Carpet Cleaning Tips

6 Tested Tips on How to Remove Blu Tack from Carpets

Fantastic Team
Published: Jul 20/2018
Last update: Jan 31/2023
4min read
Views: 58,647

Blu tack is great, no doubt about it. This squishy substance is excellent for mounting a picture on the wall without any nails and balancing that vintage table you got on sale. Inadvertently, you squish some blu tack into your rug. This guide will show you how to remove blu tack from the carpet step-by-step

Table of Contents:

Heat
Eucalyptus oil
White vinegar
Vegetable oil
More blu tack
Professional help
How to prevent it from happening again

How do you get blu tack out of fabric? Here you’ll learn how to remove blu tack stains from your carpet or rug.

So, if you:

Have a young child who got a little too creative with the blu tack;
Accidentally squished some blu tack on your carpet;
Wondering how to remove blu tack/sticky putty from carpets;

Then read on! This article will help you.

How to remove blu tack from your carpet

Ironically, blu tack was invented by accident, now causing furniture and carpet accidents every day. But this doesn’t mean that blu tack mishaps can’t be fixed. The stickiness of blu tack increases over time. Be cautious and don’t rush when you try removing it after a long period of time has passed. Whatever you do, always test on an inconspicuous area of your carpet to avoid damaging the fibres.

Method #1 – Using heat

This is probably the best way to remove blu tack from carpets in terms of efficiency. Here is how you can take the blob off your rug using heat:

Heat the affected area with a hair dryer set on high for 1-2 minutes Hold the dryer at least 6” (15 cm) away from the carpet to avoid melting of fibres.
Pick up as much of the blu tack residue as possible using a reusable plastic bag or sandwich bag.
Reheat the stained area multiple times and collect anything that comes off.
If you have any medication for muscle relief, carefully apply some over the blu tack. It will break the chemical bond with the carpet so you can remove it easier.
Make a solution using 1 teaspoon of washing-up liquid and 1 cup of warm water. Dampen a white towel with the mixture and gently blot the carpet until there is no blu tack residue left.

Your hairdryer can be used in much the same way when you need to get chewing gum out of the carpet.

Method #2 – Using eucalyptus oil

Here is how you can remove sticky tack from your favourite carpet using eucalyptus oil:

Use only pure essential oil, as the ones which have synthetic ingredients tend to stain and even discolour carpets and fabric.
Pour a few drops of pure eucalyptus oil over the stained area.
Agitate the fibres of the carpet using a stiff brush to loosen the blu tack blob. Brush towards the centre of the spot to prevent spreading the stain further.
To remove the oil residue, apply a small amount of vinegar and soda bicarbonate over the affected zone. Let it sit for 10-12 minutes and dry with a clean cloth.
Vacuum thoroughly to remove any excess soda from the surface.

Method #3 – Using vinegar

To clean blu tack off your carpet using vinegar, do the following:

Grab some white vinegar and heat it up a bit in the microwave.
Pour the warm vinegar over the blu tack stain and leave it for a couple of minutes.
Scrape off the residue using a blunt knife or a plastic scraper tool.
Dry the surface with a clean cloth and vacuum the spot to lift fibres up.

The power of vinegar spreads beyond the removal of sticky blobs. Not only it does a great job at reducing new carpet smell and unpleasant odours caused from a deep clean, but you can also use vinegar to clean the dark edges of a carpet caused by filtration soiling, or even red wine stains!

Method #4 – Using vegetable oil

Here is how you can remove blu tack stains from carpet using vegetable oil:

Dampen a cotton bud in vegetable oil and gently rub it over the blu tack stain.
Use a blunt knife or plastic spatula to scrape off the blob from the carpet.
To remove the oil residue, rinse the area you worked on with washing up liquid.

Method #5 – Using more blu tack

Wait, what? Yes, you’ve read that right. It is not stupid if it works, right? Here is how to remove blu tack from carpets using more of it:

Grab a damp cloth and wash the stained area.
Dry the blu tack, trodden in the carpet.
Take a new chunk of blu tack and gently rub it towards the blob stuck in fibres until they start bonding.
The two blu tack piles will stick to each other, making it easier to lift and remove the one trodden in your carpet.

Need more advice on how to maintain your carpet? Then, why not read our helpful post on the topic. It’ll show you how to clean a carpet and provide you with some handy maintenance tips, as well.

Method #6 – Getting professional help

If all else fails or you simply don’t have the time to tackle the problem yourself, then it’s time to call the cavalry. Professional carpet cleaners use specialised and certified detergents to treat and remove a wide range of stains, including ones caused by sticky blu tack.

To avoid any carpet discolouration, it is advised to have your carpet deep cleaned once the stain has been lifted. Depending on the material of your textile floor covering, Fantastic Services can offer you professional dry and steam carpet cleaning. Just make sure you mention the stain when making an enquiry, so the technician is aware of the issue.

Need to remove a sticky blob from your carpet?

Arrange a professional visit with us!

Blu tack on carpet: how to prevent it

Although there is no magic trick to guarantee you that, there is still something you can do. To avoid spending half of your weekend scrubbing carpets, simply restrict access to blu tack in your household. Keep it out of reach of children who are often the ones who mash it into the carpet causing you a mini housekeeping crisis.

Takeaways

You can remove blu tack from your carpet using things you have around the house.
If using the heating method, take care not to melt the carpet fibres.
Using vinegar can also help remove any unpleasant smells.
To prevent it from happening again, keep blu tack out of reach of children.

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Did you manage to remove the blob from your carpet? Tell us what worked for you in the comments below so others can benefit too!

No matter the cleaning method, remember to always do a small spot test on hidden parts of your carpet. Depending on the size, nature, and age of the stain, some of them might be impossible to remove. We cannot take responsibility if any of the above-mentioned methods do not work on your carpets. Read our full disclaimer here.

Image source: Ascannio / Shutterstock.com