There are few things guaranteed to delight young children more than plush toys. Even more popular are battery-operated plush toys that sing, dance and talk.

Kids play with toys like these for hours and take them everywhere, and that is great until that much-loved, plush, purring pussycat ends up left outside in the rain one day. Suddenly the familiar meow has vanished and the child is distraught. 

So, how do you fix a battery-operated plush toy that has sustained water damage? 

Read on for a quick and simple fix.

What you'll need

• cotton buds
• paper towel
• petroleum jelly
• aluminium foil

How to do it

1. First of all, you'll need to remove the toy's batteries. These can be discarded, as they won't work if they've been totally saturated.  
2. If the toy has a removable, plastic battery compartment, take that out too and dry it thoroughly with a paper towel. You can use a cotton bud to reach awkward corners where moisture is trapped.  
3. Put the toy somewhere warm and well-ventilated and allow it to dry out completely.  
4. When the toy is dry, replace the batteries with fresh ones and see whether the toy will work. If it won't, the most likely problem is with the battery connectors.  
5. Remove the new batteries and inspect the springs inside the battery compartment. These springs form the connection from the batteries to the electronic components inside the toy, making it work. Look for signs of corrosion on the springs, as this could be affecting the clarity of the circuit. Apply a small amount of petroleum jelly to the coils with your finger and replace the batteries. Try turning the toy on again.  
6. If the battery connection coils are too badly corroded, the toy won't work, and you'll need to replace them. In many cases, the springs will simply lift or pull out because the soldering that holds them in place disintegrates very quickly upon exposure to water or leaking battery acid.   
7. Take two small pieces of aluminium foil and roll them into balls. Put the batteries back into the battery compartment and push the foil balls into the space vacated by the springs. Make sure that the batteries are firmly in place and close the compartment.  
8. When you turn the plush toy on, it should work.

You can easily repair a plush toy that has been damaged by water by following the simple guide above.