What fabrics are OK and don't stain on TPE dolls?

adelea · Post by **adelea** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 5:19 am

Could you wrap the dolls body in clingfilm to act as a barrier to clothes? It shouldn't provide much if any extra bulk.

smallcat · Post by **smallcat** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 6:25 am

Nanako wrote:Ok, I think I have this little mystery figured out...

I believe when I sat her in her chair the first time, the back of her dress must have fallen behind her, and hung over the back of the seat. Thus, she wasn't sitting on it. The second time, I remember her dress was definitely tucked underneath her. With the weight of her body bearing down on the dress for a couple of days, it left the stains. Sound plausible?

And thanks for all the suggestions on clothing choices! They will be remembered.

Yep pressure and the oil absorbing it. I tend to avoid any type of pressure with colors. Especially dress's. And a couple of days too. Anything longer than a day I would go with plain white or something. If Color if unsure of maybe for some hours or so.

As adelea mentions cling wrap, May have a bad oil reaction perhaps, you would need to test out the reaction first if it gives a bad reaction. Not of fan of mix matching different types plastics/rubbers with tpe or silicone. I'd stick to cloth if possible.

Nanako · Post by **Nanako** » Sat Apr 13, 2019 7:22 am

A couple of follow-up questions to my initial post:

1) When doing multiple washings of new clothes, is it necessary to dry the item(s) between washings? I have been doing this, but am wondering if it is really needed.

2) Does vinyl - on the seats of wheenchairs, for example - pose any staining risk to a doll?

Again, thanks for all the previous tips!

smallcat · Post by **smallcat** » Sat Apr 13, 2019 3:39 pm

Nanako wrote:A couple of follow-up questions to my initial post:

1) When doing multiple washings of new clothes, is it necessary to dry the item(s) between washings? I have been doing this, but am wondering if it is really needed.

2) Does vinyl - on the seats of wheenchairs, for example - pose any staining risk to a doll?

Again, thanks for all the previous tips!

1. Washing eh I can't really answer that. When you see no more colors in water which people claim to say, thats when its safe but for me its never safe

I've washed a shirt(2 years old) like 50+ times, and it still stains.. Some dyes can remain in clothing for a long time, while others can remain more stable without staining. Fun part is actually find nice clothes that don't stain and you are sure of; difficult for me. But I don't mind letting them wear colored clothes for some hours or so, just never full days. I always have my dolls starched and rarely apply any pressure to their body, leaning against wall, since their head is tilted somewhat, it keeps their back/butt from touching wall.

For a dress for example if its color, make sure she is NOT sitting on the end bottom of dress, pop it up over back of her butt end., so its not under her legs/ or butt , this is where pressure is at.

2. As with vinyl as it has oil I think, so there might be a reaction, I dont know really, as I said above with plastics/rubbers/silicones, they all have their oils in there. Depending on vinyl and paint, if it absorbs onto the doll, I cant really say, since dolls are different. The safest thing I do is with my vinyl office blue chair, I put her original pink blanket over it and sit her on it. I tend to use her blankets to cover whatever needs cover if it has a color of some sort.

Usually with some dolls** they have a bleeding stage of leaky oil, if you lay on y our blankets it should leave oily spots. That would probably mean its not really safe to dress her in colors til she bleeding phase stops. After couples weeks or months you'll notice, when washing and starching. Once she stops, just give her a good full body starching, and make sure there is no sticky spots, all smooooth... This should be a temporary barrier for your clothes. Considering its hard to test dolls for how long they last for smooth/starch, and how often you use. Like my self I have spare dolls, corn starch lasts them prety long time, the oil doesnt even peek out as it used to; this also applies to silicone too.\

I believe most people stain their dolls on accident with color clothes when they first receive them, depending how oily they are, it bleeds through the starch, as above ^.

Nanako · Post by **Nanako** » Sun Apr 14, 2019 5:16 am

Thanks for such a comprehensive response. As far as vinyl wheelchair seats go, I've taken the precaution of placing a soft, folded, white towel over it as both a protection and added padding, since most such seats are not padded as a rule - although add-on pads/cushions can be purchased.

From this thread, I can see that the whole issue is really a slippery slope, as it were, with no absolute rules for what will or will not work. Everything has to be dealt with on a one-on-one basis, and precaution always should come first.

Barometric Noodle · Post by **Barometric Noodle** » Fri Jul 31, 2020 12:39 am

This won't work for all fabric and dye combinations, but --

Wash your clothing in vinegar. Let it soak for a few hour, stir it gently to get every nook and cranny, then rinse.

I'm talking with a friend from high-school who works in textiles now. She's compiling a list of textile-dye and ink fixing methods.

When you die fabric you are supposed to post treat to fix the die in place then rinse away the remaining excess. A lot of import places skip that step to save a few bucks, and staining is the result.

So far I'm taking away from what she sent -- salt treatments and vinegar are the way to go. As to knowing which and on what fabric/color, that's what I'm still working out.

seagull · Post by **seagull** » Fri Jul 31, 2020 2:54 am

Just another day in the life of a doll owner on the fabric learning curve
tpe has a fairly high oil content, to the extent it seeps out and fabric dyes that aren't fixed (read oil resistant) will readily soak up the oil and remind you of your limited experience

Dollfriend · Post by **Dollfriend** » Fri Jul 31, 2020 8:04 am

I have found that any fabric with colors in it will eventually stain TPE, even cheap synthetic wigs will stain if left on the Doll head long enough, the Only thing that will Not stain is White Colored Fabrics & Wigs, this I have learned the Hard way, and yes indeed any Black Fabric is the Worst.... So all you Doll Newbies out there be more Aware for now you are Fully Informed...

alone not lonely · Post by **alone not lonely** » Sat Jan 09, 2021 1:54 pm

Arthur1960 wrote:Hi there, I was very cautious when I first started out 2 years ago as you see so many cases of staining, however I have become much more relaxed now as after a while you learn the things to avoid and what will be ok if you wash it well first. To start with fabric like cotton, silk, Spandex/lycra is fine, wool is too but you will get little bits on the tpe if its straight on it. With underwear that's going to be on for a while then best stick to 'safe' colours like white, cream, baby pink and some other very light pastel shades. If you want to see your gal in dark lingerie then wash it a few times to see if colour runs, if it does then keep washing till the water is clear. A way around this it to get your gal a white body stocking, white, flesh coloured tights and stockings etc which can act as a barrier, then you can be bolder. I use high denier stockings on my gals then I put them in dark leather look leggings which are normally about the worse for staining. Bear in mind that the cheaper you buy new stuff the more likely it is to lose colour so it's better to get good quality, watch for bargains on eBay. If you can get hold of a bit of tpe you can use that to test, sometimes if I'm not sure about something I will wrap a bit of it around a gals finger to see if it starts to stain, remember also that most stains will go eventually. Worse staining incident I had with a gal was from a dark wig that had a black wig net but the marks have completely disappeared now. Hope all that helps.

Please explain how a stain disappears over time? That's a very foreign concept to me.

I've read a few articles recently that hand washing your new clothes is best. And like everything already mentioned, light colour palettes are the safest bet. Also avoid tight clothing if it hasn't already been mentioned since I didn't read through the entire thread.

Tyr · Post by **Tyr** » Sat Jan 09, 2021 2:41 pm

With TPE dolls, the oil in their bodies can help with leeching the dye out of clothes, even when they appear ok after washing. It's the same principle that causes said stains to fade over time. The TPE absorbs the dye. The stains will absorb much better where there is plenty of TPE (torso) not so good on fingers toes or ears.
Tyr

seagull · Post by **seagull** » Sat Jan 09, 2021 11:04 pm

Post subject: TPE stain test with 10 garments
Was a very thorough article on this subject

Tiny50 · Post by **Tiny50** » Tue May 10, 2022 7:51 pm

Newbie here. So. I really want to buy some
Black stockings for my girl. I ordered the WM 157B doll. Not here yet, so I’m trying to educate myself. How long would black stockings have to stay on the dolls legs for it to start staining? What if I took the stockings off as soon as I was done playing with her? Say like 15-30 minutes of play time ? Would it still stain in that short amount of time ?