Did your child just play with a ball of playdough? It’s soft and squishy, but once you start playing with it, it seems to get harder and harder as time passes by. How would you make the playdough soft again? Is there a way to prevent it from hardening in the first place? Read on for tips on how to make playdough soft again.
How To Make Playdough Soft Again?
Microwave
If you have a microwave at home, you can use it to soften your playdough. This is a really great way to soften playdough on the fly if you don’t have any other alternative. It’s easy, fast, and requires no additional materials. Simply place the playdough in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it for 30 seconds. It only takes 30 seconds to soften playdough in a microwave, but it will remain soft for another 30 seconds before it hardens again. This makes it a good method for quick and easy playdough softening, but not something you can do repeatedly. If you want to soften playdough in a microwave, you’ll want to select a microwave-safe bowl that isn’t too deep. This will help to prevent the playdough from bubbling over and creating a huge mess. A shallow bowl is recommended for softening playdough in a microwave.
Vegetable oil
If you want to soften your playdough without using a microwave, vegetable oil is a great alternative. Vegetable oil works well for softening playdough because it’s a great penetrant. What does that mean? Well, it means that it seeps into and softens up the playdough without damaging the playdough or the child who’s playing with it. If you’re worried about your child eating the playdough, you don’t have to be with vegetable oil! If you want to soften your playdough using vegetable oil, all you need to do is add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil to the playdough and mix it in until it’s fully incorporated. Be careful not to add too much oil or the playdough will become too soft and sticky. If your playdough is too soft, simply add more flour to your playdough until it has the right consistency again.
Cornstarch and water mixture
If you want to soften your playdough without using an additional material, cornstarch and water are great for that. Cornstarch and water are both super-soft materials, so they’re perfect for making your playdough softer without changing its consistency too much. If you want to soften your playdough using cornstarch and water, all you need to do is add a little bit of water to a bowl and then add a few scoops of cornstarch. Stir the cornstarch into the water until it’s fully dissolved. Next, add your playdough and stir it around to make sure it’s fully absorbed with cornstarch water.
Flour paste
If you want to soften your playdough using flour, you can easily make a flour paste by mixing flour and water together. You can use a few scoops of flour with a little bit of water to make this flour paste, but you may want to add a little bit more water than you normally would since playdough is a bit thicker than normal dough. If you want to soften your playdough using flour paste, all you need to do is add a little bit of water to a bowl and then add a few scoops of flour. Stir the flour into the water until it’s fully dissolved. Next, add your playdough and stir it around to make sure it’s fully absorbed with flour water.
How To Keep Your Playdough From Hardening?
Keep it soft with shortening
You can use shortening to keep your dough soft. If your dough is too dry, then it will start to harden up. If you notice that your dough is getting crumbly and hard to work with, then you can try adding some shortening to it to help it stay soft. You can also add a little bit of water to your dough, but this can make it sticky. Shortening will keep your dough soft while also keeping it from being sticky. It’s a good idea to use shortening if you plan on using your dough to make homemade playdough crayons. If you plan on eating your playdough, then you will want to avoid adding shortening to it, as shortening is not edible.
Keep it soft with oil
Olive oil is another way to keep your playdough from hardening. If your dough is too dry, then it will start to harden up. If you notice that your dough is getting crumbly and hard to work with, then you can try adding some olive oil to it to help it stay soft. You can also add a little bit of water to your dough, but this can make it sticky. Olive oil will keep your dough soft while also keeping it from being sticky. It’s a good idea to use olive oil if you plan on using your dough to make homemade playdough crayons. If you plan on eating your playdough, then you will want to avoid adding olive oil to it, as olive oil is not edible.
Don’t store your playdough in a plastic
If you store your playdough in a plastic bag or container, then it will likely get too dry and harden. It’s best to store your playdough in an airtight container that’s at room temperature. If you notice that your playdough has gotten too dry and hard, then try adding a little bit of water to it to help it get softer again. It’s also a good idea to store your playdough away from direct sunlight so that it doesn’t dry out even more.
Change up your recipe a little
When you’ve made play dough a few times and you’ve gotten the recipe just right, it might be a good idea to keep changing up the recipe a little bit. This will help keep your playdough from getting too dry and hard. If you notice that your playdough has gotten too dry and hard, then try adding a little bit of water to it to help it get softer again. It’s also a good idea to store your playdough away from direct sunlight so that it doesn’t dry out even more.
How To Make Hardened Playdough Soft Again?
Let It Soak In Water
This is perhaps the easiest and the most straightforward way how to make hardened playdough softer again. All you have to do is put the playdough in a bowl of water and let it sit there for a couple of hours. You can then take it out and see that the dough is now soft again and usable again. While this is a very straightforward way of making hardened playdough softer again, you have to keep in mind that you are letting a piece of dough soak in water. So you have to make sure that the bowl is clean and that the water is also clean. This way you can ensure that there are no bacteria or anything else harmful in the water.
Use Oil
Yes, oil! This is another straightforward way how to make hardened playdough softer again. All you need to do is rub a couple of drops of cooking oil all over the playdough. You can then take the playdough out of its container and knead it with your hands. This will help the oil get incorporated into the dough and make it soft again. The only thing that you will have to keep in mind here is that the oil that you use should not be the same as the one that is already present in the dough. If that were to happen, it would just mix with the existing oil and the end result would be a dough that has the same consistency and would not soften. So make sure that you use a different kind of oil. Also, make sure that you do not add too much oil, or else it would start to smell and would not be good for us.
Tips To Make Playdough Stay Soft
Tips to Make Playdough Stay Soft
- If you want your play dough to stay soft, you can try adding a bit more oil to the recipe. Adding additional oil will help to keep the play dough from drying out and making it too hard.
- You can also add food coloring to the play dough to make it extra fun.
- The food coloring will help to keep the play dough from drying out.
- If your play dough is still too hard, you can try adding a bit more water to the recipe.
Conclusion
Finally, making playdough at home can be a rewarding experience for children and parents alike. It’s simple and relatively cheap to make, and it’s a creative activity that encourages creativity in kids. Homemade playdough is also safer than store-bought varieties as it doesn’t contain any artificial dyes or preservatives. No matter how you make it, playdough is a fun way to spend time with your kids.
