Play dough, or modeling dough, whether home-made or store-bought can be a nightmare if it gets embedded into carpet. Its malleable, colorful qualities are fun for the kids, but not so fun when it gets staining the area underfoot.
It might seem impossible to remove once the play dough has stuck to the carpet fibers, but there's actually an easy way professional cleaners get rid of it and the trick is waiting till it completely dries out.
Having a carpet cleaner or vacuum cleaner will help a great deal, too when following this three-step expert-approved guide.
What you need to get play dough out of carpet
Below are our experts' tried-and-tested steps for removing play dough from carpet safely and thoroughly.
You'll need:
- A dull scraper (such as a spoon or credit card).
- Warm water.
- White vinegar.
- You can alternatively use Dawn dish soap, available at Walmart, or a good commercial carpet cleaning product such as Resolve professional carpet cleaning spray on Amazon.
- Your vacuum cleaner, and if you're in a rush to dry the play dough, some ice to harden it.
Step 1: Let it dry completely
Trying to remove play dough from carpet immediately will actually cause more problems than it fixes, professionals warn.
'The key is to start by allowing the play dough to dry completely,' says Andreis Bergeron, property manager and VP of sales at Awning. 'Attempting to clean it while it’s still soft usually ends up smearing the dough further into the fibers.'
Head of solved at Homes & Gardens, Punteha van Terheyden, learned this the hard way. 'My daughter loves Play Doh and has a big collection of it. We also have a cream area rug in the living room where she usually plays and she dropped a blue chunk of modeling dough on it, then stood on it. I tried to remove it straight away and it was like I was smearing gum into the fibers. It ended up looking like I'd dropped colored food dye on the carpet.'
Letting play dough dry completely can take a few hours, so if you're rushed for time you can speed up the process by placing an ice pack or ice cubes in a Ziploc bag and holding it against the patch.
'Using an ice pack will make any other soft remaining pieces solid,' explains Ben Johnson, cleaning manager and CEO of Big Ben.
It's just one of many surprising ways you can use Ziploc bags around the home.
2. Scrape and vacuum
'Once dry, use a dull knife or the edge of a credit card to gently scrape away as much of the play dough as possible,' Andreis shares. It's important to not use anything sharp as it could damage your carpet.
Savina Liubomirova Alexandrova, domestic cleaning expert from Fantastic Cleaners, adds that this step is important as it 'disintegrates the dried pieces.'
'Next, vacuum the area to remove loose particles,' Andreis adds. After the majority of the dried playdough has been scraped and vacuumed away, there should only be small amounts of residue left, if any.
Head of solved, Punteha adds, 'The next time we had a modeling dough accident on the carpet, I resisted the urge to deal with it straight away and let it dry. I was able to then pick it off with my hands and hoover the rest. It worked brilliantly.'
3. Dab, blot, never rub
Now, to get rid of the final, stubborn bits of play dough, you'll need to use a cleaning solution.
'For any residual bits, a mix of white vinegar and warm water can work wonders,' Andreis recommends. At H&G we've had endless success with this simple solution, including as a homemade glass cleaner, and using it on flooring and carpet is no exception.
'Dab the solution onto the stain with a cloth and gently blot, avoiding any rubbing, which can further embed the play dough,' he adds. Blotting and not rubbing is one of the golden rules of stain removal – so it's an important one to remember.
If you don't have any white vinegar to hand, Savina recommends mixing warm water with a few drops of dish soap, as this should do the trick too.
How to prevent it happening next time
Prevention is better than cure, and Punteha recommends keeping play dough activities away from carpeted areas. If this isn't possible, use a large mat under the area of play and remove socks. This prevents loose bits sticking to your children's socks and being walked around your home.
'Having a few basic cleaning supplies nearby, like white vinegar, a dull scraper, and a small handheld vacuum, can turn a potential headache into a quick fix,' Andreis shares. If play dough is frequently brought out in your home, this can save you a great deal of time and stress.
'For stubborn stains, a good enzyme cleaner that's safe for carpets can break down any organic residues left behind by play dough,' Andreis says.
'A handheld carpet cleaner can also be useful for a more thorough clean, especially models that allow for targeted application without over saturating the area.' recommends Andreis, emphasizing the brilliance of carpet cleaners over steam cleaners in this regard.
To save yourself time in the future, here are H&G's recommendations from our time as expert appliance testers and cleaning pros.
This enzymatic cleaner from Simple Solution is perfect to have on hand whenever play dough is being used, to tackle any tough stains left by it. It's already mixed and in a spray bottle for when time is of the essence, and it's more affordable than many similar bottles out there.
Of all the best vacuums we've tested, this Brigii cordless vac is our favorite handheld model. For its size, it has some impressive cleaning power and it costs less than $60, making it the ideal cleaning companion for quick spot cleaning around the house.
Read our full Brigii Cordless Handheld Vacuum review.
For the more serious cleans needed when play dough residue just won't come out, a powerful carpet cleaner like the Shark CarpetXpert is a brilliant buy. It's so thorough that it actually revived the color of rugs and carpets during testing, and can effortlessly suck stains right out of the fibers. You'll use it for all sorts of carpet and rug cleaning.
Read our full Shark CarpetXpert review.
What to avoid
There are also there are some things our pros say you should never do when cleaning play dough.
'Using harsh chemical cleaners not intended for carpets can cause discoloration or weaken the fibers over time,' Andreis warns 'it's important to avoid any products containing bleach or excessive abrasives.' This is also great advice in general on how to deep clean your carpet.
'Similarly, excessive moisture from over-wetting the area can lead to mold or mildew under the carpet, posing longer-term issues that go beyond just cleaning,' he adds.
Savina agrees, adding, 'In the same way, using hot water either through washing or through a steam cleaner is discouraged as the heat fuses the play dough to the carpets strongly.'
Next, learn how to fix ripped carpet, and how to clean a carpet with baking soda.
