommends a light detergent without heavy fragrance, such as Tide Free & Gentle, and no fabric softener or dryer sheets, which “can coat fibers and reduce softness.” It is the same choice as in how to wash baby clothes.
- Wash it with the bedding it lives with. This one is a house habit, not from a source: the lovey goes in with the crib sheets, so both come back smelling alike.
Washing by hand, and spot cleaning
For a fragile or much-mended lovey, Slumberkins gives the basin version: cool water with a mild detergent or baby shampoo, a thorough cool rinse, then a gentle squeeze. Do not wring it, which Happiest Baby says can pull a toy out of shape.
For one small mark, Happiest Baby’s spot method is a washcloth in warm water with a little diluted dish soap or gentle detergent, wrung out well. Stroke upward to lift the dirt off the surface, go over it again with a plain damp cloth until the soap is gone, and let it dry completely.
One rag doll, boiled with the whites on Monday and pegged to the line by both arms, while its owner stood under it and watched.
Two of the same, swapped on wash day. One is in a mesh bag on the cold cycle and the other is in the crook of an arm, and nobody stands under the line.
Drying it: plan around nap time, not for it
Roll the lovey in a towel and press out the water, reshape the ears and limbs, then lay it flat on a dry towel somewhere well ventilated, such as on the drying rack. That is Slumberkins’ method. Happiest Baby’s alternative is to clip it by the ears to a skirt hanger, and its rule is blunt: never the dryer, which it blames for curly-looking, damaged fur. Slumberkins also says to avoid long stretches in direct sun.
Neither guide gives a drying time, and we won’t invent one. A flat muslin square dries much sooner than a stuffed animal, and a stuffed one has to be dry all the way through before it goes back, so squeeze the thickest part to check. Plan on the wash lasting longer than a nap. Start it in the morning, hand over the spare, and let the washed one sit until tomorrow.
How often to wash it
There is no official interval. Slumberkins suggests about once a month for a toy handled daily. Happiest Baby says to wash after a stomach bug or flu, or after lice or ringworm in the house, and for toys that travel on outings; it also warns that washing too often changes texture and shape.
Dust mites are a separate question. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ dust mite page advises washing bedding weekly in hot water, 130 to 140°F, and swapping traditional stuffed animals for washable ones. That hot-water figure is written for bedding, and most toy tags say cold. If your child has a diagnosed dust mite allergy, ask the allergist how to handle the lovey, and buy the next one with a tag that allows a warmer wash. The sheet intervals are in how often to wash sheets.
Clean lovey, spare on standby, naps still short? Check the schedule.
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FAQ: washing a lovey
Can you put a lovey in the washing machine?
Usually, if the care tag allows it. Use a mesh bag, cold water and the delicate cycle. Spot-clean anything with a music box, batteries, glued-on features or foam-ball filling.
Can a lovey go in the dryer?
The two guides we read say no. Press the water out in a towel and dry it flat in moving air, or follow the tag if the maker says otherwise.
How often should you wash a lovey?
About monthly for one handled every day is Slumberkins’ suggestion, and always after illness in the house. Washing more often than it needs wears the fabric.
When can a baby sleep with a lovey?
Not before 12 months. The AAP says to keep soft objects, toys included, out of a baby’s sleep area for the first year. Until then the lovey is for awake time.
Sources loaded and read on 2026-11-11: HealthyChildren.org (AAP), A Parent’s Guide to Safe Sleep, and Transitional Objects: Security Blankets & Beyond; Happiest Baby, How to Wash Stuffed Animals; Slumberkins, How to Clean Stuffed Animals Safely and Gently; NIEHS, Dust Mites; Betteroo, When Can Baby Have a Lovey.
More cards under Laundry & Linens in the file.
