How to Remove Slime: 7 Ways

By Willow Breckenridge | Jun 2, 2021

By now, you are probably more than aware that kids can get messy, whether you tend to do a lot of arts and crafts or your kids get into their own shenanigans from time to time. Regardless of how they play, you likey know how many messes kids can leave, even if they aren’t trying to get messy. Messy crafts and toys can actually be great for kids when it comes to developing hands-on skills, creativity and curiosity. However, that doesn’t mean that they’re always a walk in the park when it comes to the cleanup process.

If your kids are into the slime trend, there’s a chance that they may get it everywhere. And while you might expect a bit on your clothes or even on tables, any mom can vouch for the fact that messes can sometimes get everywhere. From hair to the carpet, you can never be too careful with learning your cleaning methods so you can apply them in any sticky situation. Whether you’re just starting out with slime or you have a bit of a mess on your hands, here’s how you can remove slime from seven different surfaces in your home.

1. For Clothes

If you’re dealing with a slime stain on clothing, scrape away as much as you can to start out — either with a butter knife or anything else you have handy. Then, freeze the rest with ice cubes if it isn’t already hardened. Once the stain is hardened, pretreat it with liquid detergent for at least 10 minutes before washing or soaking in warm water for a half hour. You can hang it to dry and repeat if necessary.

2. For Hair

Kids are often getting things stuck in their hair — luckily, slime is an easier boss to beat than gum or some of the other common hair culprits. If you’re dealing with a kiddo with slime in their hair, rinse continually with warm water and use a generous amount of conditioner. If the conditioner isn’t working fast enough, you can use olive oil or another oil you have around the home.

3. For the Carpet (When Wet)

If your kids got slime on the carpet and you caught it early, you can remove the stain while it’s still wet. In order to do this, you’ll need a spray bottle, water and white vinegar. Mix them equally in your spray bottle and blot up the stain gently. You can use a dry/wet vacuum if you want afterwards.

4. For the Carpet (When Dry)

If you encounter the stain after it’s already dried, you can still clean it up and get your carpet back to the way it was before. Similar to the clothing stain, you can use ice to freeze the slime until it’s brittle and break off the pieces until the carpet is clear, using a vacuum cleaner to get any debris left on the carpet. You can also use rubbing alcohol to get color stains out.

5. For the Couch

How about the sofa? If you have a slime stain on the sofa, you can use the same combination of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle that you can spray on the carpet for dry stains. Instead of a cloth, you can use a dry brush to gently get the stain out. Afterwards, you can set down a towel to soak up any excess moisture from the cleaning solution. If you want to get rid of the vinegar smell, you can use essential oils or an air freshener.

6. For the Walls

If your kids somehow managed to get slime on the walls, have no fear. There are ways to get slime off of the walls, depending on the type of residue left. First, the way to get rid of solid slime is a bit obvious — simply scrape it off. However, if you notice color stains on the wall, you can use a magic eraser or a combination of baking soda and vinegar.

7. For Hard Surfaces

Hard surfaces are some of the easiest to deal with. When it comes to slime, kids usually play on tables or countertops, so the surfaces will usually be clean. If there’s any leftover slime or stickiness, you can wipe it up with standard cleaning solution or warm water.