Craft glue and carpet are not a smart combination. Anyone, even those with experience in cleaning, will definitely agree with this. Messy, sticky craft glue can ruin the look, touch and feel of your favorite carpet. So if you have both craft glue and carpet flooring in your house, you should have basic knowledge of dealing with craft glue spills on your carpet.
If you have a toddler at home with a fondness for crafts or a family member with an artsy streak, glue spills may be a frequent affair. Cleaning up a gluey mess from your carpet can leave you worked up, frustrated and often unsuccessful.
Fresh glue is often easier to clean than old and hardened glue, as you can contain and minimize the damage. Any amount of glue residue can ruin a carpet’s plush look and texture. The stickiness of the glue can also attract dirt and debris, allowing the mess to get caked onto the surface and become even more difficult to clean.
With a little patience and planned effort, you can get fresh as well as old craft glue stains out of your carpet.
There are a lot of products available in the market that aim to dissolve the adhesive and clean craft glue out of a carpet. But if you don’t wish to subject your family and your carpet fabric to heavy-duty chemicals, there are a lot of natural options for you.
Don’t let the frustration of cleaning a glue spill overshadow your affection for your loved ones and their art.
Here are four methods to clean craft glue out of a carpet:
Contents
Method 1: Using a Knife
This method works best if you’re addressing a fresh spill of craft glue on your carpet.
Things you’ll need:
- Butter knife
- Water
- Cotton rag
Step 1. Scrape off the bulk of the glue with a butter knife
Use the blade of a dull knife, such as a butter knife, to scrape off the surface layer of the glue. Keep cleaning the knife in between and remove as much of the glue as you possibly can in this manner.
Step 2. Loosen the glue with a little water
- Pour a little water over the glue stain to loosen the remaining glue.
- Again, use the butter knife to scrape off as much loosened glue as you can.
Step 3. Lift off the remaining glue with a cotton rag
- When your carpet becomes almost free of glue, use a cotton rag to blot away the cloudy moisture from the carpet until it is clean.
- Dry the carpet with the rag as much as you can, then let the carpet air-dry.
Method 2: Using White Vinegar
If the glue has started to set, distilled white vinegar can be used to loosen the glue. This will make your job easier. Then, liquid dish soap can be used to completely clean the glue from the carpet. Add an equal amount of water to the liquid dish soap in order to dilute it. Using diluted dish soap will prove to be more convenient.
Things you’ll need:
- Butter knife
- White vinegar
- Water
- Liquid dish soap, diluted
- Cotton rag
Step 1. Use white vinegar to loosen the glue
- Pour a little white vinegar over the glue stain.
- When the glue starts loosening up, scrape it off with a butter knife. Cleaning the knife in between, scrape off as much glue as you can.
Step 2. Use diluted dish soap to clean the remaining glue
- Spray some diluted liquid dish soap over the area.
- Again, use the dull blade of a butter knife to scrape off the remainder of the glue from the carpet.
Step 3. Clean the remaining mess with plain water and a rag
- In order to clean the vinegar and dish soap from the carpet, pour a little water over the area.
- Use an absorbent cotton rag to blot away the moisture along with the remaining traces of glue.
- Repeat this step until it comes up clean. Blot away as much moisture as you can before letting the carpet air-dry.
Method 3: Using Carpet Shampoo
Using carpet shampoo is another way you can deal with craft glue spills. This method works great, even if the glue has started to set. Dilute the carpet shampoo with an equal amount of water to make the cleanup more efficient.
Things you’ll need:
- Butter knife
- Carpet shampoo, diluted
- Water
- Cotton rag
Step 1. Scrape off the top layer of the glue with a butter knife
If the glue has started to set, use the dull blade of a butter knife to scrape off the top layer of the craft glue from the carpet. Keep at it until no more glue comes off.
Step 2. Use diluted carpet shampoo to remove the remaining glue
- Spray some diluted carpet shampoo over the glue stain.
- Without harsh scrubbing, blot the area with a cotton rag.
- Patiently repeat this activity until the entire glue loosens its hold on the carpet fibers.
Step 3. Clean the area with plain water
- In order to clean up the carpet shampoo along with the loosened glue, pour a little water over the area.
- Blot the cloudy moisture away with a clean and dry end of the cotton rag.
- Continue until the patch is free of carpet shampoo and glue.
- Blot away as much moisture as you can before letting the carpet air-dry.
Method 4: Using a Hot Iron (for Dried Glue)
If any glue spill gets overlooked, it’s usually hard to remove. But using a hot iron and paper towels can help you successfully remove old glue. The heat from the iron will melt the hardened glue, which then gets absorbed onto the paper towels.
Things you’ll need:
- Iron
- Paper towels
Melt the hardened glue with a hot iron and absorb it onto paper towels
- Cover the hardened glue with a paper towel.
- Run a hot iron over the paper towel, for no longer than 10 seconds at a time.
- When the glue melts and gets absorbed onto the paper towel, discard the paper towel.
- Repeat this method with fresh paper towels until all the glue comes off the carpet and the paper towel remains clean on being heated over the glue stain.
Additional Tips
- Try to address glue spills as soon as you can to easily restore the condition of your carpet.
- Before using any cleaning solution on your carpet, you must test it on an inconspicuous area of the carpet. If you have wall-to-wall carpeting, you can make the closet carpeting your test site.
- After cleaning up the mess, it’s important that you let the carpet dry completely to prevent any chance of mold or mildew.
- You can use fans, air conditioners or dehumidifiers to dry the carpet completely.
ThanI u soon much