Blog - Bristol Water Foundation

How to get food colouring out of anything

Written by Admin | Oct 21, 2020 8:45:00 AM

So some of our fabulous experiments use food colouring! This is all fine and dandy but if you’re a little bit messy like us, you’re probably asking how to get food colouring out of something. So we have some tips from finding out the hard way!

That’s right. Our experiment master lives in rented accommodation and almost fainted when doing the Hot n Cold experiment and accidentally splashed food colouring all over the white painted walls.

We’re no Mrs Hinch, but here we go! (Disclaimer: we’re not cleaning experts! In fact we’re water experts. We can’t accept any liability if our methods don’t work – they’re just there to give you some ideas!)

Get it off of hands

So before you scrub desperately with soap, apparently shaving foam does a stellar job! Just dap and let it sit for 30 seconds. Then remove with a warm flannel.

Get it out of walls

If you have white walls, lightly dab some hydrogen peroxide, using gloves and strictly for adults only. It is a lightening agent which should help lift the stain.

Another option is using a Magic Eraser. This is great as they’re cheap, effective and involve no chemicals. They’re a great thing to keep in the house!

Get it out of carpets

There’s a few options. First, try the good old warm bucket of water and sponge, but be careful not to use too much water. Then blot it with a tea towel. You could try a general carpet stain remover and follow the instructions. If you have a steam cleaner, that should really help too.

How not make any mess in the first place!

This is the really important one!

  • Pop down newspaper around the area you’re working. If you’re working near a wall, prop up something like a clean chopping board to catch any splashes.
  • Be gentle! Move the liquid carefully so not to make any splashes
  • Carry out the experiment outside or over a kitchen sink if you have a particularly messy young one (!)

We hope you found this useful! Why not get back to learning or go back to our blog?