Polyurethane foam is that building material which is used everywhere. With its help, various structural elements are fastened and connected, it has sound and heat insulation properties, and quickly and efficiently fills cracks and voids. In addition, quite often it is used and not for its intended purpose, for example, in the manufacture of various crafts. And not surprisingly, at times she doesn’t get where she should be.
So how to clean the mounting foam so as not to damage the contaminated surface and use minimal effort? We will try to consider all the options.
General tips
Construction foam can be removed much more easily from any surface before it has time to harden, so try to remove it in a timely manner, without waiting for complete hardening.
Any rinse for polyurethane foam can damage the surface being cleaned, so before using it, try to conduct a test in an inconspicuous area.
The industry offers a variety of solvents for polyurethane foams for cleaning wooden, metal, glass surfaces, for leather, for hardened and non-hardened foams, so always choose the wash that suits you.
When choosing a solvent for polyurethane foam, try to give preference to the same brands as the foam you use, since most manufacturers try to use small “tricks” in their compositions that only the same “quirky” washes can deal with. Simply put, their compositions are likely to be the same and such a solvent will best clean the remaining foam.
Even the most professional craftsman may not get the foam at the place of its direct purpose, but what can we say about those who decided to work with polyurethane foam for the first time? Most likely, everything will be foamed. Below we will analyze the options for how to clean polyurethane foam from various surfaces without harming it.
What to do if your hands are dirty?
Polyurethane foam has the property of expanding and hardening upon contact with water, so it cannot be washed off in the usual way. In addition, the use of special washes is not always justified: they may simply not be at hand or they are not intended for use on the skin, you may suffer from allergies to the substances that make up it - there can be a lot of reasons.
If you look with an open mind, then construction foam will not cause much harm to the skin, it's more about the “decorative effect”. So if you are ready to wear this “decoration” for several days, then you can leave it as it is. After a short time, in about a couple of days, she will fall away herself thanks to the natural fat secreted by our skin.
But in situations when you are facing some important personal or business meeting, the question of how to wash the foam from your hands can be very acute.
In addition to special solvents (for example, Reiniger), which are not always effective, you can try using proven folk remedies:
- Dip your hands in a strong solution of sodium chloride and hold them there for about five minutes. After that, clean off the remaining foam with a pumice or a brush with rough bristles, and grease your hands with a greasy cream.
- Wipe your skin with acetone-based detergent (nail polish remover is great) or with vegetable oil and apply a nourishing cream.
- Wash your hands periodically with a washcloth and, again, apply a greasy cream.
How to remove polyurethane foam from clothes?
Quite often, not only hands are in the foam, but also clothes and the main difficulty here is to clean it without damaging the thing itself. Many are advised to "run" for the most powerful cleaners that are available, forgetting that few fabrics can tolerate such "abuse" over themselves. And half the trouble, if you stained the work clothes in which you made repairs, but how to clean the foam if it accidentally fell on your favorite everyday or, worse, holiday item?
Unfortunately, in such situations only public councils can come to the rescue.
First, carefully cut the foam as close to the surface as possible, taking care not to damage the fabric. And then it all depends on the structure of the fabric. On some things, it will be impossible to completely get rid of the stain and you will have to turn on your imagination to somehow decorate this area, others will just have to wash in the washing machine or treat the damage with white spirit.
Dense tissues can be "fried" in the sun or "frozen", periodically crushing the place where the foam gets, so that it crackes. Remove residual acetone and thoroughly wash the damaged area.
Polyurethane foam
It is necessary to use a mounting foam solvent on such surfaces with great care and only after it has to be checked for resistance to washing.
Another thing is that it is quite easy to remove foam from varnished or laminated objects without special means. A distinctive feature of cleaning such surfaces is that the foam, on the contrary, needs to harden a little, become “rubber”, that is, plastic, but at the same time not sticky to the hands.
In this state, you only need to carefully lift its edge and pull it - it will easily leave behind without leaving any trace (maximum, a greasy stain that is enough to wipe with a damp cloth).
Dry polyurethane foam on doors and windows
All solvents of dried foam are usually quite aggressive, so they are hardly suitable for cleaning wooden and plastic surfaces. To “calm your conscience”, try on an inconspicuous part of the Cosmofen or Phenozol wash and start looking for proven folk remedies.
So, how to clean the mounting foam, in addition to commercially available solvents, from doors, windows and other wooden and PVC surfaces?
- Carefully remove the foam with a spatula or some sharp object under the base. Apply vegetable oil to stains and leave for half an hour to soften the foam. Use a sponge with a rough structure (for example, for washing dishes) to wipe off residues and wash this area with soap and water.
- The second method involves the use of the pharmaceutical drug "Dimexidum" for joints. Apply it in the same way as vegetable oil.
We clean the floor from foam
The floor in the apartment is the surface on which the mounting foam most often falls. Removing its residues without a trace will depend on what material the damaged plane consists of.
Linoleum
If the foam has not yet hardened, carefully collect it with a spatula towards the center so as not to expand the boundaries of the stain. Wipe up the remains with a rag moistened with acetone or a foam wash.
Cut hardened foam with a knife as close to the surface as possible. For such purposes, it is convenient to use clerical, as it is quite sharp and thin. But be sure not to damage the linoleum. Wipe off residues as much as possible with a rubber spatula or a rough brush. Wipe the remaining stain with a foam solvent or gasoline.
Parquet and laminate
Unfortunately, these are the surfaces on which industrial washes should be used with extreme caution, since they can do much more harm than good. Collect all the foam mechanically as carefully as possible. You can try to remove the residues with Dimexide or vegetable oil.
If the stain is small, try to remove it with dry ice (if not, use a piece of frozen meat). Try to “freeze” the foam as much as possible, and remove the rest with a knife or spatula, well, or “at worst” with a school eraser.
We remove construction foam from glasses and mirrors
Rinsing can help remove foam from the glass, but can cause significant damage to the mirror. At the same time, from both of these perfectly flat surfaces, you can quite simply clean them with a wooden or rubber scraper. Knives and other metal objects are best avoided so as not to scratch the area being cleaned.
What to do if polyurethane foam gets on the car?
This happens, oddly enough, often enough when car owners put cars under the windows of a house in which the authorities "suddenly decided to foam unexpected seams." An angry vehicle owner can shake his fists as much as he wants, but this will not help the case and he will have to solve the problem on his own.
The main task will be to try to remove the foam without affecting the paintwork of the car.
If the damage area is small, it will be easier to remove it with an abrasive and polish again.
You can also try to treat the surface with acetone or vegetable oil, and clean off the rest with a piece of plastic or rubber.
Again, you can try to leave it as it is for a while, if it happened in winter or summer, because it has already been written above that under the influence of high and low temperatures the foam changes its structure and it can be cleaned mechanically (at the same time, check the quality of the coating - poor quality will go away with the foam).
When you really can't wait to quickly get rid of the foam, try to heat this area well with a hairdryer and carefully scrub it off manually.
Total
Anyone who has ever had to deal with the removal of construction foam residues from any surface will continue to carefully monitor how to prevent this from happening again. So try to look for positive things in everything: here you, for example, not only gained invaluable experience, but also the habit of accuracy.