How to remove plasticine from clothes correctly: how, with what, why?

To wash plasticine, the item must be frozen, rubbed with oil and filled with ammonia. Many housewives who have not directly encountered stains from plasticine have similar fragmentary advice in their memory. Let’s organize the methods for removing traces of children’s creativity and use them correctly.

One version of the invention of plasticine says that it was originally created as a means of removing dirt from wallpaper. It is interesting that today this material, widely used in children's creativity, makes mothers think about how to wash plasticine and the stains left by it. Small children, preschool children, and schoolchildren also sculpt from plasticine.

Often, after these classes, the child’s clothes are “decorated” with multi-colored specks; moreover, similar spots may appear on other clothes that were hanging near the desk: dad’s trousers or mom’s skirt. Also, quite often, mothers have to remove plasticine stains from school trousers, because putting plasticine on the chair of your desk neighbor in an art lesson is a sacred thing.

General recommendations for removing plasticine from clothing

Plasticine today comes in many different forms: glowing in the dark, floating on the surface of the water, in the form of balls, super soft, similar to chewing gum, iridescent and gurgling... And, unfortunately, all this sticks perfectly to the fabric.

To clean the surface, you will first have to remove the plasticine itself, and then traces of it: colored and oil stains. They are formed due to the presence of animal fats or Vaseline and dyes in the modeling mass, without which it would be impossible to achieve such a variety of colors. Therefore, actions that will help remove plasticine from clothes will take place in three stages:

1. Cleaning off the sculpting mixture.
2. We remove stains.
3. We wash the thing.

Let's take a closer look at the first two stages, or more precisely, at the means that will help remove the remaining modeling compound from clothing. And washing in this case should take place in the usual mode, suitable for a particular item. When washing a white blouse or underwear, you can add bleach to enhance the effect. If, after all the measures taken, traces of plasticine are still visible, soak a white cloth with bleach or treat the dirty area with hydrogen peroxide. Soak colored items with stain remover according to the instructions.

Tip: The cleaning option depends on the type of fabric. For example, isopropyl or ammonia cannot be used for synthetics. Before removing a stain with a product not specifically intended for this purpose, try its effect on an inconspicuous place.

Cleaning off the sculpting mixture

Before completely removing plasticine from clothing, you should clean it off the surface. If it is tough enough, then this will not be difficult. You can remove the pieces using a spatula from a modeling kit, the blunt edge of scissors, or the opposite side of a knife tip. And if you are dealing with a soft, viscous mass, then you will have to use folk wisdom.

1. Place the item you want to remove plasticine from in a plastic bag.
2. Place the bag of clothes in the freezer.You need to keep it there until the plasticine hardens. The time depends on the thickness of the layer and is usually 30 minutes.
3. Remove the soiled item from the freezer and remove the plasticine using the same tools you used to remove it the first time before freezing. They have been described above.

After you have managed to remove as much plasticine as possible, the item will not be clean. It will leave a greasy colored stain formed from a thin layer of plasticine that can literally become akin to the surface of the fabric. To wash it, we will use the methods described below.

Removing stains

As mentioned above, plasticine contains fat. Therefore, to dissolve it, you will need an alkali, which many remember from a school chemistry course. In order to wash plasticine stains, we will use one of the following types of alkali:

• laundry soap;
• baking soda;
• dishwashing liquid.

1. Prepare a solution that will help remove the stain by dissolving shavings of laundry soap or dishwashing detergent in water. Prepare a thick paste from baking soda by adding just a little water.
2. Apply the cleaning solution to the stain. Leave for 5-7 minutes.
3. Rub the stain vigorously to remove the clay.

You can also wash away traces of modeling compound using ammonia or isopropyl alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol is an ingredient in window cleaner. However, this method is applicable for cleaning trousers, skirts and other items made from natural materials, such as denim. Synthetic clothing cannot be cleaned this way.

1. Apply ammonia or window cleaner to the dirt until it saturates it.
2. Leave for half an hour.
3. As time passes, scrub the stain vigorously to clean the fabric.

In addition to using alkali to wash away traces of plasticine, you can treat it with vegetable oil. As they say, like is purified by like. True, after such treatment you will have to wash the vegetable oil from the fabric. For this:

1. Apply vegetable oil to a cotton pad.
2. Rub the stain, changing several pads until the stain disappears.
3. Wash off vegetable oil by soaking the item of clothing in a soapy solution or a solution of water and dishwashing detergent.

There are many ways to clean clothes from plasticine. Choose what is most convenient, and do not forget about the type of fabric. And to protect clothes from possible contamination with plasticine during modeling, use a special board, sleeves and an apron.