Reborn dolls aren’t any ordinary baby dolls. They’re a piece of art, created after long hours of hard work put in by artists. They’re also a means of therapy for mothers to help them through the pain of losing a child, mental stress, and depression.
Reborn dolls have multiple layers of fabric, paint, and other materials to make them flawless and as realistic as possible.
Since they are treated like real babies, they also require utmost care, including cleaning them or giving them a bath. This leads to the question; can reborn dolls get wet?
Can Reborn Dolls Get Wet?
The short answer is no. You cannot deliberately wet a reborn doll or bath them. Unfortunately, when you try bathing reborn dolls or submerging them in the water, it will ruin their cloth body, the stuffing, and the rest of the material used to make the reborn doll.
The only way to clean your reborn doll is to use a damp cloth and use it against the cloth body of your reborn to remove the dirt and stains from it. Besides, if your reborn doll is extremely dirty due to any unfortunate event, you will have to send it back to the artist for a replacement.
Here’s a detailed insight into this.
What Happens When I Get My Reborn Baby Doll Wet?
Reborn dolls should never be submerged in water. But, if you accidentally submerge them in the water and get your reborn baby doll wet, it will damage the cloth body, the stuffing, and the vinyl on your reborn doll’s body.
If the stuffing gets wet, it will take significant time to dry off. In addition, the stuffing may produce an unpleasant odor in certain cases.
Similarly, the paint or vinyl on the reborn baby doll’s body will also exhibit signs of physical damage with the paint chipped off due to water exposure.
Although if your reborn baby doll is of high quality, it may not exhibit signs of physical damage by getting wet once. But, if the reborn baby doll gets wet frequently, it will increase the chances of damaging the cloth body, the stuffing, and the paint or vinyl on its body.
So, you should avoid exposing your reborn baby doll to water.
If you intend on doing realistic water-based activities with your reborn baby doll, you should get one with a drink and wet system.
Yes, you read that correctly! There are drink and wet systems for your reborn doll, allowing it to pass water through its body. More on this is discussed in the later part of this article.
What To Do Next?
In the unfortunate event of getting your reborn baby doll wet, you should immediately try drying it off. Since the reborn baby doll’s body is filled with stuffing, it will lead to mold and mildew problems if not dried off immediately.
You should know that it will be time-consuming to dry off the reborn. Here’s what you should do next.
- For starters, you need to take the conventional approach to dry off your reborn baby doll simply using air. You must place your reborn doll on a towel rack or anything similar. It must have a place where the water can leak out.
- Let it sit for a few hours so the water will leak out.
- Examine the reborn baby doll and see if some water has leaked. If yes, you need to put the reborn baby doll out on the balcony or in a window where it can have moderate exposure to sunshine and wind. Do not place it in direct sunlight as it can affect the paint or the vinyl of the reborn.
- Leave it for an hour or two, so it can naturally dry off. Although it is a time-consuming process, it will yield the best results in avoiding mold and mildew.
- Check up on the reborn baby doll and rotate it periodically so that it can be dried out evenly from all sides. If it is not a sunny day, you can turn on the heater (on low heat) and place the reborn next to it. Just make sure to rotate it periodically and that it is not too close to the heater, or it will cause physical damage to the reborn.
- To speed up the process, you can also use a fan or a dehumidifier placed around the reborn baby doll.
Now, you might think of an alternate approach of drying out the reborn using machine dry, which is much faster but strictly not recommended.
Even if you use the no heat or low heat option, it is not advisable at all. The conventional approach of air drying is the best option for you and your reborn baby doll.
How To Clean A Reborn Doll?
Reborn baby dolls are collectibles. These cannot be cleaned like regular or ordinary stuffed toys. If you intend to remove dirt or any stains from your reborn baby doll, the ideal way is to clean them using a damp cloth. Gently use it to clean the body of your reborn baby doll.
You must ensure you do not scrub or apply pressure when wiping off the dirt or stains from your reborn baby doll’s body. If you scrub or apply pressure when wiping the dirt or stains off, you will most likely damage the physical texture of your reborn doll.
It will damage the paint job and the coloring of your reborn, which no reborn doll owner would want.
How To Buy Drink And Wet Systems For Silicone Reborn Baby Doll?
Reborn dolls can have a drink and wet system to mimic reality-based activities like drinking milk or water. Silicon reborn baby dolls come with a pre-installed drink and wet system.
However, if yours does not have a drink and wet system, you do not need to buy another reborn with a drink and wet system. Instead, you can purchase a drink and wet system comprising a silicon tube with a nipple attached at the upper end.
You need to make sure that the silicon tube is of medical grade and not any ordinary tube. In the case of an ordinary tube, you will likely end up with leakages that result in mold and mildew issues, all of which can be avoided by getting a medical-grade silicon tube.
After purchasing, you need to run it through the body of your reborn baby doll. Make sure that the nipple part is secured firmly in the mouth of your reborn and has no leakages.
On a side note:
If you’re unable to find a silicone tube with a nipple attached to it, you can also get both these parts separately and connect them using glue.
Just make sure that it is connected firmly. Before adding the drink and wet system to your doll, you must also test it. Once you’re sure there are no leaks, you can add the drink and wet to your reborn baby doll’s body.
How To Tell If A Reborn Doll Has A Drink And Wet System?
Reborn dolls that feature a drink and wet system usually have a “drink and wet system” mentioned when you’re purchasing one. But if you cannot find it on the label, you can also look for a drink and wet system in your reborn doll.
A simple look at the mouth and the throat part of your reborn can reveal whether if it has a drink and wet system.
Open the mouth of your reborn baby doll and check if you can find a silicone tube or a nipple (the front side of the nipple will be towards the throat of your reborn baby doll).
If you find a silicone tube or nipple in the mouth of your reborn, you will also have to see the bottom part of the silicone tube and where it ends. If you see both ends of the silicone tube, you can conclude that your reborn baby doll has a drink and wet system.
Conclusion: Can Reborn Dolls Get Wet?
Reborn baby dolls cannot get wet. They comprise silicone parts, stuffing, paint, and vinyl which can be damaged if you get them wet deliberately. If your reborn baby doll accidentally gets wet, you will have to air dry it, or you may end up with mold and mildew in your reborn doll’s body.
To dry out your reborn baby doll, you will have to take the conventional approach and simply let the air do its job. Place it on a towel rack where it has room for water to leak out gradually.
Afterward, you need to place the reborn in an open window so that it has moderate exposure to sunshine and air. Let it sit there for a couple of hours, and make sure to rotate it so that the body can dry out evenly.
