The putty is somewhat a strange material. Some say it was an accident from an inventor mixing two ingredients. Others say it was intentionally manufactured to replace rubber in the United States during the Second World War. Regardless, it contains Silicon polymers as one of its major constituents, which gives it good adhesive characteristics.
An impressive feature of the silly putty is the flexible nature. Its uses vary from stress management to toys our kids find pleasure playing with. Regardless of their age, it provides lots of fun, but they could sometimes lose interest in it and leave it on their living room carpet.
The issue with silly putty is when you have to clean. It is super sticky and has a unique way of bonding with carpet fibers. They get stuck together, and even when you try to separate them, you can only scrape out the upper portion while there’s still a lot of stuck remnants. It can even become another absolute nightmare if you leave it to dry.
This can get you wondering how to get silly putty out of Carpet.
Even if it’s a lot of work to remove the stubborn putty stain, there are a couple of ways to get it out entirely without damaging the carpet. Some methods include freezing the putty stain, using detergent, or blotting the putty with nail polish.
Items you need
There are specific things you need to gather for you to get silly putty out of carpets successfully.
- Ice cubes – lots of this!
- Laundry detergents or Nail polish remover
- Rubbing alcohol
- Spoon or dull knife
- Cotton Balls
- Clean, soft cloth or towels
- Water
- Spray bottle
- Vinegar
- Vacuum
- Fine tooth comb
- Stiff brush
- Soft-bristled brush
As mentioned above, there are several means to remove silly putty from carpets. This article will discuss the most direct ways and give detailed steps on how to get silly putty out of carpet. The aim is to accomplish this task without damages.
Method 1
Removing Silly Putty Out of Carpet Using Ice
Your first approach to removing silly putty from carpet is with using the ice method. By applying ice on adhesives or silly putty, you weaken its bond. The ice solidifies the putty and makes it easy to scrape off the carpet. To keep the ice from melting in your hands, you can use a ziplock bag like a medical ice bag or a cold pack.
This method can be between 95% or 100% effective, depending on how you carry it out.
Here are some items you need to pull this off:
- Dull spoon or knife
- Plastic bag
- Timer
- Ice cubes
Step 1
First, you need to grab some ice cubes and put them in a bag. The number of cubes you use depends on the stain. Adequately, the ice cubes should be enough to cover the affected areas. For minor spots, three to four cubes would work.
Step 2
Place the bag of ice on the affected areas.
Step 3
Leave it there and set a timer for about three hours.
Step 4
Monitor the timer. While it counts down, you may need to refill your bag since it would have melted.
Step 5
After three hours, it’s expected that the silly putty would have solidified and become easy to get off. Now you can break it down and use the dull knife to scrape away the chunks. Be gentle with this step to avoid causing any damage to your carpet. Please dispose of the hardened bits and residue into a garbage can before your kids or pets start messing with it.
Method 2:
Using Nail polish remover
If you have a nail polish remover, you can also get the silly putty off your carpet. Nail polish remover is one of the most useful household items for combating stains of different kinds. The advantage this solution has over the ice cube method is that it works faster. However, you may have to retry the process a few times to get the correct result.
For this, you need the following items
- Acetone nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol
- Cotton ball
- Dull knife or spoon
Step 1
Immerse the cotton ball or soft towel into the nail remover or rubbing alcohol until it’s squishy in the process.
Step 2
With care, dap the surface of the cotton ball that is stained with the nail polish remover or alcohol on the carpet’s surface. It would be best if you touched every spot on the carpet covered with the silly putty. Move from outside inwards to prevent the affected areas from spreading.
Step 3
Use a dull knife or a spoon to break the silly putty into smaller bits. Remove these pieces and discard them.
Step 4
If the silly putty stain stays stubbornly after the above steps and would not entirely go, repeat the process.
Method 3
Using a Stain Remover
Perhaps you already have a stain remover in your home. Regardless of the brand, you can use it to make your life easier and your home cleaner. However, there are several stain removers in the market, with each designed to target specific stains. Not all brands of industrial stain remover are compatible with all types of carpet fabrics. For removing silly putty from carpet, use the stain removers that contain gooey or goo substances.
These are the items you need to remove silly putty from the carpet using the stain remover
- Detergent
- Goo stain remover (for safety reasons, use organic brands)
- Timer
- Clean cloth or cotton balls
- Hot water in two separate containers (one to mix and the other to rinse)
Step 1
Slightly pour a bit of the stain remover on the white cloth. Remember to purchase the stain remover that is suitable for your kind of carpet to avoid damages.
Step 2
Wipe the cloth on the stain and ensure the stain remover covers all areas affected by putty stain. Do this gently.
Step 3
Leave the stain remover to sit on the carpet for some time. Set your timer for 15 minutes and wait.
Step 4
While waiting, mild mix detergent in hot water
Step 5
Dip the soft white cloth in the mix and scrub the silly putty stain with it until it is clear of the stained area.
Step 6
Rinse the detergent off the cloth and put it in hot water sans detergent. Put it over the stained site and dab until all the visible stain signs are disappeared.
Method 4
Using Detergent
Sometimes going simple may be the most helpful solution. With this method, you do not need fancy tools. It’s just good old tossing and mixing detergent to get stains off. But scrubbing vigorously like most people tend to do when using detergent in cleaning might make the task more challenging. Follow these steps to ensure you get the carpet stain-free without damaging it
These are the items you need to get started
- Mild detergent
- Dry clean cloth
- Warm water
- Timer
- Cotton ball or clean white towel
Step 1
Get about two tablespoonfuls of washing detergent and a cup of warm water. Then mix it up. Ensure the detergent is not filled with bleach or other chemicals that can do more damage to your carpet than the present silly putty.
Step 2
Soak the washcloth or cotton ball in the cup with the mix.
Step 3
Dab the washcloth to cover the site where the silly putty stain is on. Ensure the detergent touches every spot.
Step 4
Set the timer for between 20 minutes and 30 minutes to allow the stain to sit and soak real good in the mix. This way, the silly putty breaks down into particles and becomes easier to remove.
Step 5
At the end of the 20 minutes timer, place a dry cloth over the stain, and press it down to absorb the detergent mix you have used.
Step 6
After absorbing the detergent, use a damp cloth to gently wipe the areas covered with the silly putty. It should come up with the remaining.
Step 7
If the stain is persistent, repeat the processes a few more times until it works perfectly. This time you can try Step 6 by removing the visible particles by hand or with a vacuum cleaner.
Tips and ideas you might need
- Act quickly. Get to work immediately you notice the stain.
- If you don’t have alcohol to rub, you can use something related like hand sanitizers instead.
- When the putty is persistent and would not come off, try to use some WD-40 to facilitate the lubrication and ease removal.
- Begin with applying a cleaning solution and step two or step three of method three. If the stain is huge, use the stain remover and skip the nail polish.
- Go to method four and use the detergent mix to brush off the stain after the solvent.
- After trying the steps above, and it seems the putty cannot be removed, try blotting the affected area with Rock Soap.
- Two other products that can be used to remove dried silly putty are white vinegar and mayo.
- For conditions where the putty is pushed deep into the carpet fibers, and you cannot get it out, you can cut out one square of the carpet and replace that area with a matching piece.
- Test the cleaning process on a carpet sample or a secluded place on your carpet to ensure your cleaning materials do not bleed colors and you fully get the proper cleaning steps.
- Sometimes, the silly putty can leave a dye stain even after cleaning it from the carpet. In this case, you can try the foam carpet cleaner.
- Regardless of the technique, run through the processes and repeat as often as necessary until you see that the carpet is spotless.
Prevention is always better
Prevention is key. Regardless of the number of times, yell out to your kids to get their toys off the carpet. It’s not always that easy. If you decide not to buy the silly putty anymore, their grandparents or someone else just might.
The key to preventing all these constant cleanings is to set up a specific set of rules that they have to follow once they are playing with the silly putty. You can encourage using a tea tray or ensure they play on a table to lessen the chances of getting the putty on the carpet.
However, if they get the carpet soiled the silly putty, ensure they let you know right away. The last thing you want to be dealing with right now is trying to get silly putty off the carpet after a week.
Still, it seems challenging to get the silly putty off?
The helpful techniques we have given above are processes most people would sign up for happily. They are suitable for minor stains. But when it seems more demanding than it should or if your kids decided to throw a silly putty party on your carpet, and the diameter of the stain looks more than what you can handle, get professional cleaners to help you. They will have the right tools for this job.
However, if you see this tougher task as something you can handle yourself, you have to bear in mind that you may not be able to get your carpet thoroughly unstained in only a few hours. You may even have to try out the four solutions we have listed in a different sequence for a more effective cleaning result on stains on a larger scale.
Conclusion
Although silly putty is a fun product, and it is not suitable for your carpets. It does not lose its elasticity over time like many other compounds and come off so quickly. However, with a few simple household items and the above methods, you can effectively clean up silly putty off the carpet.
Depending on the size of the putty stain and the length of time it spends on the carpet, it may require some energy and time, but you can restore your carpet to its original state with these simple steps. If your carpet has silly putty stains on it, get to work immediately.