Carpet in the house is both good and bad. It’s cozy with him, but if there is a child in the family, then you can’t do without problems. Children love to play on the carpet, especially babies who have barely learned to walk. And those who are older often not only work with some kind of toy, but even sculpt something out of plasticine, sometimes they drop the craft, inadvertently stepping on it.
For any housewife, cleaning the carpet is a problematic task, especially if there are children in the house.
In this case, a red, blue or other color stain remains on the item of comfort. Small or big, it doesn't matter anymore. The product is damaged. Is it possible to help restore it to its original attractive appearance? Let's figure out what needs to be done first, without resorting to the help of a dry cleaning service?
The most problematic stains are stains formed by plasticine.
First, pull yourself together and don’t yell at your child. Secondly, turn on the computer and use a search engine to find reliable methods. A lot of them. Your head can spin from advice and suggestions. This is because carpets are different, which is why the methods for cleaning them at home may not be the same. In order not to have any difficulties in choosing a cleaning method in the future, we inform you that they are divided into two categories: cleaning powders and liquids with a chemical composition and folk remedies.
Mothers are wondering how to remove plasticine from the carpet quickly and efficiently without involving specialists.
Chemical products contain aggressive substances such as alkali and acids. They may damage the product. But folk remedies for removing plasticine from carpets at home are more gentle. Using them, housewives do not have to worry that the object of their care will be damaged.
There are several ways to clean carpet stains at home.
The most reliable, proven and completely safe methods are considered to be folk remedies. Let's look at the simplest ones, which do not require much effort to quickly remove plasticine from the carpet. Agree that they are always at hand: table salt, vinegar, soda, household items. soap, washing powder.
In practice, there are quite effective ways by which you can efficiently remove the plasticine left by kids on the carpet surface.
Now let's move on to specifics.
We wipe off the stain using improvised means.
Salt, vinegar and washing powder - every housewife has them in her house. If she noticed in time that her child had made a mistake and smeared the carpet with plasticine, without wasting time, she should begin simple actions.
Every parent should know how to remove plasticine from a carpet.
- wet a cloth, dip it in a salt shaker where fine table salt is stored, and apply it to the stain, and after 5-8 minutes rinse with water.
- if it doesn’t help, then mix 1 tsp in a bowl. salt, 1 tsp. washing powder and 1 tsp. vinegar. After waiting for the applied mixture to dry, shake it off and try to rub off the stain.
If the mark is fresh and of a small area, then after removing the main mass, you can apply a little fine table salt to it with a damp cloth.
It's even easier to prepare a soap solution. Its preparation: add about 30 g of laundry soap to half a glass of water, beat this mixture, and then apply it to the damaged area with a sponge. After 5-10 minutes, wash off with water.
A soap solution can remove minor stains when most of the substance has already been removed from the surface.
Did not help? How else can you try to quickly clean plasticine from a carpet at home?
Product Features
To produce the modeling mass, clay, crushed to a powder, Vaseline, fats, and dyes are used. Thanks to this, the mass remains plastic for a long time and easily sticks to different objects.
To clean the carpet, it is necessary to remove the maximum amount of plasticine using mechanical and physical methods. After this, you can begin to remove the greasy colored stain remaining on the coating.
Advice! In addition to regular plasticine, there are water-based varieties of this product on sale. Its peculiarity is its rapid hardening. After about a day, such plasticine becomes rigid and loses its ability to stick to surfaces. If this particular variety gets on the carpet, then you just need to wait until the plasticine hardens, then it can be easily removed by simply picking it up with your hands.
Using low and high temperatures.
- Exposure to cold. In winter, you can bring some snow from the street and pour it on the object of action. After some time, the carpet fibers on the stain will harden, and you can safely, but very carefully, remove the unnecessary with a knife or spatula. Or take a piece of ice (from the street or from the refrigerator), rub it on the problem area and carefully scrape off the remainder with a sharp object.
A good way to remove plasticine from carpet is to use low temperatures. - Apply heat.
To do this you will need a regular iron. We heat it up, place a sheet of white paper on the stain and “iron” the area. The hot method is absolutely not suitable for carpets that are made on an adhesive basis.
Important! The main thing is that the stain is fresh and small in size.
If you have tried all the simple ways to remove plasticine from a carpet at home, you can resort to the following tactics.
If the substance ends up in the carpet pile, it is not so easy to remove it, but it is still possible with the right approach and quick response.
Exposure to cold
To make it easier to clean the floor covering, you can use temperature methods.
If the plasticine is very soft and difficult to remove mechanically, then make your work easier by applying cold.
There is no need to take the carpet out into the cold. It would be unwise to carry such a bulky item because of a small stain. You can cool the plasticine using ice from the freezer. You can freeze ice in special molds and put the ice cubes in a bag. Or put a half-liter plastic bottle of water in the freezer for several hours.
A cold object should be applied to the area of contamination. Cooled plasticine will harden and it will be easier to remove it mechanically.
Advice! On the Internet you can find advice to iron the stain with a warm iron through a napkin. This method is not effective. The melted plasticine will become fluid and penetrate deep into the floor covering, making it even more difficult to remove contamination.
Car interior cleaning products.
If your family has a car, then there is a special tool with which the motorist takes care of his four-wheeled friend. Here it is suitable for trying to clean the carpet from plasticine at home.
As a rule, such products contain solvents or degreasing components.
Use of household chemicals
After most of the plastic mass has been removed from the carpet, the remaining traces can be washed off using household chemicals. This can be any carpet cleaning shampoo or ready-made stain removers.
Examples of funds:
- Shampoo for carpets "Vanish". Prepare the working solution according to the instructions, beat until thick foam appears. Then apply a thick layer of foam onto the stain and leave until completely dry. Clean the carpet with a stiff brush and vacuum it.
- Antipyatin in powder form. Dissolve in warm water in the proportions specified in the instructions. Moisten the stain generously with the resulting solution and clean it with a stiff brush. Then wash off the foam with clean water and leave to dry. If the traces are not completely removed, the operation is repeated.
- Amway Universal Cleansing Spray. Shake the product in the can and spray it onto the stains. After a quarter of an hour, remove any remaining product with a soft brush.
You can use other types of stain removers; you should choose those that remove traces of grease.
Alcohol and Solvent.
In order to quickly wipe plasticine off the carpet at home, you can look in the refrigerator. A good housewife always has a bottle of vodka hidden there. This method gives positive results, unless, of course, the stain is old. You need to take a small cloth, cotton pad or sponge, wet them, and rub the source of unexpected worries until you get a result. Any solvent, such as gasoline, white spirit or acetone, will help remove stains from carpet.
It is enough to rub a cloth soaked in them, our constant assistants, over the stain several times to forget about the problem.
Do not forget! Before this procedure, we advise you to open the window slightly and put on rubber gloves.
How to remove old plasticine
Old stains are more difficult to deal with. Over time, plasticine becomes so absorbed into the carpet that it becomes extremely difficult to get rid of. Powdered products and soap solutions in such a situation will not give any positive result. To remove stubborn stains, use white spirit or acetone.
You can also try to melt the substance with a hairdryer by turning on the hot air mode. The air stream is directed to the contaminated area. After the mass has softened, it is removed with a piece of cotton wool or a paper napkin. Remaining dirt can be easily washed off with cologne or alcohol.
We remove greasy stains.
But the desired goal has been achieved, and there is no plasticine left on the carpet. But sometimes joy is premature, because there is a greasy stain in the most visible place. How to fight it?
Since plasticine contains fatty acids and paraffins, oil stains remain even after its removal.
Let's take ammonia, a rag or a cotton pad, moisten it with it and carefully “walk” over the desired place.
They can be easily removed using regular ammonia.
Rub a cotton pad or sponge with laundry soap and treat the product.
Laundry soap will degrease the surface in a matter of minutes.
Gasoline or kerosene is our third option. We proceed in the same way as when working with ammonia.
The procedure must be repeated until the stain can be completely wiped off.
Mix a few drops of dishwashing liquid with water until a thick foam forms, rub in thoroughly, and then rinse with water.
Beat a few drops of liquid with water until a thick foam forms.
Baking soda is one of the simplest but most reliable techniques. Tested by the author in practice. Helps without problems if there is nothing else at hand.
You need to pour a little baking soda where needed, wait a few minutes, and then shake it off.
Those who want to use the tips given in this article on how to clean plasticine from a carpet at home should remember a few simple rules.
It is very important to remove the stain correctly - pull the lint up and under no circumstances rub the plasticine into the lint.
When using alcohol, gasoline, or car cleaner for cleaning, you should always ventilate the room. It is also advisable to temporarily remove children and pets from the room.
You should not use “stain removers”, they can only cause damage.
Carpets come in different types: coarse wool, high and low pile, nylon and others. This should always be taken into account, and not try the remedies right away. Stains are also different - fresh and old. Fresh ones are easy to clean, but sometimes you have to tinker with old ones. After the procedure, the comfort item will be damp. It needs to be dried on a loggia or balcony, and if it is large, then an ordinary hair dryer will do.
The drying process is accelerated by applying a stream of warm air from a hair dryer to the stain.
Of course, it is not easy to remove plasticine from a carpet at home. But there is no need to panic and regret that you allowed your child to play on it. After all, in your home it is the main thing, and not some product, although it is very beautiful, useful, bringing a calm, good mood and a feeling of security to the family.
There are many cleaning methods. Read and choose any one that suits you.
Pull yourself together, calm down. There are no hopeless situations. Turn on your computer and read this article carefully, select the appropriate option. Then proceed to action, just do not rush, carefully following the instructions. You will definitely succeed. And so as not to get confused next time, write down your recommendations in a notebook the old fashioned way. Then the housewife will not have to waste time, money and effort on going to the dry cleaner.
Advice: Place newspapers on the floor in the nursery during creative activities.
Prevention
To save money, effort and time on removing plasticine stains, it is better to prevent their occurrence. To this end, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
- When choosing a substance for modeling, you must carefully read its composition and the manufacturer’s instructions. It is not advisable to purchase a plastic mass that contains natural wax. The fact is that this substance is firmly embedded in tissues and is difficult to remove from them.
- Parents should not leave their child alone to sculpt from plasticine. Even a short-term absence can lead to the fact that the carpet will have to be cleaned for a long time from the plastic mass and its traces. In addition, if contamination is not immediately noticed, the problem will only worsen over time. In this case, you will have to use drastic methods, aggressive substances or dry cleaning services.
- Before giving your child plasticine, he needs to be told in detail about all the rules for its use.
It is better to immediately explain to children that they need to sculpt from plasticine not on the carpet, but at the work table and in the presence of their parents. This will avoid problems.
Warming up with an iron
The thermal method of primary treatment is not suitable for all coatings - this must be taken into account. The second significant nuance is that the iron must be warm, not hot, otherwise the plasticine will be soldered in, the artificial pile will begin to melt, and the natural one will, of course, burn.
If all precautions are taken, the method will be effective and simple. Heat the iron to one and unplug it. Place a corner of a paper napkin on the stain. Without pressing, iron with the tip of the iron until a greasy mark appears on the napkin. Reposition the paper to cover the stain with a clean area and reheat. Repeat 1-2 more times.
After thermal cleaning, the remaining plasticine is washed off with carpet or furniture cleaner.
Hairdryer
The hair styling device produces too hot a stream of air, moreover, it is difficult to direct it to one point - therefore, such heating is ineffective and generally raises doubts. The unit is more suitable for the final stage, when a wet trace needs to be dried quickly.
Traditional cleaning methods
Traditional methods of cleaning carpets should affect the destruction of substances in the structure of the pile and its maximum removal with solutions available at hand. Nail polish remover is suitable, the use of which is effective when repeatedly rubbing a plasticine stain with a cotton pad.
Traditional methods are based on the use of the following available means and liquids:
- Vodka
- Alcohol
- Detergents
- Soap
- Soda
- Other solvents
Cleaning with vodka or alcohol
Alcohol solutions affect the structure of the plasticine stain. A solution of vodka, ammonia and medical alcohol solutions is applied to the stained area and wiped repeatedly.
Getting alcohol on the carpet can not only help destroy plasticine stains, but also cause harm by changing the color of the dirty area.
First, you should conduct an experiment by rubbing the liquid on an invisible part of the coating. After 10 minutes, the result is assessed, how much the shade range of the carpet has changed and whether the discrepancies in color differences are very noticeable.
Using detergents
Detergent compositions effectively cope with scrubbing plasticine stains. Detergents include all types of stain removers:
- Vanish
- Antipyatin powder and soap
- Spray Amway
Freezing
The very first step is mechanical cleaning. Of course, first with pens. We remove everything we can collect. No need to rub! Otherwise, the plasticine will firmly eat into the coating. Now we need to freeze this nasty thing.
Is there a piece of ice in the freezer? Wonderful. We take it, wrap it in a thin napkin and apply it to the plasticine for 10-12 minutes. After this period, carefully break off the pieces and assemble them. This must be done quickly, before the mass has time to thaw.
A vacuum cleaner helps in this matter; it collects very well. Just cover the hose with a thin rag or an old sock to prevent plasticine from getting inside the vacuum cleaner. It wasn't enough for him to smear everything there too.
Advice. No ice in the freezer? No problem! Any frozen food will do. Everything in the freezer is quite capable of making the plasticine cold. Either chicken or meat.
Useful tips
The article concludes with useful tips to help remove or avoid contamination:
- It is forbidden to clean carpets made of synthetic fibers with an iron or hair dryer. A fire may occur.
- Do not use cleaning products that contain chlorine. It is harmful both to lint and fabric, and to the human or pet body.
- If the area of contamination is large, then it is better to dry clean the carpet.
- After cleaning, ammonia will help add shine to the natural pile. Dilute 10 drops of liquid in a glass of water and apply to a cloth. Wipe the lint with a damp cloth.
In most cases, you can get rid of traces of plasticine. You don't need to use all the methods in a row. First, the nature of the contamination and its age are determined, and then appropriate measures are taken. If you can’t get rid of the problem, then go to the dry cleaner. They employ highly qualified specialists who know how to remove such contaminants without damaging the product.
