In as much as playdough keeps your children occupied and happy, it has one major downside; sticking to the carpet and every other place around the house.
The person responsible for keeping the house clean might find this annoying but still, better than denying bubbly little ones the opportunity to explore their creativity.
How then does one deal with the mess at the end of the day?
Getting playdough out of carpet is not as difficult as it appears. No matter the type, texture or color of your rug, there are several steps to get incredible results. The steps can as well be used to clear the mess from upholstery.
How to Get Playdough Out of Carpet
Part One: Remove Excess Playdough in 5 Simple Steps
Step 1: Use Fresh Playdough to pick up small and large pieces of dough that are loosely laying all over the carpet. Do not try to use force because you might cause further smudging. Even worse, some pieces might dig deeper into the carpet fabric thereby making your cleaning job twice as hard.
Step 2: Painfully watch as the remaining playdough slowly dries out. If you are impatient like me, spray it with can compressed air until it is completely frozen. Attempting to get wet playdough out of carpet will only worsen the situation.
Step 3: Use a knife or any other object that works in a similar way to loosen it into smaller solid bits.
Step 4: Use a vacuum cleaner to collect the pieces.
Step 5: Keep repeating steps 2-4 until the method is no longer effective.
Part two: Clean out the Stains
If your carpet is stained, proceed to one of the alternative methods provided below.
Use Soap and water: Mild soap and cold water might be all you need depending on the material of your carpet or rug. Make a solution and use it to wet a clean white cloth. Squeeze out excess water and dab the stained patch severally until it is completely clean. Repeat the procedure with all the stained areas and let the carpet dry on its own.
Important note: Resist the temptation to use hot water. It will ruin your entire day by melting down the playdough.
Use hydrogen peroxide to remove tough stains: If you find yourself with stains that call for more than soap and water on a white carpet, hydrogen peroxide is your next best alternative.
Food coloring which is an ingredient for playdough is made of fruit juice among other substances. Hydrogen peroxide is excellent at removing these kind of stains.
Spray 3% hydrogen peroxide on the stained area and blot with a clean white cloth until there is no more evidence of discoloration.
If you intend to use this method on a colored carpet, do a test on a small hidden area because hydrogen peroxide is an effective bleaching agent.
Use an alcohol treatment: Rubbing alcohol is an excellent choice for dealing with stained colored carpets. Dampen a clean white cloth with alcohol and use it to dab the stained area until it becomes completely clean. Be thorough to avoid spreading color to areas that were originally unaffected.
How can you keep your carpet from getting stained by playdough?
Find your children a designated play area: It is always a good idea to keep children grounded in one play area. It prevents them from spreading their mess throughout the entire house. Additionally, they enjoy the independence of engaging in different games without being micro-managed.
Buy a children-friendly carpet: Having kids in the house should help determine the choice of your carpet. The goal should be to have something comfortable but also stain and dirt resistant.
Remove the carpet: I see many mums with limited space in their house choose to move all the items to one corner and leave ample space for their children to play. The tip should cut across when it comes to handling a carpet.
Roll it up if you have to and spread it out once the children are done with their molding and sculpting. The drawback to this approach is that it is not suitable for houses with slippery floors because it exposes children to dangerous falls.
Get good quality playdough: The quality of this malleable substance differs depending on brand, recipe and other minor factors. The key is to have soft but non-sticky dough that does not crumble or dry up in a snap. Most importantly, identify something that is easy to clean out and stick to it.
