Methods for removing silicone grease stains from clothing, floors, and other surfaces

Fortunately, if you approach the cleaning issue correctly, at home it is quite possible to wash clothes stained with silicone and remove dirt from the floor and furniture. Let's look at the main methods and choose the most effective ones.

Why is silicone grease difficult to clean?

Very often, disadvantages become advantages shown “at the wrong time, in the wrong place.” Stains from silicone-based lubricants are difficult to clean for the same reasons why these substances are so popular in technology and everyday life.

Here are the most important properties of silicone lubricants that interfere with stain removal:

• Fast hardening. If you do not wash off the silicone grease almost immediately, it will be much more difficult to do so later.
• Resistant to moisture and heat. Even very hot water alone does not help in removing silicone stains.
• Great elasticity and excellent adhesive properties. The grease fits perfectly on any surface and is very difficult to clean off. This allows it to reliably reduce friction, but makes cleaning very difficult.

Don’t start removing stains without understanding all the details! Inept actions can easily damage the surface and ruin the item being cleaned.

To understand how to deal with silicone grease, you first need to understand what it is. Having understood the structure, it is easy to select a suitable solvent.

Determining the type of lubricant

In its chemical nature, silicone is close to rubber. In order to create a lubricant (as well as a sealant, glue or other silicone mixture), the silicone must be dissolved in a suitable liquid.

There are two types of solvent most commonly used:

• Acid. It is easy to distinguish products on this basis: they emit a characteristic smell of vinegar.
• Neutral. As a rule, such solvents do not have a specific color or odor.

The cleaning method depends on the type of solvent. Therefore, in order to remove the stain as quickly and completely as possible, before starting work you should read the composition of the product on the packaging.

Removing stains from clothes

Dry cleaning specialists will help remove silicone stains from a down jacket, jacket, jacket. But such a solution is not always acceptable. In some cases, it is not possible to spend 2-3 days waiting for the item to be returned after cleaning, and you don’t want to spend money.

At home, several methods are used to remove silicone stains from clothes. Each of them has positive and negative sides, so let’s look at them in more detail.

• The mechanical method involves removing pieces of silicone using a sharp knife. The fabric is stretched in one layer, and then, carefully picking up the silicone film, remove it piece by piece. You must act very carefully so as not to damage the fabric.

The mechanical method will only help against fresh stains that have not had time to dry.

• The chemical method is based on the destruction of the dried film using a solvent. The store sells many products that can cope with silicone-based mixtures (for example, Penta 840, Antisil).The product is sprayed onto the stain, the film is allowed to dissolve, and then the remaining dirt is washed off.

Before cleaning clothes with a chemical for the first time, test the strength of the dye by spraying the solvent on the clothes in an inconspicuous place. If the product does not damage the paint, it can be used.

• For old stains, the folk method is recommended. The dried film is steamed with an iron through wet gauze. After this, the softened silicone is much easier to wash off.

How to wash or remove grease from furniture?

The same methods used for cleaning clothes will help remove stains from fabric-covered seats.

It is easiest to remove silicone from plastic furniture: this surface has minimal adhesion to silicone. Large pieces are cleaned off with a spatula, and then the remaining stains are washed off with acetone or another degreasing compound.

The silicone is carefully cut off from the wooden parts and polished. Solvents and abrasives will make the surface cloudy, so you will have to do it manually and as carefully as possible.

Removing stains from the floor

To remove silicone stains from linoleum, Penta-840 is the best solution. Acid-based compounds will be helped to dissolve vinegar essence, but it is important to make sure that it does not destroy the linoleum itself.

Silicone is removed from tiles in three stages:

1. First, the coarsest sagging is cut off with a knife.
2. Then the contaminated area is moistened with a solvent and left for several hours.
3. After this, it is easy to pick up the softened film with a knife or spatula and remove the pieces.

Finally, we note: the sooner you start removing stains from the silicone composition, the easier it will be to do it. Don't put off cleaning!