Silly Putty in Our Carpet

Updated on August 15, 2008
E.B. asks from San Rafael, CA
22 answers

I was wondering if anyone knows how to get silly putty out of a carpet. My kids smashed green silly putty into our tan carpet and I can't get it all out. Any ideas?

1 mom found this helpful

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So What Happened?

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice. I tried rubbing alcohol as that is what I had on hand. It worked well, and got about 95% of it out. There is a very faint tinge of green left, but barely noticeable.

Thanks!

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S.R.

answers from San Francisco on

Okay... I know this. I have lived it. WD-40. Go to their website. Or, Crayola.com. They have a TON of advice on getting out "kid" stains.

Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.A.

answers from San Francisco on

I've not yet had this happen....yet :) But did a quick google search and found TONS of praise for rubbing alcohol.

Good luck!

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S.B.

answers from Redding on

Dear E.,
Oh...the joys of silly putty.
My kids loved it, and frankly so did I, until I had to ban it unless they were at the table or outside with it.
One of my little cherubs left some in the hot car and it melted on the cloth seat.
This trick also works for gum....
Try freezing it. Rub ice cubes or an ice pack on it until it gets really good and stiff. You chould be able to pick it out of the carpet or use a spoon to scrape it.
If the stain of the color is still there, you can try using Fels Naptha or make a paste of Borax (20 Mule Team, not cleanser)and scrub it. Both items can be purchased in the cleaning aisle at the store. I have oatmeal colored carpets and they don't discolor mine, but you might want to do a little test somewhere first. Fels Naptha is just like a bar of soap. When I notice a spot, I just wet it and scrub the spot with it, then wipe with a damp rag. I even let the bar soak in a bucket of hot water then add it to the water in my shampooer. It really freshens the carpet right up. I live in a very rural area and they have it at my little market, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it. Both things can be used on laundry stains as well.

Good luck! I hope you can get it out!

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D.B.

answers from San Francisco on

I haven't tried the ice, but we had a carpet cleaner come out and he got the entire purple stain out of our white carpet. If nothing else works, the expense of the carpet cleaner was worth it.

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A.K.

answers from San Francisco on

I did this same thing to my mother and I was never allowed to have silly putty again. I think my mom ended up getting it out with a barbi comb and WD-40 but it was such a big issue that to this day she has never let me forget it.

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J.M.

answers from Sacramento on

You might try Wd-40...
also, when my son smashed homemade playdoh (complete with food coloring in it!!!) into my Mom's berber carpet, we just decided to get the biggest parts out and let the little pieces dry and break them up with a brush and then dry vacuum. It worked--- took a day or two and several times with the brush and the vac, but it did all come up and none of the food color transferred to the carpet! :)
Good luck!!!

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J.C.

answers from San Francisco on

Another great thing to get sticky items out of plush things, like carpet or hair, is mayonnaise. You might want to ice it first, to make it hard, then use the mayo if it won't come out w/ just the ice. It also removes tree sap, hard candy, and other sticky items. It works on skin, too. Good luck!

take care,
J.

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T.B.

answers from Sacramento on

If none of the above work, then you can take a razor blade and scrape the top of the carpet. It will remove anything that is stuck in there. Don't be too aggressive with this tactic though or you can end up with a bare spot in your carpet. Very gently scrape across the spot with the blade. It works for all kinds of things stuck in carpet.

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C.C.

answers from Sacramento on

Hmmmm never had the problem... but I would try ice. Get it cold enough and see if you can get it out of the carpet. Another thing you might do is call a carpet cleaning place and see how they would handle it. Good luck!

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J.W.

answers from San Francisco on

I have tried every one (except the mayo) of the great recommendations, I still have purple silly putty on my carpet too. Any other ideas?

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T.W.

answers from San Francisco on

My daughter just did the same thing, only with orange putty. It was on the beige carpet, the light green sofa, a blanket and a most convenient place on the back of my pajama pants. My husband ended up renting a carpet cleaner (we needed to do the carpets anyway!) but I will try the ice trick next time (IF I ever let my kids near silly putty again). The carpet cleaner did get it out of the sofa and the carpet. Good luck!

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A.T.

answers from Stockton on

IF it's a small spot you can do what my mom did when my brother set the carpet on fire & burned a spot the size of a dinner plate. She cut a square of carpet out of the coat closet and cut the same size square around the burned area and swapped them out. I'm sure the next homeowner was puzzled at the "fire damage" on the coat closet floor. ;)

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J.F.

answers from Modesto on

Use an old rag and iron. Iron over the rag to help warm the putty, it should stick to the rag. Be careful not to have iron too warm to melt carpet.

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S.D.

answers from Sacramento on

Scrape off what you can with the dull edge of a knife. Spray with WD-40 lubricant and let stand about 10-15 minutes. Scrape again. Respray as required, wiping up the stain with an old rag. Once you have removed the residue of the product, apply rubbing alcohol to the stain and blot, blot, blot. Reapply as necessary.

This comes form the author of "Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean", by Linda Cobb

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E.E.

answers from San Francisco on

E.

Just sending my condolences...

E.

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M.H.

answers from Stockton on

I've always used WD-40. My son got some silly putty on his fleece sweat suit a few years ago. You'd think the WD-40 would stain but it didn't. Try it and good luck.- Moana B.

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M.P.

answers from San Francisco on

YES! My son smashed Orange Silly Putty into our carpet. My mom actually found the answer on the internet. Use Rubbing Alcohol. It will do the trick!

Best of luck!!

M. P.

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L.A.

answers from San Francisco on

Ice is the best. Depending on the fiber of your carpet, you might be able to use a little bit of eucalyptus (essencial) oil, or mineral oil. Honestly, I don't think you should use WD40 or any other chemical. You have children... And I don't know if you have pets... I just feel that chemical and kids don't mix.

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L.F.

answers from San Francisco on

Try freezing it with an ice cube, then rubbing gently with a butter knife. You probably won't get all of it out, but most will. There is a product call Sol u Mel from an online company called Melaleuca which works on most any trouble my 4 kids run into. Good Luck
L

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P.O.

answers from Sacramento on

ice it up, and it should crack off the carpet. Good luck

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C.G.

answers from San Francisco on

Oh, how I love silly putty-but not in the carpet.
My mom taught me a trick when I was younger for sticky things-
ice it, then pull the frozen piece of putty out of the carpet. It will take a minute to get it all out

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D.A.

answers from Sacramento on

Hi E., I agree, Ice it, it works great.

D.

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