I recently purchased a couple of second hand soft cloth stuffed toys, like this: http://www.amazon.com/Lamaze-Play-Freddie-Firefly-Along/dp/B000I2Q0F4/ref=sr_1_7?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1331323723&sr=1-7 . Sorry! I don't know what they are called! I was wondering how I should go about cleaning them since the ones I see in the store in their original packaging say to surface clean/wipe and to not immerse in water/machine wash. What I really wanna do is throw it in the washer and wash with hot water, but I'm wondering whether this will ruin the toys or make them unsafe somehow? I'm kinda a germaphobe and don't really think "surface wiping" will do! =P Any insights?