How to get slime out of clothing
Ever since it was discovered that slime can be easily made at home with simple household materials, children around the world have been fascinated with this semi-solid and semi-liquid toy. Even adults have fun with it as many will agree that the act of squeezing slime provides stress relief. As children and adult start slinging slime shots at one another, the inevitable will happen; slime smeared on clothing and creating stains! With slime's sticky property, it will remain stuck on clothes without action taken.
Fret not, Hello Curve is here! In our "How To" clothing care series, we provide solutions to help you deal with all your clothing care woes! In this article you will find our quick and simple guide on how to remove slime from your clothes.
Find out how to get slime out of clothing
Before we start, we have to remind you that it is best to act on the slime stain as soon as you possibly can. The longer the stain stays on the clothing, the harder it will be to remove. I hope you're reading this article immediately after getting slimed!
There are two effective methods that will remove slime from your clothes.
What will remove slime from clothing (and even hair, bedding and carpets)?
Lucky for you, you'll most likely have the materials you need at home already. Vinegar and dish soap are the key ingredients for slime removal! You can use either vinegar or dish soap. After your slime party, if you happen to have also slapped the slime onto your hair, bedding or floor, do know that you can also use the same materials and methods discussed below to remove slime from these areas!
Why does vinegar dissolve slime?
(Image credit: Cat Meschia)
A little chemical explanation for you for all those curious about why vinegar removes slime. We know vinegar is a potent household product with many uses, but you might be wondering why it helps with slime. The answer is that vinegar is acidic and this acidity will dissolve slime. Simple and easy. In plain words, vinegar will eat at and disintegrate slime.
How to use vinegar to remove slime?
With the five simple steps below, you will remove slime from your clothing with vinegar!
1. Keep your surroundings clear
Slime is notoriously stretchy and sticky! While pulling slime away from your t-shirt, you might end up creating a new slime stain on the desk you're working on. We recommend laying newspapers on the floor or table before working on the stain. You can then lay your clothing on top of that. If you have an old picnic mat you have no use for, that will also be an ideal base. You can also work in your kitchen sink or outdoors.
2. Manually remove as much of slime as possible
Pull and pluck out as much of slime with your fingers as possible. Dried slime is much harder to remove so don't let the stain get old! Hold on to your clothing with one hand and with the other, tug as much of slime out as possible. Once this is complete, move on to the next step.
3. Apply vinegar on the stains
For the purposes of slime removal, the best vinegar to use is white vinegar, which most would have in their kitchen. If you don't have white vinegar in your house, no worries, just move on to the next slime removal method! Apply the vinegar on the slime stains and wait for a few minutes to let it soak into the spots. This method will work on all clothing types, including plus size dresses. There is no need to apply vinegar on other areas of the clothing.
4. Scrub the stains
It's time to roll up your sleeves and work those arms! Use a toothbrush or scrub brush to scrub at the slime spot. As you scrub, you will notice chunks of slime being scrubbed away. Vinegar has weakened the slime so it is now easy for you work on it. If the slime stain is old or larger, it might be more resistant. In that case, repeat steps 3 and 4.
5. Wash your clothing
Once you are done, rinse the slime remains and vinegar away with warm water. You can now wash your slime free clothing in the washing machine as per normal. Ta-dah! Your once slime infested clothes are now as good as new! I hear you digging into your closet for the favourite t-shirt you accidentally stained with slime!
Note: We recommend spot testing if your clothing is made of a delicate fabric and also if you are applying this method to something valuable like plus size formal dresses. In most cases, vinegar will not cause damage on the item you are trying to remove the stain from, but it is better to be safe lest colours start to run or items get damaged. This is commonly recommended for stain removal.
How to use dish soap to remove slime?
Don't have vinegar at home? You can also use dish soap to effectively remove slime from your clothes. Just follow the simple five steps below:
1. Keep your surroundings clear
2. Manually remove as much of slime as possible
3. Rub dish soap onto stain and scrub
We recommend doing this method in a sink as we will need water. Place dish soap onto the slime stain and with one hand holding the fabric to the left of the stain and one hand holding the fabric to the right of the stain, bring both hands together and scrub both sides of the fabric together. Our aim here is to rub off the slime stain with the assistance of dish soap. You will notice slime being rubbed off. Add some water when necessary and continue rubbing till all the slime is removed. This method is gentle on clothes, so we advise applying it on delicate clothing types like plus size lingerie and plus size wedding dresses.
4. Wash the clothing
Once you have removed the slime stain with acetone, wash your clothing as per normal.
Bonus Method: Remove slime stains with Acetone
Don't have vinegar nor dish washing soap at home? Well that's really rare, but if you are caught in this situation, we have a bonus third method of slime stain removal. You can use acetone instead. Acetone, which can be found in some nail varnish removers (please check the ingredient list to confirm its presence) can also do the job of removing slime from your clothing, provided the slime was made with glue.
Do note that as acetone can cause discolouration, we recommend spot testing on the clothing before applying this method. If discolouration occurs, discontinue usage and try the first two methods we recommended instead.
How to use acetone to remove slime from clothing?
1. Keep your surroundings clear
2. Manually remove as much of slime as possible
3. Dab acetone on the stain
Much like how you remove nail polish on your nails, use the same method to remove slime stains. Soak up cotton wool with acetone and dab on the slime stain gently. The slime stain will stick on to the cotton wool and you can manually remove the slime from your cotton wool before going on the stain again to bring up more slime. Keep going until the slime stain is fully removed. As acetone is harsher in nature, we recommend using it on clothing types with tougher fabrics like plus size activewear and plus size swimwear. Take caution when using it on delicate fabrics.
4. Wash the clothing
Once you have removed the slime stain with acetone, wash your clothing as per normal.
We hope these slime removal helps you and your kids have fun with slime, without worrying about slime stains on clothes. I say, let the slime slinging begin!
Are our slime removal tips useful? Do you have any additional pointers to add on while using the above methods, or do you have other methods to share? Let us know in the comments below! We would love to hear from you.
