Kicker: Hot glue be gone!
Has your hot glue project landed you in hot water? If you’ve made a mess of your project, have no fear – we’ll explain how to remove hot glue from textiles, carpet and stucco.
How to remove hot glue from textiles
Hot glue is commonly used in crafting projects for its high viscosity and strong adhesion to porous surfaces. This makes it especially useful on fabric or upholstery. But anyone whose used a hot glue gun knows, that it can also be stringy and messy. If you’ve found yourself with hot glue on a fabric surface, don’t panic. Here are two easy methods for hot glue removal.
- Freezing. Place the garment into the freezer for 30 minutes. Once the glue has hardened, gently peel the glue from the surface. If the fabric is too large for the freezer, place a Ziploc bag of ice on the area.
- Isopropyl Alcohol. Soak a Q-Tip in rubbing alcohol, and working your way from the edges in, brush the dried glue spot gently with the Q-Tip. As the alcohol weakens the adhesive, lift the edge and peel the hot glue away from the garment. Take care with more delicate textiles.
One method to remove hot glue stains from textiles is to freeze them
How to remove hot glue from carpet
When working with hot glue on carpets, you’ll need a different approach. Carpets can be too big for the freezer, and applying alcohol can damage them. Here’s what you do.
Tools Needed:
- Household Iron
- Scrap cloth
- Place the scrap piece of cloth over the glue spot.
- Place the tip of the hot iron on the cloth, lightly pressing down on the iron to melt the glue into the cloth. Wait for the glue to cool, and then lift up the cloth. Repeat if needed. Do not iron the spot back and forth, or you will spread the glue around more.
Never rub the glue! If you get hot glue on any fabric or carpet, resist the temptation to rub the glue off. It will only push the glue deeper into the fibers, complicating the problem. Wait for the spot to dry before attempting removal.
How to remove hot glue from stucco
Hot glue is highly effective on brick and stucco surfaces. It provides nail-free, easy to remove adhesion perfect for short term usage. It’s commonly used to hang lightweight ornaments like holiday lights on the exterior of your home. If the holidays are over and it’s time to take down the lights, here’s how to remove hot glue from stucco.
- Saturate a Q-Tip or cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and gently rub the edges of the glue to soften the hold.
- Scrape away the glue with a scraper.
- For stubborn hot glue, heat the area with a blow dryer. Heating the glue will soften its grip and allow you to scrape it off.
After some time in the refrigerator, the adhesive hardens and can easily be removed
Not all stucco is created equal. Solid stucco has no trouble standing up to hot glue, but thin stucco with a Styrofoam backing can melt under high temperature glue. In this case, go with a cooler temperature glue. To check your stucco, simply knock on the surface to observe the feel and sound.