Cleaning Up Play-Doh

Written by Lee Wyatt (last updated May 26, 2025)

At first glance, you would think that cleaning up Play-Doh would be a fairly easy thing to do. After all, it shouldn't be too difficult to clean up a child's play thing, should it? Unfortunately, anyone who has ever been around Play-Doh knows just how difficult it can be to clean up, particularly if you didn't know that it was left out. This play material can get into just about any kind of nook and cranny on any flooring and seems to adhere to all kinds of carpeting. Luckily, there are a few things that you can do to start cleaning up any spilled Play-Doh that you may have in your house.

  • Rehydrate. If you come across any dried Play-Doh that needs cleaning then the first thing you should try to do is rehydrating it. Simply get a washcloth wet with hot water, and then place it onto the Play-Doh and let it sit for about an hour. After the Play-Doh has rehydrated simply clean it up as you normally would.
  • Brush it off. Another method that you can use to clean dried Play-Doh is by using a brush. Depending on the type of flooring you need to be careful with the type of brush that you use. For stone or tile floors you can use a small brass bristled brush, but for other kinds of flooring then you should use a stiff bristled nylon brush to get the Play-Doh up. When brushing the dough, make sure that you only use enough force as necessary to break up the mess. You want to be careful that you don't damage the flooring.
  • Vacuum it up. You can always try vacuuming up the dough as well. Initially use the vacuum to get up as much of the dough as you can. If you come across any dough that is really difficult to get up, then use a brush to break the dough up as described above. Vacuum, brush, and then vacuum again as much as necessary to be sure you get the Play-Doh cleaned up.
  • Use more Play-Doh. If you are particularly lucky, and you catch the dough while it is still damp, your cleaning task is going to be a little easier. Typically, all you really need to do is use a little more of the Play-Doh to clean up the stuff that was left out. Simply grab a pinch of the Play-Doh and press it against the dough that was left out. Keep doing this until you have gotten as much as you can, if you are unable to get all of the Play-Doh up with this method then use a vacuum to get the rest.

Author Bio

Lee Wyatt

Contributor of numerous Tips.Net articles, Lee Wyatt is quickly becoming a regular "Jack of all trades." He is currently an independent contractor specializing in writing and editing. Contact him today for all of your writing and editing needs! Click here to contact. ...

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