How I cleaned my daughter's VIOLET (by LeapFrog)

My Pal Violet by Leapfrog (image taken from ToysRUS)

                         

It's cute and cuddly, can sing nursery rhymes, play lullabies to put a child to sleep, and can even call my daughter by her name. Violet can be personalized by downloading content on Leap Frog's website via mini-USB connection (the recent version of Violet have an audio jack connection instead of the mini-USB). It's quite sturdy too! Usually when we have plush toys, the ears and tail are the first ones to get detached but with our Violet, all it's parts are still intact even though my daughter pulls Violet by the ears and tail especially when she was just a year old or so.

Violet is my daughter's favorite toy. She will play with different toys in the morning, but come night time, she would always have Violet beside her, make it sing, before she would sleep. It comes with us almost everywhere, to parks, malls, airports and we make sure never to leave it behind especially on overnight trips. Violet has been spilled with (but not limited to) milk, water, chocolate. Smeared with jam, chocolate, cheese and lots of other stuff. It's VERY dirty. Sometimes I spot-clean Violet. I would get a toothbrush, dip it in a cup with diluted baby bath soap, and clean the areas which are too dirty. Then I would wipe those areas with a wet cloth and hang it to dry. And though there are times when I really should have washed her, I didn't for fear that I will damage the electronics inside and my daughter will lose her comfort object. 

It was an overnight stay with my daughter (and Violet) at the hospital that forced me to wash Violet. With the MERS virus scare here in the UAE, washing Violet was the sane thing to do, even if it meant damaging the electronics inside it. Violet was already becoming too much of a health hazard for us all.

First, I told my daughter that WE (me and her) will wash Violet. Then I let her watch as I removed the battery cover and batteries, placed them on the top of the fridge where she can't reach, and told her that after Violet dries, we will place the batteries back.

I then put water on the tub, only a few inches deep but enough to submerge Violet.

As I put Violet on the water, sure enough, the water turned grayish within a few seconds of coming into contact with it. I diluted baby bath soap in a cup and poured it on Violet. After I gently scrubbed-clean it, I also let my daughter scrub Violet for a few times just for her to feel that she's involved in bathing her favorite toy.

We rinsed Violet until there were no more soap suds coming from her.

I pressed Violet's head and legs between my palms but not too hard so I won't damage it's wirings (if they were not damaged yet by the water).

Then I hung it to dry.

It's finally clean!

I washed Violet early in the morning so I will have the whole day to let it dry. Luckily, it was dry come sleeping time.

I did not put batteries immediately after it was dry (evening). I replaced the batteries only AFTER 2 WEEKS so Violet will be completely dry even on the inside.

When I replaced the batteries and heard the first bark, I was so happy that my gamble paid off. The happier part was seeing my daughter's smile as she heard Violet's voice again.

I don't know if this procedure will work with other toys with batteries as I haven't tried it yet. I don't even know if this procedure will work with your Violet.

And of course, each of us have our own interpretation of the word "gentle", what may seem gentle to me may be rough to you, or vice versa. I DO NOT GUARANTEE (just to be clear) that your Violet won't get damaged when you wash it. Maybe I was just lucky that even after I submerged Violet in water, it still works. Maybe the heat here in the Abu Dhabi was a blessing in disguise because Violet was able to dry fast that's why it wasn't damaged, I am not sure. This procedure worked for me and I will do it again but not so soon. I wish I would still get the same result.


#violetbyleapfrog #mypalviolet #cleaningtoys