I grew up in rural Texas, and I remember hunting for rabbits and deer with my brothers and dad outdoors on weekends. It wasn’t until I graduated from college that I relocated to New York to start a digital marketing agency. I used to live in a two-bedroom apartment with my wife, who at that time was my girlfriend. We didn’t think we would end up marrying each other, but as fate would have it, we got married after dating for close to 3 years.
One year after our wedding, we were blessed with two daughters (twins), and this is where life started to change. We soon realized we needed to relocate to a bigger house and work harder to make ends meet. As the family head, I worked close to 50 hours a week networking and attending conferences related to my niche.
To cut a long story short, my company grew tremendously, and so did the kids. One of the things they loved playing with is slime. My wife would complain every time as the slime would ruin the appearance of our carpet.
I got tired of hiring carpet cleaners to clean it and decided to search the web for tips on how to do it myself. After several tries, I managed to do it successfully. Today, I will share with you some handy tips on how to remove slime from your carpet. It’s easy, and you don’t have to purchase expensive equipment.
What you Need
There are several items and reagents that you need to get the slime out of the carpet like a professional. They include:
- Paint scraper or a knife
- Distilled white vinegar
- A scrubbing brush
- Dry towels
- Spot treatment solution
- Vacuum cleaner
Apart from the vacuum cleaner, which you probably already have, the other items are affordable. You can purchase them online and have them delivered to your doorstep.
Step 1: Use a Knife or Paint Scraper to Get Rid of the Excess Slime
From my personal experience, not all the slime gets lodged between the carpet fibers. I used a paint scraper to gently get rid of the excess slime at the carpet’s surface. You can use a knife but be careful not to cut the carpet. The goal is to scrape off as much slime as possible before you proceed to step 2.
Step 2: Make a Solution of Warm Water and Vinegar
Vinegar is one of the handy cleaning reagents that you should always have in your home. You can use it to clean not only the carpet but also other surfaces such as countertops. Make a solution using 1/3 cup of warm water and 2/3 of distilled white vinegar.
Since slime has simple ingredients such as glue and borax, the vinegar will neutralize them, making it easier for you to wipe them off the carpet. Cover the entire stain with the solution for several minutes.
However, if the stain has been there for long and the slime has dried up, you will need to allow the solution to soak for 15 minutes.
Step 3: Loosen the Slime Using a Scrubbing Brush
Once the vinegar has broken down the slime, use a scrubbing brush to break up the stain and dislodge it from the carpet fibers. Make sure that you apply just enough force when scrubbing to avoid ruining the fibers.
Step 4: Dry the Section of the Stain Using a Dry Towel
With the slime dislodged and off the carpet, the next step you need to do is pat the section until it’s dry using a soft clean, dry towel. Note that you might have to repeat step 1,2,3 if there are still remnants of the slime before you use the dry towel.
Depending on the size of the stain, you might have to use more than one towel. My carpet had four slime stains, and so I had to use two towels.
Step 5: Apply a Stain Treatment Solution
OxyClean is my preferred stain treatment solution as its non-toxic, affordable, and delivers instant results. There are many similar products in the market that you can use for this step, though. I allowed the solution to soak into the stained sections for five minutes before blotting it using a clean cloth. The slime had penetrated deep into the carpet fibers, so I had to repeat the procedure several times to restore my carpet’s color.
Step 6: Vacuum the Section
A few days after getting rid of the carpet, my wife realised that there were still some dried slime particles and so I decided to vacuum the sections. I highly recommend that you vacuum to get rid of the small particles. Note that they can result in indoor air pollution if blown up into the atmosphere.
Conclusion
Slime is one the worst stain, but it can ruin your carpet’s appearance if you do not act fast. Make sure that you follow each of the steps discussed above to get the best results. I also had to teach my daughters how to do it. Nowadays, they actually clean the spots themselves when they make a mess since it’s impossible to prevent them from playing using slime, especially during the weekends and holidays.
If you don’t have a vacuum cleaner, make sure that you read several buying guides published on authority blogs to know which features you should consider when shopping. More importantly, don’t ignore the feedback posted by other customers. Negative reviews are red flags, and unless the company has responded to them adequately, you should move to the next store.
Good luck getting slime off your carpet, and please share your experience in the comment section.
