Could this be plasticizer leakage?
I’ve had these 2007 Ponyville McDonald’s ponies for at least a year and a half now. They were slightly sticky when I got them, which I brushed off because they’re older toys, and sometimes toys get sticky because kids have sticky hands. I washed them thoroughly, made sure they were dry, and put them on my shelf, where they’ve been up until today.
I rearranged my shelf for the first time in several months and discovered that they are incredibly sticky (much stickier than before) and have accumulated a thick layer of dust that is stuck to them from head to hoof. Admittedly most of my ponies are a bit dusty on top, I don’t clean my displays often enough, but this is far beyond any amount of dust that my other ponies on the same shelf have gathered. They don’t have a smell or anything, but they’re definitely sticky.
Are they potentially leaking plasticizer or is this just an issue with the material they’re made of? Is there anything to do about this besides washing them again and waiting? I want to make sure before I put them back on the shelf, I’m not sure if it’s dangerous to my other ponies but I definitely don’t want their stickiness touching anything, they feel very gross to touch.