How to Get Slime Out of a Shirt

The Best Ways to Clean Slime from Your Carpet, Sofa, Clothes, and More

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To this day, my mother has a mark on her ceiling from when my younger sister threw a glob of slime on the ceiling and it stuck for a while. I guess the oils or whatever was in that abominable stuff seeped into the paint as the slime slowly dripped and squelched away from the ceiling and fell onto the carpet where, thank goodness, it didn't stick.

That was decades ago and it's a ceiling stamp of family lore, but now that I have my own home, I know how annoying a grease spot on the ceiling must have been to my poor mother (who handled it with her usual laughter and aplomb. Go, Mom!).

These days, slime is back and every. where. Kids are obsessed with making it. The possibilities are endless, the specials on glue at the craft store are in your face, and even if you, like me, try to ban the activity from the household, little containers of devil snot still make it into the house from prizes at school, party favors, and I don't even know where else.

Dealing with slime that's stuck on carpeting, clothes, and furniture is a fact of life in 2020. Here are some ways to reverse the damage.

How to Get Slime Out of Carpet

Slime clings onto, around, and seemingly within every fiber of carpet it falls and, heaven forbid, gets walked on or smashed. One easy way to get slime out of carpet is with warm water, vinegar, and a small scrub brush.

1. Scrape up what you can: Use a spoon to scrape away any excess slime.
2. Make your cleaning solution: Mix warm water and vinegar in a ratio of about one-third water to about two-thirds vinegar.
3. Apply the solution: Use a soft brush to apply the solution and brush gently to loosen it.
4. Blot: Blot the area with a clean, white rag and repeat the process as necessary until the slime is gone.
5. Vacuum: Vacuum to pick up loosened slime bits and to restore fluff to your carpet.

Note: You can also perform the same steps using rubbing alcohol (instead of vinegar), which will also help remove any food coloring that might be staining your carpet. Don't use WD-40, as it can leave an oily residue that will attract dirt over time.

How to Get Slime Out of Clothing

If your kids have slime, chances are, it'll get on someone's clothing at some point. Don't toss the clothing into the washer, where it can spread the mess. But don't give up on the slime-stained clothes, either. Here's what to do.

• Scrape up what you can: First, remove as much excess slime as you can. A spoon works well again here because it's blunt yet has a rounded edge that won't catch on the fabric.
• Get the slime nice and hard: Next, use ice cubes to freeze the slime residue that remains on the clothing and, once it's hard, scrape away at it again.
• Treat the stain: Pre-treat the affected area with liquid laundry detergent, rubbing it gently into the fiber of the fabric.
• Set a timer: Allow the liquid detergent to sit but don't let it sit for more than 10 minutes.
• Rinse: Rinse the detergent out of the garment.
• Soak: Soak the clothing in warm water for about half an hour.
• Wash: Launder as usual.

How to Get Slime Out of Hair

Getting slime in their hair may convince children that playing with the gunk is more trouble than it's worth. Or not. In any case, here's how to help them get out of this sticky situation.

• Pull back the unaffected hair: If possible, clip back the hair that doesn't have slime in it.
• Add oil: Rub olive oil, coconut oil, or vegetable oil into the area affected by the slime.
• Comb it out: Work the oil around and comb out the slime with fingers or a comb.
• Add dish soap: Work some liquid Dawn dish soap into the oily portion of hair to cut the grease.
• Wash: Wash the hair as usual.

How to Get Slime Out of Furniture

No one wants slime stains on their furniture but it's probably inevitable. The key thing to remember when trying to clean slime off of furniture is that you want to avoid rubbing the stain in; your focus should be on lifting it off. Here are some more specifics.

• Scrape away what you can: Lift as much slime as you can off the furniture with a spoon. (If your upholstery fabric is polyester or a poly blend, that may be all you have to do.)
• Blot: If a mark remains, use a small cloth and distilled water to blot the mark. (Tap water may leave mineral deposits on your furniture. Ideally, you'll want a white cloth, too, as new colored cloths could bleed. If you're using a colored one, make sure it's old.)

How to Get Slime Off the Wall

If you find yourself in a situation like my family did all those years ago, a gentle scrub can save you from decades of jokes.

• Scrape up what you can: Use a spoon to gently scrape what you can off of the wall. Be careful to not scrape off the paint.
• Make a paste: Make a paste of baking soda and water with a little bit of vinegar and apply it to the stain. (Around one tablespoon of baking soda, 1/4 tablespoon of water and a splash of vinegar, but you don't have to be that precious about it.)
• Let the paste sit: Let the paste dry and wipe off the wall with a paper towel or rag.

How much slime have you had to clean up recently? Be honest!

Shifrah Combiths

Contributor

With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She's been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.

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How to Get Slime Out of a Shirt

Source: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-clean-slime-22993242

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