Surefire Silly Putty Removal

Silly Putty (Photo credit: unloveablesteve)

This isn’t a long post, but it delivers.

There are posts all over the internet that claim to have found the surefire fix for this or that if one buys this new product or that solution.  Upon buying a bottle, swab, cloth, etc and trying it out, one generally finds that the claims are a load of bunk. The best fixes are generally the cheapest and easiest, in my experience.

Quick and easy silly putty removal from fabric is now a common need in my household. Introduced in the 50s, it’s been a classic plaything since then. But the stuff can get into, and stuck on, everything. If you don’t know this, take my word for it.

If you get silly putty stuck on, or in, any kind of fabric, there’s a surefire way to get it out and off – even knit fabrics, where the silly putty has gone through the knitting to the other side. The silly putty seems to harden sort of like cement on fabric, which makes it difficult to get out. Freezing it doesn’t work, nor do most expensive fixes.

Rubbing alcohol aka isopropyl alcohol does. It’s super cheap. Get the generic kind, as it all works the same. But hey, if you want to spend more on name brands, go for it. It’ll work for you too.

Take the silly putty’ed fabric item, a common kitchen knife, a paper towel and your bottle of rubbing alcohol over to a sink.

Hold the fabric item in the sink and pour some alcohol directly over the silly putty and surrounding area. Generally I put the fabric to the lip of the bottle and flip it over so that I don’t use waaaay too much, but honestly, again, it’s up to you how much you want to use. Put the bottle down.

Now take the kitchen knife and scrape the silly putty off of the garment. You will notice that the alcohol makes it really gooey. The knife is rigid enough to do a good job of removal. If it’s gone through the fabric, I’ll often flip it inside out and scrape the other side too.  Keep doing it until all the goo is gone.

Wipe the goo onto the paper towel for ease in throwing it away. Also wipe off any left on the knife onto the paper towel. T

Once it’s all gone, I normally rinse off the item and leave it to hang dry; I wash the knife like normal. I’ve never had the process discolor the item.

And that’s it! Easy peasy!

Hope this is as helpful to you as it is in our household!