Plasticine is one of the most popular pastimes for children. Little sculptors often forget to be careful, leaving their sculpting tools in the most unexpected places, resulting in a very noticeable mark on the clothes of any family member. This can become a serious problem, as it is difficult to remove plasticine from clothes, because it contains fats, paraffin and dyes.
You can get rid of such unpleasant marks on things in several stages. Sometimes one will be enough, but most cases require a careful approach and the use of all three types of influence on plasticine stains.
How to remove plasticine by heat treatment
The first stage in getting rid of the consequences of careless sculpting will be the thermal effect on plasticine. It includes freezing and strong heating with an iron. But first, you should cut the main part of the plasticine mass with a hard object, and only then proceed to the following actions.
Freezing
This common method of removing pieces of plasticine is suitable for almost all types of fabrics, which makes it universal. To do this, you need to find a plastic bag and use the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.
What has to be done:
- Put the thing in a bag.
- Close it in the freezer for 30 minutes (if necessary, longer).
- Take out your thing, try to remove frozen pieces with the help of not very sharp objects.
After these actions, you should proceed to the warm-up or immediately to the next stage.
Warming up
Strong heating of the problem area will help to remove plasticine residues. You can use them additionally after freezing or start immediately with it. It will be necessary to stock up in advance with a large number of paper napkins and find a good iron. This is one of the best ways to remove plasticine from pants and other things made of similar dense materials.
How to act:
- Turn on the iron in the delicate fabric ironing mode.
- Put one napkin under the contaminated area, and place the second one on top of it.
- Iron the thing slowly, regularly replacing both napkins with new ones, until the paraffin stops being released.
After that, only a small greasy stain may remain on things, which is easily removed in the next step.
How to wash
Folk methods and specialized chemicals are particularly effective in removing traces of plasticine. They allow you to get rid not only of the remaining pieces of it inside the fabric, but also of noticeable oil stains. They should be used after heat treatment.
Soap and soda
The main part of the work is done by soap, but soda perfectly complements it, increasing its effectiveness. This option is suitable for all types of clothing.
You will need to do the following:
- Fill the appropriate container with warm water, dissolving a whole piece of household soap in it.
- Soak the contaminated clothes in the solution for one hour.
- Brush the damaged part of the thing with a brush, simultaneously removing pieces of plasticine from the villi.
- Mix soda with a small amount of water, making a thick paste.
- Slowly rub the resulting mass into the stain, and then wash off.
After the procedure, the item should be rinsed well.
Vegetable oil
This method of cleaning will help to remove plasticine from any clothes, if it remained after freezing and warming. However, it should be used with extreme caution. If the oil gets on a clean fabric, the area of the greasy stain will increase significantly, and the washing process may take a long time.
How to clean with oil:
- Apply a small amount of any vegetable oil to the problem area, trying not to spoil the rest of the fabric area.
- Wait for about two hours so that the softening is strong enough.
- Remove the oil with dry napkins.
- Wash the greasy stain with dishwashing detergent.
You can avoid oil spreading over the entire surface of the fabric as follows: you need to place the thing so that there is a small depression at the place of the contaminated area, from which nothing can leak.
Ammonia
You can find ammonia in any nearby pharmacy. This cheap tool perfectly copes with a huge amount of pollution. Ammonia is no less effective in removing traces of plasticine from clothes. However, you should be careful, because it can damage delicate fabrics and, with prolonged exposure, will negatively affect the brightness of the color of the clothes.
How to use:
- Dilute about 5 drops of ammonia in cold clean water (70 ml).
- Wet a cotton pad in the liquid, apply it to the stain for half an hour.
- Rinse the clothes thoroughly with conditioner to remove the ammonia smell.
This method allows you to get rid of greasy marks on most fabrics. You can also not apply a cotton pad, but simply wipe the area many times until it becomes perfectly clean. After that, it will be necessary to rinse the thing with a special conditioner in the same way as during application.
Kerosene
Kerosene will help to clean your favorite clothes from plasticine stains. It used to have a strong smell, but now it can be purchased in a purified form, which will allow you to use it without worrying about the future need to remove the smell as well. However, it should be used with caution, as there is a high probability of corrosion of paint and structure on delicate fabrics. It allows you to remove the stain as effectively as possible, from which the main plasticine mass has already been removed.
Application method:
- Place contaminated clothing on a table or any other hard surface.
- Wet a cotton pad with kerosene, squeeze it and apply it to the stain for 10 minutes (if the fabric is delicate, then no more than 5 minutes).
- Clean the remains of the substance with dry wipes with the help of careful repeated application.
- Wipe the treated area with a piece of lemon and put the laundry on.
After using kerosene, it is recommended to wash clothes with washing-up gel, not powder. It is also worth including an additional rinse with conditioner.
Isopropyl alcohol
Another folk way of cleaning clothes. It is only suitable for cotton. It is impossible to use it with other things, as they will simply be spoiled.
How to use this method:
- Spread the clothes on a horizontal surface.
- Lightly wet the desired area with a few drops.
- Wait a minute.
- Wash alcohol residues from clothes.
Immediately after that, you need to proceed to the next stage – washing.
WD-40
A radical way to get rid of plasticine stains is to use a special agent called WD-40. It should be used only for synthetic materials with the utmost care so as not to damage the fabric.
Cleaning procedure:
- Spray the product on the problem area. Wait a few minutes.
- Remove the softened pieces of plasticine.
- The thing itself should be washed immediately after that.
Stain removers
Specialized chemical products designed to remove stains will be an excellent option if folk methods did not help. They are extremely effective, but you need to use them very carefully, following the instructions. You can use them to remove a grease stain from plasticine very quickly.
How to use them:
- Wet the place with plasticine oil stains with warm water.
- Dilute the stain remover, following the instructions exactly, and pour it on the area. Wait 20 minutes.
- Throw the clothes into the washing machine without washing the treated area. Add a stain remover there and start washing.
After that, no signs of contact with plasticine or any other substances should remain on the clothes.
How to wash clothes with plasticine on them
The last stage will be classic washing. It is mandatory for all cases, as simply wiping off the stain is not enough. It is necessary to immediately put the washing in order to have time to get rid of the tiny pieces of plasticine that are in the nearest layers of fabric.
The higher the temperature, the more likely it is to wash the item. However, you need to choose the mode that is acceptable for a specific type of material. Otherwise, there is a risk of permanently ruining your favorite clothes.
After passing through all three stages, the probability of the presence of even the smallest traces of plasticine is practically zero. That is why it is recommended to use all three, without going past the first or second method, as some people sometimes do, trying to save time. It will be much more correct to do everything as it should and achieve the desired result.