Kids love making slime almost as much as they love playing with it. Only three ingredients are in a slime recipe, which means creating blobs of slime is an easy project. However, once the blob is created, kids run their hands through the goo to feel the sensation across their fingertips and stretch it as far as it can go.
Often, however, slime lands on clothing. While it is seemingly impossible to remove slime in the washing machine, there are some effective ways to get slime out of your clothes.
What Is in Slime?
The basic slime recipe includes a bottle of kids’ school glue as well as Borax. Then, kids can put in a combination of food coloring drops to make their favorite colors. Once the combination of ingredients is mixed together, you get a semi-solid blob of sticky slime.
Borax is typically used to wash laundry. Glue is comprised of a string of molecules that trap small amounts of water. It is what makes slime slippery. When Borax combines with school glue, it activates the glue to form the slimy mess. However, these two ingredients are tacky, enabling slime to stick to places where it shouldn’t be.
What Removes Slime From Clothes?
Whether you discover fresh or dried slime on clothes, rest assured that your clothes aren’t permanently ruined. However, the proper stain removal strategies should be closely followed to ensure the best results.
Before you get started, be aware that rubbing the stain can help the slime set deeper into the clothing fibers. This makes it much more difficult to remove. Rather than rubbing the slime, use a spoon or butter knife to scrape as much of the goo off of the clothing as possible.
In addition, always read the garment’s care label. Be aware of safe water temperatures and cleaning products before you start removing the stain. Also, never machine-wash a slime-covered garment. Doing so could spread goo around your washing machine and onto other clothing. Also, test a small area of the fabric with your cleaning method before trying to remove the stain.
Dried Slime
It’s best to discover a slime stain when the goo is still moist, but some stains aren’t found until after the slime has dried to a hard mess. Even though the slime is hard, you should still scrape as much of the goop off as possible with a butter knife as a first step.
Then, you need to freeze the stain. You can do this by putting the clothing in the freezer for a few hours or by placing an ice cube on it. You should then be able to peel the remaining slime off. After the slime is removed, wash the clothing as you normally would.
Check out another way to remove dried slime stains from your favorite shirt:
@sloomooinstitute Tutorial: how to remove slime from clothes (also works on furniture, rugs and hair). 🧼 you’re welcome!! #slimetutorial #diyproject #slime
Fresh Slime
If the slime is still gooey and wet, saturate the stain with distilled white vinegar. Let the vinegar sit on the slimy stain for about 10 minutes without touching it. Then, gently scrub the stain in small circles using a soft toothbrush. Once the stain is gone, rinse the clothing in hot water and wash it in the machine as usual.
If the dye doesn’t come out with the vinegar, consider bleaching an otherwise white item. If your clothing is colored, look for a color-safe stain removal product.
Tips to Prevent Slime Stains
Here are a few tips to help you get the best results:
- Keep slime on the kitchen table or kitchen counter. Lay down foil or a newspaper to prevent the table or counter from getting stained.
- When preparing and playing with slime, you and your kids can wear old clothes.
- To prevent the kids from walking off with the slime, monitor them at the table or counter. When they are finished playing with the slime, store it out of the kids’ reach.
FAQ
What Is the Best Stain Remover for Slime?
The best stain remover for slime depends on if you’re dealing with fresh or dried slime. For fresh slime, vinegar is effective for breaking down the slime so that it is easier to rub off. For dried slime, no stain removal products may be needed. Instead, you can freeze the clothing and peel the slime off.
Here’s a quick tutorial on how you can manage clearing out slime stains on your kids’ clothing:
How to Get Slime Out of a Towel?
Towels are porous by design, so slime can easily work its way into the material’s fibers. However, getting slime out of a towel is just as easy as it is with other types of fabric. Simply soak the goo with white vinegar for several minutes. Then, use a soft brush to rub the stain out. You can then rinse the towel and launder it as usual.
Will Hot Water Get Slime Out of Clothes?
Slime will not dissolve in water, so it is not an effective way to remove a slime stain on its own. However, hot water can be used in conjunction with liquid dish soap to remove the stain. You can also try a combination of hot water and vinegar or hot water and rubbing alcohol.
Whether you’re trying to get slime out of clothes or you’re dealing with other messes, the right techniques can make light work of your challenging tasks. With deep cleaning services in Boston, our professional cleaners can handle your tough messes and help you get the most life out of your belongings. To learn more about our services and schedule your first home cleaning, contact the Tidyhere team today.
