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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

WIBU to just wash the fucking bear?

174 replies

NoCapes · 10/04/2016 14:42

DD has a comfort blanket/bear thing
She has slept with it every night since we took her dummy away, around 11/12 months-ish, she sucks on it so now the poor fucker has no legs and is in a right old state

She also refuses to let me wash him
I have done against her wishes a few times and she has literally sat and watched him spin around the washing machine crying until he came out, then not slept properly for around 3/4 nights afterwards
So I gave up and let her crack on
He hasn't been in the wash for a few years now Blush

Now the issue is- He fucking stinks!
Really really stinks! If the heating has been on and you go in her room you can smell him! It's grim

Now DD has recently turned 5, I asked her if I could wash bear so he was fancy for her birthday - she said no so I didn't
Now I'm changing the bedding today, and DD isn't here, would I be a heartless cow if Bear accidentally got tangled up in the bedding and had a wash?
I fear it's a matter of health and safety at this point?

OP posts:
BIWI · 10/04/2016 14:42

Just wash it.

5BlueHydrangea · 10/04/2016 14:43

Just do it..

TheFlyingFauxPas · 10/04/2016 14:43

Maybe she'll be better if she doesn't witness the washing machine treatment. 😞

LucyInTheSkyWithDonuts · 10/04/2016 14:43

Get it in the wash. A bear that stinks is a bit grim....

Sleepingbunnies · 10/04/2016 14:43

Do it!

Cheby · 10/04/2016 14:44

Grim. Definitely wash it.

ThoughtfulPenny · 10/04/2016 14:45

Got to be done, better to do it while she isn't there and not mention it.

Imnotaslimjim · 10/04/2016 14:45

Go for it. Get it washed a dried before she's home and I doubt she'll notice!

Also, can you get hold of a second one? Let her cuddle both for a while so they both smell like her, then take one to wash, and swap them at intervals so she always has a clean one

PPie10 · 10/04/2016 14:48

You have to wash it if it stinks. I thought you were talking about a tiny tot here. She's 5yo! Well old enough to understand that it smells and needs a wash

PurpleDaisies · 10/04/2016 14:48

I'm not really sure why you're asking your 5 year old for permission to wash the bear rather than just doing it. A stinking bear is not a nice toy. For her benefit, just do it.

Haudyerwheesht · 10/04/2016 14:49

Oh god I'd have washed it long ago

RudeElf · 10/04/2016 14:49

Wash it at night. My mum used to sneak my teddy away at night and wash him, tumble dry him and shove him back in my bed for the morning.

Or you could engineer and orange juice accident where teddy had to get washed.

Oooblimey · 10/04/2016 14:51

I've now got "wash the bear" going round in my head to the tune of "kiss the girl" from Little Mermaid!
Wash da bear!!

SavoyCabbage · 10/04/2016 14:58

I'd be washing the stinking bear of a five year old. If she was a toddler who couldn't understand why it was different, then maybe I'd wait.

SouthWesterlyWinds · 10/04/2016 15:00

What does the comfort stink bear look like? Wash it and get a back up so it can get semi stinky before the next wash. Post a pic - folks on here are usually good at finding back up toys.

Muskey · 10/04/2016 15:02

Please wash it. I used to wait until dd was asleep take it off her have it washed and dried before she woke up. I used to do this once a month whether the bear needed it or not

Arfarfanarf · 10/04/2016 15:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

somewheresomehow · 10/04/2016 15:05

Put it in a pillow case just encase he falls apart while having a spin Grin

TheMasterMurderedMargarita · 10/04/2016 15:06

Wash the bear.
DD still has a favourite bear - problem is even when he gets washed within a few days he is back to his smelly old self. To be fair he doesn't stink but he isn't exactly what you'd call fragrant.

BaronessBomburst · 10/04/2016 15:06

Just wash it!
But on a gentle wash and in a net bag. DM washed my blue rabbit and it disintegrated. I was utterly distraught. despite being about 15

dudsville · 10/04/2016 15:08

Not only wash it now but also get in to a weekly routine.

LagartijaNick · 10/04/2016 15:08

Ha! I've got wash-the-bear in my head Lord of the Flies kill-the-pig-style. On a bit of a washing spree myself today.

bornwithaplasticspoon · 10/04/2016 15:08

I wouldn't sneak it away. I'd explain that he needs regular washing to keep him fresh. Maybe she'd enjoy washing him by hand, or it could go in the bath with her?

Original poster
NoCapes · 10/04/2016 15:10

Ok I hear you I'm BU to have not washed him before now
He's going in
And yes she will definitely know

The duplicate idea is a no-go by the way, Bear started out as a twin, DS had the other which he completely rejected (I was his comfort blanket evidently ) but DD always favoured one
And now because she's sucked him so much he is unrecognisable from the Bear he started life as, there's no way I could pass a brand new one off as him

I feel the need to put a disclaimer here that I am a normal clean person and the rest of the house is washed regularly
But Bear bathing was always too traumatic...I am so weak aren't I

OP posts:
Original poster
NoCapes · 10/04/2016 15:14

Oh god yes he probably will disintegrate
Off to find my net bag that I never use...

OP posts: