To fully understand this story, you need to know what a ‘Warmie’ is. I had no idea until one of my kids brought in a rather large stuffed dog to hold at nap. This thing weighed ten pounds, at least. He gleefully told me that you could heat it up and it would keep you warm, hence the name.
Another boy has been bringing in a smaller gorilla. He forgot his nap stuff on Monday because everything was in the wash. When I set his cot up today, I noticed that his gorilla was rather heavy, and weirdly dense and squishy – like a Stretch Armstrong. I thought, “What do I know about toys?” But when the boy went to his cot, he said “This feels weird.” I told him I’d fix it.
It was obviously wet. The stuffing must have soaked up the water and needed to dry. What could be inside a Warmie?
Any guesses?
Anyone?
Seeds. Seeds are in a Warmie. Seeds are in a toy that you give to children. What? Here’s more: you are not supposed to wash your Warmie. It is ‘dry clean only’. What the what? This thing was going to sprout and rot. It was time for surgery.
Unfortunately, my incision was near….. the bottom. Double unfortunately, wet, sticky flax seeds that come out of a gorilla’s bottom look like….. well, you get it.
I was stifling a lot of laughs in the bathroom at naptime. This poor gorilla. He’s going to get some new stuffing and will have to surrender his Warmie membership.
Huh. You’d think they’d put rice inside. I mean, don’t they know about your rice-filled socks?
Someone didn’t think this through. Can you imagine the grossness on that thing? And you can’t wash it?
Would seeds mold? Could a child then be sleeping with a moldy toy? Didn’t anyone think about allergies or worse? Please do not buy this for anyone.
It is a good toy, i highly recommend it, but i wish they had some sort of water resistant protective layer, protecting the beans
Hello! I’m just a random person from the internet who stumbled upon your amusing blog (via this post on warmies) and wanted to drop a note saying this 100% resonates. I made the extremely poor decision to put my son’s sloth warmie in the washing machine (I thought I had once before but was CLEARLY mistaken). It became slimy and gross. So I thought it was simply saturated with detergent and tried rinsing it (like, a bunch). I gave up and left it to dry while I figured out another course of action. When I came back to it the next day, there were SPROUTS coming out of it! (Growing things, just like a real-life sloth, I suppose.) I, like others, had assumed there was rice inside. Nope, lavender seeds.
Thanks for letting me know I’m not the only one who ruined a warmie with water!
The same happened to me too!
The manufacturer clearly states this, but it would make way more sense if the pouch was removable (like the scentsy buddies)
Oof! I felt this. I washed my Santa and thought “what’s the worst that can happen” when I noticed he felt slimey and just like you thought he was soaked. Like someone else in the blog I thought it was just detergent and washed it a bunch. Then I googled what do I do to fix this and discovered it was full of seeds. Currently I have surgically removed the seeds, spread them on a garbage bag, having my sibling hair dry them slowly and I’m going to throw Santa in the dryer while he’s practically empty. Hopefully this works out
I am so sorry that happened! With the comments that this post has received, it really makes me wonder if the company has considered making that part removable. Or at least DO NOT WASH in gigantic letters on the tag.
Okay but if you’re too ignorant to read a label then don’t complain about the company. I have had one for over a year and it CLEARLY states on the stuffed animal not to put in the washing machine. Don’t complain about a product if you can’t read a label.
Do you feel better now?
I understand that this can be very frustrating and at a point seem impossible to fix. Should you come across this situation this is what I suggest;
Tools; crochet hook or chopstick, thread, sewing needle, soap, dried lavender, flax seeds, poly stuffing, bowl, fan, funnel (all of this can be acquired on Amazon if you don’t already have any of these tools)
Step1; find the thicker threading. Usually its on the back of the head or the back of the plush. This is the area that is closed off after the plush is filled with stuffing. Every plush I’ve fixed has had this type of stitching. Once you find it and cut just the thread once it easily comes apart giving you the perfect sized hole to work with.
Step2; remove all filling through the hole you’ve created. I suggest going outside for this part unless you don’t mind vacuuming or sweeping after. Don’t forget use your bowl or any container to catch all the stuffing for easier disposal or simply empty it out over a trashcan. Once empty use a chopstick or crochet hook to help you turn the plush inside out. The reasoning for doing this is to make sure all organic materials are removed before washing to ensure no mold grows once drying.
Step3; wash empty plush in sink while inside out till water becomes clear. Turn plush right side out then wash again. Allow to completely dry infront of a fan. It must be completely dry before the next step.
Step4; Mix together flax seeds and dry lavender in a bowl (or any easy pour container). Using a funnel add the mix to the plush through the hole until limbs and body not including head are filled. Then add poly stuffing to the head. Once completed you can stitch the hole closed.
I hope this helps.
Thanks for posting! I just bought one for my daughter who suffers from cramps. She lives outside tne U.S., so I am going to take the seeds out, and sew a refillable pouch to go inside so that she can take it through customs.
Cut, empty, fill with air soft plastic BBs, sew, complete. wash as needed and go with a different “favorite toy” with the next kid lol