If you’re wondering how to remove slime from carpet, do not panic! The good news is with the right steps and ingredients, your carpet will make a full recovery.
Whether you accidentally dropped your sensory therapy slime or your kids mashed Flarp! into the carpet fibers. How it got there doesn’t matter. What does matter is how you get it out. You can find plenty of effective methods for cleaning up a slime spill on the internet. But sometimes, more information is not helpful, especially when you don’t have a way of vetting sources.
I’m adding my voice to the noise because cleaning is my job (and my passion). I like to say that as a third-generation janitor, cleaning is in my blood. The tips I share through my blogs and videos are the ones I have used countless times for my clients. I have experience with healing carpets from many types of carpet stains, including red wine, latex paint, nail polish, and hair dye. Together, we’ll get your carpet as good as new.
What is slime?
Setting my credentials aside, let’s talk about the science of removing slime from carpets. Whether it’s a store-bought slime or a DIY concoction from homemade slime recipes, slime is made from a chemical reaction between a polyvinyl acetate (an ingredient in glue) and an activator (sodium borate, borax powder, or boric acid).
There are other ingredients, too, like dye or food coloring, but the polyvinyl acetate and activator are the ingredients that will react with our cleaning agent, vinegar, to loosen it from the carpet.
Why does vinegar help?
Acetic acid is the secret ingredient that dissolves slime. It’s also responsible for vinegar’s potent smell. With the help of acetic acid, vinegar dissolves slime particles and releases the remaining color and ingredients from the carpet’s fibers.
One of the key reasons I love this cleaning method is that you probably already have all the products you need to get the job done. You don’t need to worry that your baking soda is expired, your club soda is flat, or your hydrogen peroxide bottle is empty. Cleaning vinegar, or even just white vinegar, and a few common household items are all you need.
Vinegar is also great because it’s effective on stains and gentle on carpets. If you’re still nervous about using it on your carpet, you can try it in an inconspicuous area first.
Ready to say goodbye to that slime stain? Let’s clean that up!
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How to Remove Slime from Carpet
What You’ll Need
- Cleaning Vinegar
- Towels
- Spoon
- Spray Bottle
- Warm water
Don’t want to keep reading? Watch the video instead.
Let’s Get Cleaning!
1. Remove excess slime.
Use your hands, a putty knife, a butter knife, or other gentle scraping tools to remove as much slime as possible without pulling at the carpet fibers. If the slime is already dry, your initial step should be to pour vinegar on the area to loosen the slime. After 5-10 minutes, you should be able to remove the extra slime.
Note that plain old white vinegar would likely work for this, but cleaning vinegar is more concentrated so that it will be more effective.
2. Apply vinegar and scoop.
Once you get to your base layer of slime, apply vinegar to the affected area. Next, you will use the spoon to scoop out the liquid and coloring. I just scoop the watery slime residue onto a clean cloth.
3. Dab with a towel.
After a few scoops, dab with a dry cloth to bring the excess liquid to the surface and soak it up. Then, continue scooping.
4. Mist with warm water.
Once the slime is removed, mist the area with warm water in a spray bottle to rinse the fibers.
5. Dab again.
Finally, dab the moist area with a towel to eliminate excess moisture. This will help your carpet dry faster and minimize odors.
There you have it! The slime spot should be gone, and your carpet should look great!
Bonus Tip: Don’t let slime be the death of your favorite t-shirt! This cleaning solution can remove slime from clothing or a low-pile area rug. Instead of a spoon, use a soft brush and work the vinegar into the material with circular motions. After, rinse with hot water. In the case of any stain, do not put clothing into the dryer until the stains have been removed.
At this point, it’s understandable if you’re tired after all the elbow grease you put into removing that sticky substance from your carpet. It takes more than a little effort. If you’re feeling an adrenaline rush and want to keep the cleaning ball rolling, though, check out my 5 Tips to Clean Your Carpet Like A Pro. In this video, I offer simple steps, carpet cleaning tips, and recommendations for my favorite vacuum cleaner and cleaning products.
If you don’t take on this cleaning adventure today, I recommend adding it to your cleaning schedule every couple of months.
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