How to get mold off a Horsman Cindy?

[DollyKim]

She's got little back pinpricks on her leg, is there any way of helping her?

[K2!]

According to Nicholas Hill, author of The Definitive Book on the Care and Preservation of Vinyl Dolls and Action Figures, the small black pin prick marks are most likely the onset of a fungal attack. After a discussion of the types of micro organisms and the plastics preferred by those micro organisms, Hill recommends cleaning with Remove-Zit to remove the stains and fungal roots.

[DollyKim]

Is there anything I can do in the meantime? I want to stop the mold more than I worry about the stains, her legs have already yellowed.

I've already taken the head off. She doesn't have any sentimental value but her eyes are a different color than the other Cindys.

[WhiteDove01s]

Going from the mold outbreak in the back room, which was the same or similar kind of little black spotty stuff, here's what I know about the mold itself. I don't know a thing about Cindy dolls so some or most of this might not be safe for the doll, I'm just talking about the mold here and my own experiences with mold.

Mold likes damp and dark conditions. A lot of things from the back room were washed off, made sure they were thoroughly dry, and left in the sun when possible. This would probably yellow a doll, but as you said this one already is yellowed.

Other things that will kill or sterilize mold are chlorine bleach, just about any kind of alcohol, vinegar, or a borax-water solution. Depending on composition, these may or may not be safe for the doll. Also, given that molds in some plastics can actually get under the surface of the plastic (see Pox spots on Cabbage Patch Kids as an example), I don't know if they'd kill all of it off or just some on the surface.

When my Ivy, a CPK, had pox, I used acne cream to bleach them, but a few are still faintly visible. That, of course, has it's own set of risks on a doll and the reason she still has a few visible ones is because it started to lighten the vinyl around them and so I quit. Because Cabbage Pox, according to some websearches, starts inside the head and grows outward, the inside of her head was also rinsed out with a chlorine bleach and water solution (with the Evil Overlord's help there as I'm oversensitive to chlorine), followed with a lot of water to make sure no bleach was left behind (and a thorough drying because molds like damp). So far she hasn't had any new ones, but I still consider it more 'in remission' than 'cured'. Mold is a nasty, dangerous, hard to kill thing. We still find the occasional small outbreak in the back room if the weather's been damp.

[DollyKim]

Borax, alcohol, and vinegar are do-able right now. Rubbing alcohol or drinking alcohol? Because we've had luck washing things with vodka to get rid of stains and smells. For now she's in the sunniest room in the house so getting some more won't be hard.

My smother won't allow bleach in to the house.

[WhiteDove01s]

According to the Evil Overlord, ANY alcohol. Vodka would work just as well as medical, and it's usually still clear. It dries out the mold and kills it. Mold is, after all, basically a very tiny and extremely stubborn plant/fungus. All the srtufff listed? Heavily astringent and disinfectant.

I can understand killing it being the top priority. That stuff, particularly if it is the pinpoint-black-crud that we had in the back room or a close relative, can be really nasty for your health