By: Kelly Frank, AMAZING!! Mascots 

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Before attempting to clean your mascot costume, contact your costume provider to get their cleaning recommendations. Not all costumes can be washed and improperly cleaning your mascot could end up destroying it.

 

Taking proper care of your mascot costume is the best way to protect your investment. Ultimately you should designate an area to hang, store, and dry the costume. This area should be equipped with fans, a 50/50 mix of water and amber mouthwash (not green/blue,) in a spray bottle, and a repair kit (full list of repair kit supplies below).

 

Our costume bodies are machine washable, however the more you wash the costume, the more it will show wear. If you have multiple performers, the body and padding should be washed whenever a new performer is putting on the costume.

 

If you only have one performer, your best bet is to properly air out the costume as much as possible and wash the costume when necessary.

 

In order to properly care for your costume:

 

DO NOT:

• PUT THE COSTUME IN THE DRYER! EVER!      Synthetic fur is made of plastic. Plastic melts when you heat it. A fur      costume thrown in the dryer will become a nappy ball of short, crisp, melted fur. Countless costumes have been ruined by untrained people cleaning the costume. Don’t let this happen to your suit!

• SPRAY ANY CLEANING AGENT IN THE HEAD,  other than a 50/50 mix of water and mouthwash. Products such as Febreeze and Lysol will stick in the fur, and then leak out into the performer’s eyes  once he/she begins to sweat. The water/amber mouthwash mix kills germs and odor  without leaving behind harmful elements.

• STORE A WET COSTUME IN A BAG/BOX!  Your costume must be dry before you store it. If not, the wet costume will  grow mold and other bacteria putting the performer’s health in danger and  creating a very stinky costume.

• DRY CLEAN YOUR COSTUME! It just sprays a layer of chemicals over the suit, failing to provide proper  cleaning. Some dry cleaning chemicals can even damage your costume.

 

DO:

• DRY OUT YOUR COSTUME AFTER AN APPEARANCE. Hang up the body and direct a fan at it. For faster results, drape the body over a fan, allowing the air to circulate inside  the costume. Put the head on top of or next to a fan. A head is very hard to clean and the best way to keep it stink free is to dry it off as soon as possible.

• WASH HIGH WEAR COSTUME PIECES OFTEN.  Hands are the part of the costume that gets dirty the fastest. Jerseys as  well. Both can easily be washed in a washing machine and hung to dry.

• SPOT CLEAN YOUR HEAD/SHOES: Use a  spray on spot cleaner that can be rubbed in and rinsed out.

• WASH YOUR COSTUME BETWEEN PERFORMERS. It is not healthy to wear a costume that has not been cleaned. A program that utilizes multiple performers should wash costumes whenever a  different performer uses the suit. For this reason it is beneficial to have multiple costumes or parts.

• MACHINE WASH YOUR COSTUME. Put it  in a large washer using the gentle cycle and cold water. It is best to use a washer without an agitator as it can tear the costume. A double/triple load washer at the laundromat is ideal. Do not use too much detergent. For extra softness and scent add liquid fabric softener  during the rinse cycle. Allow several hours for the costume to hang dry.

• CLEAN YOUR HEAD. Heads are hard to  clean thoroughly. Your best bet is to spray a 50/50 mix of water and vodka  inside the head. Let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe out any excess  liquid. Place on a fan to dry. To clean the whole head (do not do this to  paper mache or fiberglass heads) submerge it in a bathtub. Scrub a  delicate detergent on the fur. Rinse thoroughly and allow to dry. A full head cleaning is time consuming. You can put this off by using the 50/50  spray, making sure to air your head out on a fan, and spot cleaning dirt  on the fur.

 

You can can view of video tutorial on "How to clean a mascot head" here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minor Repairs

 

To enable you to make minor repairs on your costume, put together a repair kit. It should include the following:

• Curved quilting needles. The  curved needles are much easier to use on oddly shaped mascot costumes

• Thread. Match your fur color

• Scissors

• Safety pins. Great for temporary  fixes

• Contact cement. Great for fixing  shoe soles and foam parts of the costume. If you use contact cement in      your mascot head, make sure to air it out properly (several hours on a  fan)

• Hot glue gun. Great for temporary  fixes. Does not last long on shoes or plastic.

• Duct tape. You’ll find a use.

• Additional chinstraps. In case something happens.

 

Check with your costume provider before attempting repairs. Repairs that are not made by the original costume company can possibly void any warranties included with your mascot purchase.

 

If you have any questions about repairs of cleaning please feel free to CONTACT US.