You don’t necessarily need to have a sweet tooth to like candy. More or less, we all love the sugary delight in our mouths. But, the joy of candy eating can turn into a house maintenance nightmare when you accidentally drop some on the carpet. If you are curious to know how to get candy out of carpet without ruining it, you have come to the right place.
While different candy types are distinctive regarding taste and texture, they all share one trait in common. When you put candy on your mouth, it gets melted and becomes adhesive. So, if your child spits some out on your carpet, you will have a hard time getting it out if you don’t know how to do it the right way.
Fear not! We are here to the rescue! In today’s guide, we will outline the best methods to clear out candy from your carpet. We will discuss separate courses of action to remove different types of candy from carpets.
So, turn on your reading mode and stay with us for the next few minutes to find out how to get candy out of carpet.
How To Get Gummy Candy Out Of Carpet?
Let’s get started with the gummy candies, which poses to be the greatest candy nuisance you can have on carpet, upholstery, or clothing. It is not unusual to absentmindedly spit out a chewed Jolly Rancher bubble gum or a Trident.
If it lands on your carpet it would get stuck on the fibers, and trying to pluck it out with your hand or tweezers, would make things worse.
Here are a few things you can try on gums:
1. The Ice Cube Method
Things You Need
- Ice cubes.
- Plastic zip bag/Ice bag
- Butter knife (if necessary)
- Vacuum cleaner
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Step By Step Guide
Step 1. Take Some Ice Cubes
Go to the freezer and pick up some ice cubes. It would be best if you put those in an ice bag. Using a dedicated ice bag would keep the ice cool for a long time and prevent water from spilling out. If you don’t have one, then you can take a plastic zipper bag, and put the ice cubes in it. Zip the opening of the bag to suspend air supply inside the bag.
Step 2. Place The Bag Over The Gum
Locate the spot where the candy gum is stuck and place the ice-filled bag over it. Leave the bag and come back after an hour. Check whether the gum has become hardened or not. If you feel it hasn’t become hard enough, then leave the bag for a bit longer.
When you harden a gum, it will lose its glueyness. So, it should be easy to remove from the carpet at this point.
Step 3. Remove The Gum
Once the gum gets hard, you can pick it out with your hand. You can use a pair of tweezers too if you feel like it. If you still find it difficult to pull out, then pick up a blunt tool like a spoon or a butter knife.
Then, slowly scrape it out of the carpet. Remember, a sharp knife could cut through your carpet, and cause more damage than some annoying bubblegum.
Step 4. Vacuum The Spot
To apply the finishing touch, run your vacuum cleaner over the spot. This would help to even out the carpet fibers.
2. The Compressed Air Method
Things You Need
- A can of compressed air.
- Butter knife/spoon (If necessary).
- Vacuum cleaner
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Step By Step Guide
Step 1. Get A Can Of Compressed Air
Purchase a can of compressed air. Compressed air cans are commonly used to clean computer keyboards.
Step 2. Spray It Over The Affected Area
Spray compressed air over the area of your carpet where gum got stuck. Leave it for a while and come back later to check the hardness of the gum. If the gum doesn’t get hard, you can try spraying some more compressed air. As we mentioned before, the harder the gum becomes, the easier it gets to take it out of the carpet.
Step 3. Remove The Gum
If the gum gets properly hard, you can try picking it out with our hand or tweezers. If that feels hard to do, then take a butter knife and slowly abrade the gum away.
Step 4. Vacuum The Spot
Finally, vacuum the spot to restore its original texture.
3. The Peanut Butter Method
Things You Need
- Peanut butter
- White vinegar
- Paper towel
- Vacuum cleaner
- Corn starch
Step By Step Guide
Step 1. Take Some Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is not only a delicious breakfast item, but it is also a very good cleaning agent. The most conventional use of peanut butter as a cleaning material is when we apply it on our hair to get rid of something sticky, like bubblegum. The natural oils in peanut butter compromise the adhesiveness of gums. So, we can use it on carpets for removing gluey candy.
Step 2. Apply Peanut Butter On The Gum
Apply a thick layer of peanut butter on the gum and leave it for no more than a couple of minutes. The anti-adhesive ingredient in peanut butter will loosen up the gum and you can easily pick it out of the carpet with your hand.
Step 3. Remove Peanut Butter With Paper Towel
Wipe off the peanut butter from the carpet with dry paper towels.
Step 4. Remove Peanut Butter Stain With Diluted Vinegar
Unfortunately, after you wipe off the peanut butter from the carpet it would leave a hideous, brownish stain. You can get rid of it using a vinegar solution. Take one part water and one part vinegar, then pour the mixture on the stain. Blot with a paper towel. As you soak up the moisture, the stain would come off.
Step 5. Sprinkle Corn Starch
After removing the stain, sprinkle some corn starch dust on the area. This would absorb any leftover dampness in the carpet.
Step 6. Vacuum The Spot
Vacuum the carpet so that no residual corn starch stays behind.
How To Get Taffy Out Of Carpet?
Taffy is another sugary pleasure that loses its appeal when it ends up glued to your carpet. Exposure to heat would make it even gloopier, so make sure you don’t let it melt on your rug and spread across a greater area. So, you have to act as soon as you can to get it out and bring back the true glory of your carpet.
Things You Need
- Ice cube
- Butter knife/spoon
- Carpet cleaner
- Paper towel
- Corn starch
Step By Step Guide
Step 1. Rub Ice On The Spot
Rub ice cube over the taffy stain. You can also use an ice bag or a plastic zip bag, as we had mentioned earlier in our ‘’How to get candy out of carpet’’ tutorial. Putting the ice in a bag would be convenient since you won’t have to touch it with your hand and the carpet will not get wet from it.
Step 2. Remove The Taffy
After rubbing ice on the taffy for a while, it should become hard. At that point, you would be able to remove it with your hand or using a utensil. A butter knife or a spoon would be the ideal pick for this purpose, as you could use them to scuff off the taffy without damaging the carpet material.
Step 3. Clean The Leftover Stain
The taffy is likely to leave a stain on the carpet even if you successfully take out most of the taffy. You can use a carpet cleaner formula to remove the stain or use household solutions like diluted vinegar or ammonia. Pour it on the spot, and soak it up with paper towel. As you repeat doing this, the stain would get erased.
If you use a commercial carpet cleaner, then test apply it on a small portion of the carpet first. Some formulas might not work well with your carpet and discolor it permanently. So, it is a smart move to check compatibility first before a full on application. Otherwise, you might end up doing irreversible damage to your carpet.
Step 4. Dry The Spot
After removing the taffy and the subsequent stain, the only thing left to do is to dry the treated spot of the carpet. Drying off the carpet is very important for the sake of its longevity and aesthetics. A damp carpet is the ideal candidate for mold growth. It is also susceptible to give out a pungent odor over time.
So, if you want to avoid all that, you should dry the carpet properly. You can use corn starch to do so. Besides making thick, mouth-watering gravy and sauce in the kitchen, corn starch has a host of utilities to offer, and absorbing moisture happens to be one of them. Strew a bit of corn starch around the area, and you are done!
Step 5. Vacuum The Carpet
After a few hours, the spot should be as dry as a bone. Then, get your vacuum cleaner and vacuum over the place to get rid of any residual corn starch.
Final Say
The main objective of writing this article is to stop you from reaching for a pair of scissors the next time you get candy on your carpet and let you know how to get candy out of carpet without ruining your precious rug.
Follow the methods we have discussed here, and your carpet will remain unscathed after the cleaning process.