Why slime does not work, what to do if slime is runny and does not thicken
When making slime with your own hands, there are times when you cannot achieve the desired consistency. Most often, the problem can be corrected by adjusting the composition of the ingredients. But it is better to first try to carefully select the components, paying attention to the shelf life and necessary characteristics, and also to study the sequence and method of their connection.
Requirements for toy quality
A high-quality DIY slime should have the following characteristics:
- mass elasticity;
- tensile strength;
- lack of grip.
This means that the consistency of a well-made slime allows the toy to be strongly stretched without tearing it. Plus, quality slime won't stick to your hands and clothes.
Reasons for failure
What are the reasons why the slime made with your own hands turned out to be too hard or, conversely, spreads strongly? Problems can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
- inferior or expired raw material;
- incorrect selection of the consistency of the base of the toy;
- violation of the recipe in terms of ingredients, their quantity and mixing rules.
To minimize failures, you should carefully approach the essentially simple process of making slime, after checking expiration dates and studying instructions.
There are situations when slime does not work due to the fact that an unsuccessful recipe was chosen. A huge number of instructions can be found on the web, many of which look interesting and promising, but in fact the result obtained will be unsatisfactory. It is better to choose recipes that have been tested by friends, be guided by reviews or find another reliable source of information.
Choose the right adhesive
If the toy is made with glue, it is important to find the right one. For slimes, you can take office, construction, silicate or homemade glue, but most often PVA is used. It has gained popularity due to its versatility and low toxicity.
In stores there are different variants of PVA, which differ in purpose, packaging and manufacturer. What to pay attention to when choosing a PVA? The characteristics of some varieties make the glue unsuitable for the production of slimes.
First, you can't take PVA designed for paper. There is a risk of failure with such raw materials.
Secondly, PVA is not suitable, neither too liquid nor too thick. As a result, liquid glue may not thicken. Excessive thickness will give the effect of cottage cheese. When interacting with a thickener, it does not turn into an elastic mass, but a lumpy, oily feel.
About the expiration date
When making a toy, all ingredients must be fresh.Expired glue will not give the slime the required viscosity. It is best to use glue for less than two months. In this case, a new tube must be opened just before starting to make a slime, the packaging that has remained open is worse in terms of characteristics.
The same applies to shaving gel and other components, the properties of which ultimately provide a quality toy. Therefore, when selecting components, you should carefully consider the expiration date.
1 Choose thick bases
In order for the slime to thicken and acquire the necessary structure, it is necessary to choose the right basis for its manufacture. If the toy is made of dishwashing detergent, shampoo, or laundry gel, it's important that the substance looks more like jelly than liquid.
For example, Elseve is good for shampoos in terms of density, for shower gels - Fa, Fairy dishwashing liquid also has suitable properties. Cheap products, as a rule, have too watery a consistency, the toy based on them will spill out.
Respect for quantity and proportions
It often happens that the finished slime is not viscous enough due to the lack of thickener. The reason for this may be non-compliance with the amount of ingredients or the properties of the substances themselves. For example, different types of glue behave differently, which directly affects the structure of the finished toy. The degree of consistency can usually be adjusted by simple methods.
Thickening control
Different substances are used to control the thickening depending on the starting ingredients of the mud. It is important to add the product little by little, carefully monitor the thickening of the mass, mix well and stop in time.
For example, if shaving foam or shower gel formed the basis of slime, the lack of density is combated with the help of boric acid. The substance is lightly introduced into the finished mixture with continuous kneading. 100 ml of the combined ingredients will take up to two tablespoons of acid.
Addition by drops
A thickener such as sodium tetraborate is not added in spoonfuls, but in drops, since it has a stronger effect. Instead of two tablespoons of boric acid, a toy will take only two or three drops of the drug. A thickener will quickly help if the mud is too runny or has become so thin over time. When adding sodium tetraborate, you should carefully monitor the amount of added agent. Excessive thickener will ruin the toy.
Second thickener
If the mud does not thicken, additional thickener can be added. The choice of product depends on the ingredients used for the base. Slimes made from glue can be thickened with baking soda in addition to sodium tetraborate. Pour the powder little by little with a teaspoon, starting with half, stirring continuously.
If you need to get a thicker consistency, the amount of product is increased.
Correctable situations
The easiest way is to correct the consistency of the mud, which is made using soap compositions mixed with starch, soda or salt. Too liquid mud is simply supplemented with powder and mixed thoroughly. You can save a too thick toy by adding detergent. If the slime made from a mixture of glue and tetraborate turns out to be watery, you can try to remedy the situation by adding the following means:
- film mask;
- washing gel;
- lens fluid;
- liquid or dry starch.
Stirring and cooling
When making a slime, it is important to introduce the ingredients in the correct order and to mix them well. If the sequence is violated, the chemical reaction needed to form the structure will not occur and the toy will not work.
For example, if a mud is prepared from shaving foam, shampoo and salt, the liquids are first combined and thoroughly mixed. Powder added beforehand will prevent the foam and shampoo from interacting properly, which will affect the consistency of the slime. If the ingredients are not mixed, the structure will become lumpy.
Cooling is necessary if, according to the recipe, it is necessary to heat the initial components to evaporate excess liquid. so you can cook shower gel or shampoo.After removing moisture, the composition is cooled for half an hour, only in this case the toy will acquire the required density.
Why Different Types of Slimes May Not Work
An anti-stress toy, depending on the components, appearance and characteristics, may turn out to be different. In addition to the usual standard slimes, edible, magnetic, rainbow, transparent and other slimes are prepared at home. In the manufacture of each type of toy, they face different problems. A multi-colored layered slime must "rest" for several days in a box before use. Otherwise, you will not be able to achieve the effect of multi-colored stripes.
shiny slime, or shiny slime it will not become shiny if you add any type of glue during the manufacturing process.
The effect of a shiny surface will only be achieved when PVA and transparent stationery glue are used together."Glass" slime will not turn transparent if you use white PVA glue to make a toy. To avoid turbidity, you need a transparent glue, such as office. A slime in which two or more colors are used will not look good if the shades are not combined with each other.
Tips & Tricks
If the mud is not viscous enough, you should not rush and add thickeners. Maybe you need to stir the mass a little more to get the desired consistency. If, nevertheless, additional funds were needed, you need to remember a few nuances:
- It is better not to use sodium tetraborate as a thickener if the slime is intended for young children who like to try all toys with their teeth.
- Entrusting the process of making or correcting slime to a child, you need to make sure that there is no allergy to the components.
- If the mass turns out to be heterogeneous, you need to knead it a little more.
- Not all detergents contain the ingredients needed to create slime. If slime based shampoo or dish gel does not work, you need to replace the original product.
- When making slime at home, you should follow safety precautions: work with gloves and ventilate the room.
When making slime yourself, it may not work right away. In such cases, one should not get upset, because most often the situation can be easily corrected by bringing the consistency to the desired degree of viscosity.