Slime is one of the best toys for kids of all ages. It’s fun and attractive due to all the bright colors plus they can contain different textures.
This makes it a great sensory toy for kids to play with as it’s so gooey and slimy, allowing kids to experiment with their curiosity and come together to play with this tactile toy!
Not only that, but it’s possible to make your own slime at home and it’s also not sticky or messy, so parents and teachers don’t have to worry about cleaning up later!
However, sometimes you might have noticed that your kids’ slime has started sticking to their hands or that it’s just not the right texture.
If you keep finding that your slime has become sticky, then don’t worry – here are a few tips and tricks you can try to help fix your sticky slime.
Let’s get into it!
Why Has Your Slime Gone Sticky?
Before we jump into all the solutions you can try to make your slime less sticky, we first need to understand why your slime has turned sticky in the first place!
This way, you can understand why the solutions we have suggested below work!
So – why does slime become sticky over time?
Most of the time, it’s because the activator has lost its touch over time.
Making slime is like a chemistry experiment because it consists of combining different materials together so they react to one another and make something new.
Slime, when you break it down, is made of an activator, glue and water. While glue and water is what gives slime its texture, the activator is what actually binds the molecules of the two together so you don’t just end up with a cup full of wet glue.
These three ingredients need to work together to make slime. Not enough or too much of one ingredient will throw the chemistry out of balance and cause issues with your slime.
In most cases, the activator is Borax (otherwise known as Sodium Tetraborate) but some people use liquid laundry detergent instead.
Over time, the activator in slime loses its touch and the other ingredients begin to become undone. This is why slime becomes sticky – because the activator is no longer holding it all together.
So – how can you fix this?
How To Fix Sticky Slime
If you are making your own slime at home or in the classroom, then here are a few different solutions to making your slime less sticky. Check out these solutions and try them out until you get your slime to the right kind of texture.
Add More Borax To Your Slime
Many people use borax as the activator in their own slime at home, so it makes sense to just add more borax to your slime if it becomes sticky over time.
Sticky slime is a sign that your activator is not working effectively so you need to add more so it can bind the glue, water, and other ingredients all together so it has the right texture and consistency.
Therefore, a smart solution would be to just add more borax to your slime until it regains its former texture!
To add more borax to your slime, you need to put your slime in a bowl and in a separate bowl, pour in one cup of water. Add one teaspoon of borax to the water and mix it until the borax has completely dissolved.
Then, you need to slowly add just a bit of the borax solution to our slime and mix it in. Keep adding and mixing until the slime has regained its previous texture.
However, you must not add too much or add the borax solution too quickly! This will make your slime turn hard instead and completely counter the whole point of slime in the first place!
Luckily, you can undo this by adding a bit of glycerin to your slime. This should help soften it by breaking down the borax. However, you will need to try adding more borax solution to make your slime the correct texture once more.
This method is all about balance and adding your borax solution to your slime in very small amounts until you get the texture you want.
Add More Liquid Laundry Detergent
While many slime makers use borax as their activator ingredient, some may use liquid laundry detergent instead.
This method is completely fine and no different from using borax – it’s just more people are more likely to have liquid laundry detergent at hand rather than borax.
So, just like with the borax method, you should try adding more liquid laundry detergent to your slime to try and stop it from being so sticky.
Unlike with borax, you don’t need to water down your liquid laundry detergent before you add it to your slime. Just put your slime in a bowl, and add a small amount of liquid laundry detergent directly to it.
Mix it in and check out the texture as you knead it. If it’s still too sticky for you, add a bit more liquid laundry detergent and repeat.
You can start out using a teaspoon of liquid laundry detergent but it’s important that you don’t use too much in one go, otherwise you will end up facing similar problems like in the borax method.
Knead It More
This method works best for slime that contains too much moisture which is making it thin, stringy and sticky, and best applies to slime that is just freshly made.
Sometimes when making your own slime, the moisture from the water needs to be kneaded out so the slime can dry and be used as a toy without making a mess.
So, kneading the slime until it becomes non-sticky and stronger is also a great method to try out.
Conclusion
The methods mentioned above are both effective ways to fix sticky slime.
The borax method is probably the most popular way to do it because it’s easy, cheap, and requires only two ingredients. However, most people already have liquid laundry detergent to hand so if you want a quick fix, that method is always worth a try too.
So, check out the methods above again and pick out the method that works best for you. Hopefully, your slime will return to its original texture so your kids can get back to their mess-free playtime in no time!
