As valuable to children as to adults, putty is a versatile product that kids love to play with, and DIY enthusiasts use for all kinds of home projects. Of course, what makes putty so great is also what makes it a potential staining agent for clothing. If you’ve just gotten putty on your clothes, or if your kids have spilled it on theirs, you’ll want to work to take care of the stain as soon as possible.
The good news is that you already have nontoxic cleaning products in your home that are perfect for removing a putty stain as effectively and easily as possible. Let’s go over the steps to make sure you’re able to remove that stain entirely.
Getting Rid of a Putty Stain
Like with all stains, you want to take care of a putty stain as soon as possible, because the sooner you take action, the easier it will be to remove. So, find your favorite eco friendly cleaning products and get to work, removing the clothing item once you notice the stain, and get that garment back to its original condition in no time.
Step #1: Grab a (Clean) Toothbrush
Before grabbing your eco friendly cleaning products, the first thing that you’ll want to do is grab a clean toothbrush and start brushing the stain. This will break up a lot of the excess putty on the surface of your garment, as well as some putty that’s gotten into the fibers. Once you’ve done that, you can run the garment under cold water for a good couple of minutes, to break up the stain as much as possible.
Step #2: Time for a Soak
Next, it’s time to soak the stain. Grab a bucket or large bowl and fill it with cold water and your favorite sustainable dish soap formula. Our customers prefer Grab Green Liquid Dish Soap, which acts as a gentle yet effective, non-toxic dish soap formula that helps rid clothing of all kinds of stains.
Allow the garment to soak in this soapy water solution, weighted to submerge it if necessary, for about 15 minutes. Take it out, rinse it under cold water and apply a nice dollop of the dish soap directly onto the stain before moving onto the next step.
Step #3: Throw It in the Wash
From there, you can run the garment through a normal wash cycle based on its care label’s instructions. Use your favorite natural laundry pods that have stain-fighting abilities. We recommend non toxic laundry pods like our 3 in 1 Laundry Detergent Pods or Stoneworks Laundry Detergent Pods, which are sustainable laundry pods that fight stains effectively using natural ingredients. After that, you can throw your favorite natural dryer sheets like Grab Green Classic Laundry Dryer Sheets, sustainable dryer sheets like Stoneworks Dryer Sheets, or even Grab Green Dryer Balls that prevent cling and soften clothing.
If the Putty Has Dried
The great news is that dried putty is generally just as removable as a fresh putty stain, since it doesn’t absorb into the clothing’s fibers like most liquid and oil-based stains. So, follow the same methods above, and you should be good to go.
If the Clothing is Delicate
If you’re unable to wash the garment in the washing machine, then follow the care label. If you’re hand-washing, follow the same steps above, but hand-wash using the same detergent. If the item can’t go into the dryer, you can air-dry it, since by the time you move to the drying process, the stain should already be gone anyway. And, if you’re required to have the item dry-cleaned, then tell your dry cleaner that you’re dealing with a putty stain, and they’ll use their expert methods to treat the stain accordingly.
To summarize:
- Cotton clothing will offer the most stain removal options.
- Wool is more delicate than cotton and cannot endure repeated washing and also needs to be spread flat to dry.
- For silk clothing, it’s recommended you take it to a professional dry cleaner, due its extreme delicacy.
Putty Stains May Be Annoying, But They Won’t Destroy Your Clothing
