You look away for just one second from your child's craft project with the Elmer's glue, and disaster strikes.

Below are step by step instructions for removing those glue stains from clothing, upholstery and carpet so you and your child can get back to enjoying that craft project.
Please note that the instructions below are to remove stains caused by water-based craft glue (typical white school glue), not other types of glue, such as superglue.
Step 1: Scrape off as much glue as possible, being careful not to spread the glue stain further.
Hint: If the glue is dried, and thus has hardened before you are able to treat the stain, you can soak the clothing in warm water for approximately 30 minutes to soften it back up to scrape off.
Step 2: Pretreat the stain with a laundry prewash stain remover.
Step 3: Launder in the hottest water the fabric will allow to get out the stain, and either chlorine bleach if the fabric will allow it, or color bleach if not.
Hint: Make sure the stain is gone after washing, but before you place in the dryer or you may set the stain.
Step 1: Scrape off as much glue as possible, being careful not to spread the glue stain further.
Hint: If the glue is dried, and thus has hardened before you are able to treat the stain, you cannot soak your upholstery as you can clothing as suggested above.
However, you can soften up the glue by laying a thick stack of wet paper towels (not dripping though, because you don't want to overwet the upholstery) over the glue stained area and let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour. This will remoisturize the glue and make it possible to scrape up the excess more easily.
Step 2: Mix a solution of two cups cool water and one tablespoon dishwashing liquid.
Step 3: Using this solution, sponge the stain from the glue with a clean white cloth.
Step 4: Next, blot at the stain until the liquid is absorbed.
Step 5: Repeat steps 3-4 until the stain is removed from the upholstery.
Step 6: Now that the glue stain is removed you should get plain cold water and a new white cloth and sponge the area to remove the cleaning solution, and then blot dry.
Hint: Be sure to get the upholstery only as wet as necessary to remove the stain from the glue.
You can get more information on how to clean upholstery here.
The instructions for glue stain removal from carpet is the same as for upholstery.
However, if you don't have luck with this stain removal method above you can also do something additional with the carpet stain, which is to mix a solution of one tablespoon of ammonia with two cups warm water, and use this as a stain removal solution.
Are you a stain magnet like me? If so, check out the A to Z Stain Removal Guide which gives directions for how to remove over 100 types of stains from all kinds of surfaces.
Below are examples of the most common stains discussed in the Guide.

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CAUTION: This website is provided for informational purposes only, and Stain-Removal-101.com provides it as is, without warranties or guarantees. Some stains just won't come out, and are permanent. Further, some stain removal methods can harm your item, so if the stained item is sentimental or expensive call a professional. See disclaimer of liability for more information.
See the A-Z Stain Removal Guide for even more types of stains.
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