Does Thermal Paste Stain Clothes?

While applying the thermal paste on your computer components, it’s easy to lose focus and end up spreading it on things where it doesn’t belong. For instance, people often end up with thermal paste on their clothes.

As you’re reading this post, we know you’ve also found yourself in a similar situation.

Now, what do you do to get rid of the paste on your clothes? Will washing it with water and detergent work? Will you need any other solvent?

Let’s find out.

What happens if I have thermal paste stained on my clothes? Will it be harmful?

Well, simply put, nothing really happens.

Thermal paste isn’t harmful to the touch. So, even if it ends up on your clothes, there won’t be any risk to you.

However, if you have kids in your house, keep the stained clothes away from them. You want to make sure they don’t end up licking or consuming the paste, even though it’s not toxic. (Learn more about Is Thermal Paste Toxic?)

In any case, you should clean off the thermal paste from the clothes as soon as possible. That’s because the longer the paste stays on the clothes, the harder it gets, which makes it difficult to remove as time passes by.

Is thermal paste washable?

It depends on the thermal paste.

Some pastes can be dissolved into water, which makes them easily washable. On the other hand, some are not washable and cannot be cleaned up with water.

How do you know whether the thermal paste you have on your clothes is washable? Well, go ahead and try to wash it — there’s no better way to go about the situation. And if water doesn’t help, there are no side effects of trying this out.

How to clean thermal paste off clothes?

As said earlier, some thermal pastes are indeed washable and can be cleaned up with water.

So, the first thing you need to do is to try and wash the stain with water. Soak the cloth in water and give it a good rub. Use a brush to try and rub off the stain.

Use the detergent of your choice to try and remove the stain.

If this doesn’t work, it means the paste isn’t soluble in water, and you will need to find another solvent for the job.

The best materials for the job are isopropyl alcohol, which is also known as cleaning alcohol in general terms.

You can find rubbing alcohol at your local medical store or utility store. However, you may find that dried pastes are difficult to clean using alcohol. An alternative solution is to use dedicated thermal paste cleaning wipes, such as Kooling Monster KLEAN-01. The wipe contains a special formulation that allows you to clean dried thermal paste much more easily.

How to avoid your clothes being stained with thermal paste?

Of course, the best way to deal with the situation is to never get thermal paste on your clothes in the first place.

But how do you do that? Here are a few things you can do.

1. When cleaning or applying the thermal paste on your computer components, make sure you’re working on a comfortable work desk.

2. If you’re wearing hanging pieces of clothing, like a tie or a loose shirt, take them off.

3. If you’re afraid you’re going to end up with paste on your clothes even now, you can wear a protective robe, or if you don’t have one, you can just put a wasteable cloth in your lap.

4. Wear protective gloves while dealing with thermal paste. Not only does it make it easy to handle the paste, but it also makes you mentally ready to apply/remove the paste with your hands. Kooling Monster KLEAN-01 Thermal Paste Cleaner comes with a pair of protective gloves, which will bring you perfect protection.

5. Last but not least, make sure you have clean water and rubbing alcohol by your side when you attempt to work with thermal paste. If  you get the paste on your clothes, you should attempt to remove it on the spot.

The bottom line

While it might sound intimidating to have thermal paste over your clothes, thinking you’ll never be able to remove it, that’s actually not the case.

With the right pieces of equipment and knowledge by your side, you can remove the paste easily.

First, try to remove it with water and detergent. If it doesn’t work,, you can use rubbing alcohol.

But remember that rubbing alcohol can wear off the coloring of silk clothes. So, if you’re dealing with silk, avoid using alcohol and use a dedicated thermal paste cleaning solution, like Kooling Monster KLEAN-01.