While your instinct may be to immediately apply hot water and soap to the stain, you must resist the urge! Applying heat will only cause the playdough to melt further into your carpet. If the playdough stain is in a high-traffic area of your home such as a hallway, consider placing an empty cardboard box over the stain. The box will keep people from accidentally stepping on the playdough as it dries, which would push the playdough further into the carpet and make it more difficult to remove.
Cans of cold air can be purchased at most auto parts stores. The playdough will eventually look frosted over and frozen when it is ready to be removed. Keep your fingers away from the cold air as you spray! This air is very cold and could cause freeze burns if it touches your skin. Practice extreme caution and follow any safety directions listed on the can.
Avoid using a circular motion with your brush as it could force the playdough further into the carpet. Use a dull knife or butter knife only. A sharper blade could damage the fibers of your carpet.
Alternate scraping and vacuuming until as much of the playdough is removed as possible.
Rubbing alcohol could damage the adhesive on the backing of the carpet, so do not pour it directly onto the carpet. Transfer only a small amount to the surface of the carpet using a paper towel or towel. Test the alcohol on your carpet in an inconspicuous spot, like under a table or on the edge of the room, before applying it to the playdough stain to make sure that it doesn’t damage your carpet.
Hydrogen peroxide will also effectively remove any discolorations caused by the playdough but should only be used on white carpet. Hydrogen peroxide could bleach carpets with color or patterns. You can also use a stain remover such as Resolve to treat stubborn playdough stains.
Make sure that your soap does not contain bleach, which could cause discoloration.
Make sure to use cold water! Warm water could cause any remaining playdough to melt back to your carpet fibers.
Consider placing a heavy book or block on top of the towels for a couple of hours to help them soak up the water.
Make sure that all playdough has truly been removed before using this drying method, otherwise you could reintroduce the playdough stain to the carpet.
Use an extension cord if necessary in order to get the fan as close to the wet spot as possible. The closer the fan is situated to the wet carpet, the more effective it will be at drying.
