How to Get Rubber Cement Off of Clothes

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Rubber cement is an adhesive made of solvents and latex polymers. It is easy to work with and performs best with paper products for arts and crafts. Rubber cement is not safe for young children to use unsupervised. It is toxic if ingested. It needs to be used in a well-ventilated area. The fumes can cause a dangerous high. Rubber cement can stain fabric, and it will take some work to remove spillage from clothing.

Wash your hands. Remove any rubber cement from your hands before you begin to clean the rubber cement off your clothing.

Use your fingernails and pick off the excess rubber cement from the fabric. Work it off the material by rolling and gently pulling the pieces of glue from the clothing. Try using the blade of a dull knife or a dull dinnerware knife to help remove the chunks of glue if you cannot get it all off with your fingers. Be careful not to cut the fabric if you use a knife blade.

Remove any stubborn rubber cement that remains on the clothes by rubbing petroleum jelly into the adhered rubber cement. Work off the glue by rolling it back and forth until it loosens from the clothing. It may come off a piece at a time.

Apply a spray-on or rub-on stain remover to any leftover stains. Pre-wash applications designed to help remove spots from clothing need to soak into the stain before the clothes are thrown into the washing machine.

Add your regular laundry detergent to the load of wash and launder the stained clothing.