Get Pesky Play-Doh Out Of Your Upholstery With This Step-By-Step Guide

Playing with Play-Doh is an essential task of childhood — even adults can't resist the allure of the squishy, colorful, buildable toy. But sometimes, a wandering crumb can find its way to your sofa or carpets and get smushed into the fibers. Vigorously rubbing with cleaning solutions and hot water can actually make the mess worse, bleed the colors, and even stain your fabrics. Because of this, how are you supposed to get this product out of upholstery without rubbing it in further? The key is to wait for it to dry, then remove as much as you can, use cold soapy water on a soft-bristled brush, and rinse with a cold, damp rag. 

Play-Doh can be notoriously tricky to clean, especially if it has gone unnoticed for hours or days. Because this is a common problem faced by Play-Doh lovers, Crayola and many of its beloved customers have perfected the process of cleaning up this unique toy. To get any lingering dough out of carpets and furniture, you can use items that you already have around the house. Here's the step-by-step for removing Play-Doh out of upholstery so your children can get back to molding, squishing, and shaping ASAP.  

As soon as you discover that Play-Doh has been squished into your fabric or carpet, the first step is to remain calm. Acting immediately may not be the best idea to remove the dough. Instead, wait until the wet dough dries completely — at least four hours or overnight, if possible. When the Play-Doh is completely dry and hard, use your fingers, an old credit card, or a butter knife to gently scrape away at the solid bits. It may help to have a handheld vacuum or lint roller nearby to pick up the remnants and keep the Play-Doh dust from sinking back into the fibers. 

After removing as much dried Play-Doh as possible, dilute a couple small drops of dish soap in a cup of cold water. It's crucial to use cold water because hot water can actually open up the fibers of the upholstery, causing the dough dye to sink in deeper. This is similar to what can happen with tomato sauce or red wine stains. Dip a small, soft cleaning brush or toothbrush into the cold soapy water and begin scrubbing in small circles to loosen and lift the rest of the dough. Then, dab at the stain with a damp rag until it is lifted away from the upholstery as much as possible. Let the area dry completely, then repeat with dish soap. If the mark persists, use a more powerful stain remover and rinse with cold water again.