How to Clean Up Vaseline
By Kay on Wed, Oct 3, 2007
If you’ve read my post, “It’s Too Quiet…” then you know why I’ve been on a quest to find the answer to the simple question of how to clean vaseline off of well… everything. (Amazing how much damage a 18 month old and 3 year old can do in just a few minutes time!)
So, after MUCH searching, I finally found a site that had directions on how to get vaseline off of clothes and fabrics. (FYI, ‘Vaseline’ is just a brand name of petroleum jelly.) Check out this diy site’s suggestions:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/petroleumjelly
And then, I had a friend forward this mom’s story about vaseline and how she got it out of her son’s HAIR!!!! So I decided I should include her experience, too…
Baking soda – one thing every household should have at all times. Why you might ask? The answer is simple – for emergency vaseline removal. (Okay, minds out the gutter – this is G rated!)
When your two year old happens upon a jar of vaseline and bathes himself in it – hair and all – you must immediately reach for the baking soda. Here is what I learned this morning, thanks to Google.
Run a hot bath. Put child in tub. Mix a good amount of baking soda and shampoo, lather head, rinse, repeat several times – at least 5 or 6 for short hair. (Parents of kids with long hair – good luck – I recommend you invest in a good set of clippers!).
Now, move to the body. Once again, mix baking soda and soap (preferably liquid – a bar doesn’t work so well) and lather childs body using your hands. Again, you may have to repeat several times or at least until the water stops beading on the child and just runs off smoothly.
STAY CLEAR OF COLD WATER – this just tends to make the vaseline clump up and become more of a mess.
So there you have it. I guess you really do learn something new every day!!
What about you? Have you had any experience with this lovely globby stuff? What worked for you???
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Tags: house-tips, parenting-tips
December 7th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I had my 3 yr old girl cover my 1 yr old sons head in a tub of vaseline once and after trying everything ( I mean EVERYTHING! Baking Soda, Cornstarch, Shampoo, Dish Liquid, Soap, etc ), I was told by a daycare worker 2 days after that LEMON JUICE works like a charm. So I tried this and it got rid of all the greasyness….just pure lemon juice!
December 8th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Dez~
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the great info! I wouldn’t have thought to use lemon juice, but considering the acidity and the fact that you’re trying to cut through the grease of a petroleum product, that makes PERFECT sense! Glad to know that there’s another way out there to get rid of this stuff !!
~K
January 27th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
What about if he has put vaseline on the carpet, walls and stuffed animals and himself – any ideas? What a disaster.
January 28th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Tim~
I’m so sorry to hear about your mess. Believe me when I say, I feel your pain! And my first question is, have you taken a picture of it all for posterity. (and to help you laugh at it now, instead of run screaming from the room?)
I’m not sure I have any more ideas about carpet and walls, but I know that you can probably wash the stuffed animals in the washing machine. Just throw them in an old pillow case, tie up the open end, and put ‘em in with the laundry you would normally wash on hot or warm – stay away from cold water, it just makes the stuff clump even worse.
Since vaseline is a petroleum product, you probably want to stay with soaps and acidic solutions (like the lemon juice that Dez mentioned in the above comments) to help cut through it all.
Best of luck to ya, Tim!!
December 11th, 2009 at 1:29 am
My lil girl just put half a jar in her hair. I washed it w/ V05 three times, Johnson’s twice, and Dawn a few more. I finally conditioned it and put her in bed since she was devastated by soap getting her eyes. She also put some all over my ipod touch (like the iphone). Does anyone have ideas for the ipod?? and I will try lemon juice in the am on her hair.
December 11th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Bobbie-Ann~
How did the lemon juice work this morning on her hair? Hope you had some luck with that!
Not sure about anything electronic (that’s always the scariest stuff to try to clean without RUINING it!), but I’m wondering if a wipey might do any good at removing at least some of the layers of the stuff? Maybe a rag dampened with vinegar? Just trying to think of things that might acidic enough to cut through the goo. Wish I could be of more help!
If you come up with something else that works, please be sure to let us know! Good luck!
December 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Here’s another one for you. I just spent 2 hours cleaning my 4 year-old’s room after she painted the walls with Vaseline and put it through her hair. After scraping the walls with a spatula (yes, it was that thick), I tried Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap and hot water. I scrubbed and followed it up by wiping with a paper towel. It worked well, didn’t hurt the paint at all, and is an organic fix.
Tomorrow I’ll try it in her hair with the baking soda. . .thanks for the tips!
January 5th, 2010 at 10:08 am
BTW — I mixed the castile soap and baking soda, and her hair was squeaky clean on the first rinse. I followed it with regular shampoo and we were back to normal. Wahoo!
January 11th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Wendy,
Thanks for the tip and the follow-up, too! So glad to know that if the Vaseline fairy decides to visit us ever again, I’ll have several tools in my belt for handling the mess she leaves behind!