In case wood glue spills onto your carpet, it can toughen up and stick to the carpet. This can then make it slightly tough to get rid of and can cause problems if not dealt with immediately.
Through this guide, you can find out how to get wood glue out of a carpet.
How to Get Wood Glue Out of Carpet
Let’s take a look at some methods and steps you can use to get wood glue out of a carpet.
White Vinegar
White vinegar can be a convenient way to get rid of wood glue from your carpet. You will, however, have to follow a few important steps in the process. You go through these below.
- Firstly, you should try using a knife or blade to scrape out any removable parts of the wood glue. Try to remove as much of it as you can until only a few bits of it are left on the carpet.
- Use some paper towels to blot out any extra bits on and around the spot so that the cleaning process can become more efficient. This way, you can also easily throw away the paper towels so that the glue does not mix with any other surfaces.
- You can then take a cup of white vinegar and heat it up on the stove. It should be hot enough but you should remove it before it starts boiling.
- Pour this hot white vinegar into a spray bottle and then spray it onto the affected part of the carpet. Make sure you wear some safety gloves in case the bottle becomes too hot to hold.
- Let this vinegar rest on the carpet for up to 30 minutes. This will allow it to soak into it and break down the wood glue so that it can become much easier to remove.
- You can then use a paper towel or a piece of cloth to blot out the remaining vinegar on the carpet as well as any remaining parts of the wood glue if present.
- Once this is done, you can use a steamer to completely dry it up.
Dish Soap
Dish soap is another simple method to clean the wood glue from the carpet. Take a look at the following steps to figure out how to do so.
- Scrape off as much of the wood glue as you can from the carpet so that it becomes easier to clean up the smaller remaining bits.
- Use a cloth or paper towel to blot out the extra wood glue from the carpet.
- Mix some dish soap with warm water until it foams up well. You can then pour liberal amounts of it on the affected part of the carpet. Let it rest for a few minutes so that it can work its way through the wood glue and loosen it up sufficiently.
- Once you think that enough time has passed, you can use a cloth or paper towel to blot everything out so that all the solution as well as the remaining wood glue gets out of the carpet.
- Use a steam cleaner or a vacuum to dry up the carpet fully before starting to use it again.
You can also carry out this step before steam cleaning the carpet in the method that uses white vinegar, particularly if you find that some small bits of wood glue are still stuck on the carpet.
Solvent
A solvent such as rubbing alcohol can be another good way to remove the wood glue from your carpet. This can particularly be effective if the wood glue has dried up on the carpet and is difficult to remove simply using white vinegar or dish soap.
Go through the steps mentioned below to figure out how to use this process.
- The first few steps are similar to the ones mentioned in the above processes. You should try to scrape out as much of the wood glue as possible from your carpet using a knife or blade. This might be slightly more difficult with dried wood glue, but it can still help a bit.
- Blot out the excess parts of the glue from the carpet using a towel.
- You can then pour some rubbing alcohol onto a paper towel or a cloth which you can then blot or dab onto the affected carpet area. This will allow the rubbing alcohol to break down the wood glue so that it becomes easier to remove.
- You can also keep the cloth with the solvent on the carpet for a few minutes in case it needs more time to work itself through. Blot everything out once some time has passed.
- Once this is done, you should steam clean the carpet so that it can get rid of the remaining solvent and glue bits.
- You can also clean up the carpet with some laundry detergent and water if required.
What If These Methods Do Not Work?
In case none of these methods work, you can opt for some commercial carpet cleaners that you might be able to buy online or from a nearby store. These will usually contain all the necessary elements to help you get the wood glue out from your carpet.
These are also safe for your carpet since they are specifically made for them. In case you are unsure about which one to buy, you can do some prior research and compare several products before making a decision.
In case that doesn’t work either (if the affected area is too deep or large), you might need to ask a professional cleaner to help you out as they will have more advanced resources to deal with the problem.
This is slightly more expensive but can certainly help if you can afford to do so. You can also simply replace your carpet.
FAQs
Does Vinegar Break Down Glue?
Yes, vinegar has the ability to break down the wood glue. You can use white vinegar, in particular, to help you out. However, it is important to heat this vinegar up so that it can work efficiently.
The process involved in using vinegar to break down glue has been described above. You can also make use of additional substances such as dish soap or detergent with water to enhance the process even more in case it does not work well on its own.
Make sure you clean up the vinegar from the carpet thoroughly so that it can dry up.
Will Mineral Spirits Remove Wood Glue?
Mineral spirits can also remove wood glue to a certain extent. To try this process out, you can dab a cloth or paper towel in some mineral spirits and then dab that cloth onto the affected part of the carpet.
You can also press the cloth onto the area for a few minutes to let it loosen the wood glue. Once this is done, try getting rid of the remaining wood glue using a cloth or towel.
You may also need to scrape off some rough bits in case they are still present. Make sure you vacuum or steam clean the carpet to dry it completely.
Can I Sand off Wood Glue?
Sanding off wood glue from a carpet might help to a certain extent but may not be sufficient on its own to get rid of it completely. You will also need to buy some good quality sandpaper to help you out.
To use this process, it might help to first scrape off as much wood glue as you can by using a knife or blade. You can then hold the sandpaper over the wood glue and rub it so that it can flatten the glue on the carpet.
You can also reverse the process by sanding it off first followed by scraping. In either case, you will need to use a solvent or vinegar to complete the process.
Does Goo Gone Remove Wood Glue?
Goo Gone is a cleaning product that is specifically made to remove sticky substances from various kinds of surfaces. It can also be a good way to remove wood glue from your carpet.
To use it, you can apply it to the affected part of the carpet and then let it rest for up to 10 minutes so that it can loosen up the glue. You can then use a cloth or blade to remove the wood glue from your carpet.
To clean up the remains, mix some soap or detergent and water, apply it onto the carpet and then blot it out.
Does Wood Glue Leave behind a Stain?
Wood glue can leave behind a stain if you leave it on the carpet for too long, which is why you must try to get rid of it as soon as possible.
Final Remarks
Through this guide, we have told you all about the main processes involved in getting wood glue out of a carpet. You can try either or all of these out to see which one works for you.
If none of them work, you might need to call in a professional cleaner.
