How to clean up kids' messes can stump even the most seasoned parent, especially when coupled with the frustration that comes with, say, finding face paint on the new couch. How to clean crayon off walls, how to banish grass stains, how to clean up glitter—these are the questions we are here to answer.

How to Clean Up Candy

A common scenario: you discover a lollipop your child "saved for later"—by dropping it on the windowsill. Days ago.

Instructions

1. Scrape as much as possible, as gently as possible.

2. Add some dish soap to a cup of hot water, and soak a dishcloth in it.

3. Press the damp dishcloth to the hardened candy for at least a minute.

4. Leave the dishcloth to soak and soften the candy for about 15 minutes.

5. Wipe the stain away with the dishcloth.

Pro Tip

Spraying the mess with a vinegar solution in warm water can also help break down the candy residue.

How to Clean Up Crayon

No canvas is so inviting as a blank wall, as the parent of any budding artist can tell you. Even though it seems like it will never wash away, cleaning crayon off walls just takes a little bit of elbow grease.

How to Clean Crayon Off Walls

1. Heat the crayon marks with a hair dryer to soften the wax.

2. Scrub it off with a washcloth dipped in a solution of warm water and dish soap.

3. For more stubborn stains, a damp melamine eraser, like the Magic Eraser, should do the trick.

4. For really dark stains, mix a paste of baking soda and water to scrub off the marks (or if you can handle the odour, spray it with WD-40). Clean off the residue with soapy water.

How to Clean Crayon Off Clothes

1. Dip a toothbrush into undiluted vinegar.

2. Starting from the back, scrub the stain until it fades.

3. Launder as usual.

How to Clean Crayon Off Upholstery

1. Dilute some dish or laundry detergent with an equal measure of water.

2. Dip into this a light-coloured rag or sponge, then scrub the crayon away.

3. Use a water-soaked rag to rinse away the remaining detergent.

How to Clean Face Paint Off Clothes

The greasiness and pigmentation can make it difficult to remove face paint from clothing or other fabrics. Oil-free make-up remover can be a good solution. Alternatively, try the following technique.

Instructions

1. Dampen a washcloth or rag with water and add some grease-fighting dish detergent.

2. Scrub the stained area with the cloth.

3. Rinse until the stain disappears.

4. Wash in cold water to make sure all of the grease is gone.

Pro Tip 

This technique can also help remove stubborn face paint stains from skin.

How to Clean Up Glitter 

If you've ever experienced a glitter spill, you know that a dustpan and broom just aren't enough; even a hoover will leave behind random specks for some reason. The best part is, if your kids are little enough to be entranced by glitter, they'll love this cleanup technique.

Instructions 

1. Wrap your kid's hands or feet in loops of tape, sticky side out.

2. Have them stomp or swipe at all glittered surfaces.

3. Hoover whatever's left.

Pro Tip 

Make it a game: try some freeze dancing to go along with the cleanup task.

How to Clean Up Grass Stains

Grass stains are the bane of many a parent's existence—they're pervasive and hard to remove. First and foremost, NEVER use hot water; always use cold.

Instructions 

1. Pretreat the fabric by soaking it in detergent, dish soap, or vinegar—or even a paste of sugar and cold water—for 30 minutes or more.

2. Use a toothbrush to scrub the pretreatment into the fabric.

3. Wash in cold water as usual, and before drying, check to see if the stain has disappeared. If not, start over, with the same pretreatment or another.

Pro Tip 

Rubbing alcohol makes a great pre-pretreatment. Dab it onto the stain and let it sit for a few minutes before you start with step 1.

How to Clean Up Gum

When I was 9, I fell asleep with gum in my mouth and woke up to gum everywhere: knotted in my hair, pressed into my pillowcase, stuck to my clothes. If only my mother had known then what I know now.

How to Clean Gum in Hair

1. Rub one of the following onto the wad of gum: coconut oil, peanut butter, softened butter.

2. Massage the oil into the wad to loosen its grip, then pull it out.

How to Clean Gum Off Clothing

1. Rub the gum with a sponge soaked in a little rubbing alcohol.

2. Let it sit for a few minutes.

3. Scrape the gum off with a spatula or butter knife.

4. Repeat as necessary.

5. Launder as usual.

How to Clean Gum Off Shoes

1. Place the shoe in the freezer until the gum on the bottom hardens, or speed up the process by hitting it with spray from some canned air.

2. Scrape the frozen gum off with a butter knife.

How to Clean Up Play Dough from the Carpet

Play dough gets everywhere. Whenever my daughter plays with some, I'm stepping on those hard crunchy crumbs for days afterwards, even when I've hoovered. And if it finds its way to the carpet, ugh.

Instructions

1. Allow the dough to dry completely; cover it with cardboard to ensure no one steps on it and makes the mess worse.

2. Use the brush tool on the hoover or any stiff cleaning brush to loosen and break up the dough, then hoover it up.

3. Clean up the rest with a rag and soapy, cold (never hot) water.

Pro Tip

Use the same technique on clothes, except after step 4, allow the stain to soak in dish soap, then throw it in the wash as usual.

How to Clean Up Slime

The ingredients in slime make it especially tricky to clean, as typical detergents won't quite do the trick. What will? That age-old remedy, vinegar.

How to Clean Slime Off Clothes, Carpet, Upholstery & Textiles

1. Remove as much of the excess slime as you can. Dab it with your hands or a dry paper towel if still wet, or scrape it off with a butter knife or spoon.

2. Soak the garment in distilled white vinegar for 5 minutes, which should soften any remaining slime.

3. Rinse with warm water. Then, if it's clothing, wash the garment as usual.

How to Clean Slime Off Walls

1. Remove excess slime as above.

2. Make a paste with baking soda, water, and just a bit of vinegar. Make sure it's thick and not at all runny by adding more baking soda as needed.

3. Apply the paste to the stain and let it sit until dry, about 2 hours.

4. Scrub off the dried paste with a dry paper towel.

How to Clean Up Tomato Sauce

Pizza, pasta, ketchup—kids love them, but those stains are so stubborn.

Instructions

1. Rinse the stain with cold water, from the back of the stain.

2. Put on a pair of gloves.

3. Mix a tablespoon of ammonia with a half-cup of cold water or a 1:3 hydrogen peroxide: water solution (be sure to test this to make sure it doesn't cause discolouration).

4. Apply to stain and let sit for 30 minutes.

5. Rinse thoroughly.

6. Wash as usual.

Pro Tip 

Pre-treat the stain using the steps outlined above for grass stains.

How to Clean Up Stickers

Even with a dedicated sticker station, my daughter manages to get stickers in the strangest places: on the back of the couch, on the floor, even on the wall next to the toilet. What makes them tough to clean up is what makes them so attractive to kids: the adhesive.

How to Clean Stickers Off Clothes

1. Blot with rubbing alcohol and let sit for about 5 minutes.

2. Rinse with cold water.

3. Rub detergent onto the clothing and let it soak in.

4. Wash on cold.

5. Before drying, check to see if all the adhesive has been removed; if not, start over.

How to Clean Stickers Off Hard Surfaces (Plastic, Wood, Metal)

1. Soak the adhesive with vegetable or coconut oil (or peanut butter!) for at least an hour.

2. Soften the adhesive with the heat from a hair dryer.

3. Wipe off the adhesive.

4. Clean the remaining adhesive and oil with hot soapy water.

How to Clean Stickers Off Walls

1. Scrape off as much of the stickers as possible without damaging the wall.

2. Remove as much of what's left as possible with a pencil eraser.

3. Soften what's left with a hair dryer, as above.

4. Clean the remaining residue with hot soapy water.

How to Clean Stickers Off Windows

1. Depending on how old the sticker is, you may have to try to scrape some of it away. Use something gentle, such as a bowl scraper or skillet scraper.

2. Soak the sticker in water by using a damp cloth.

3. Soak a paper towel in nail polish remover (with acetone) or rubbing alcohol and rub it onto the sticker to degrade the adhesive. After about 30 minutes, it should easily rub away.

4. Clean what's left with hot soapy water.

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