Table of Contents:
Logan asked, “I dropped glue on the carpet. How do I remove it from short carpet?”
Check the ingredients label on the glue bottle to determine if the glue is water-based or has any specific cleaning instructions. Then, use the methods below to remove the glue spill.
Water-based Glues
Water-based glues, such as school glue, can be removed with the following method.¹
You Will Need:
- Vinegar
- Soap or liquid detergent
Steps to Remove the Glue:
- Saturate the glue with vinegar and allow the vinegar to soak for several minutes. This should soften the glue so that it can be more easily removed.¹
- Apply a colorless soap¹ or liquid detergent² to the stain and use a scrub brush to work the soap into the glue.
- Rinse the carpet with warm water to remove the soap residue and blot the area to remove the liquid.
Other Kinds of Glue
The steps below will be effective to remove most kinds of glue that are not water-based.¹
You Will Need:
- Acetone
- Paint thinner
Steps to Remove the Glue:
- Dab the glue with acetone or colorless acetone nail polish remover.
- Allow the solvent to soak for several minutes, then scrub the stain and rinse thoroughly with water.
- If the acetone does not appear to be working, repeat the steps above with paint thinner.
Additional Tips and Advice
- If necessary, the glue can be cut from the carpet. For low-pile carpets, try using an electric shaver or sandpaper.
- Be sure to ventilate the area well if using acetone or paint thinner. For more acetone safety information, see Wikipedia.
Sources
- Haley’s Cleaning Hints by Graham and Rosemary Haley
- Joey Green’s Cleaning Magic
I have tried vinegar, acetone and paint thinner, but the glue still stays hard and will not budge. Unfortunately, I do not know what the glue is, but it is not superglue and probably something like an epoxy glue, very hard – any other ideas please.
Thank you, very much obliged.
Peter,
Here are a few more ideas.
1) Use heat. Lay a brown paper bag over the glue, then run an iron on the lowest setting over the bag. As the glue heats, it will melt and be absorbed by the bag. Once the majority has been soaked up, finish cleaning away any residue with one of the chemicals you used previously.
2) If you still can’t remove the glue, you may be able to use a nail file to sand it off of the carpet. Be careful to not sand any of the carpet fibers, only the glue.
3) If needed, you can always cut out a small hole from the carpet and replace it with a matching piece of carpet. If you can’t find a matching piece of carpet, a piece from the corner of a closet can be used instead.
Good luck!