Elmer’s Glue has been renowned for providing high-quality glue for adults and children. Elmer’s Products developed their Elmer’s Glue-All and Elmer’s School Glue.
Both types of glue are very similar. You might even find them side by side on the shelf when you next visit your local craft or hardware store.
But you might be wondering if you can use Elmer’s Glue-All in place of Elmer’s School Glue and vice versa? And what’s the difference between the two?
You also might be wondering what material is used to make Elmer’s glue? And is it safe to use?
In this article, you’ll learn all about the ingredients that make up Elmer’s glue.
What is Elmer’s School Glue made of?
When Borden Company manufactured Elmer’s Glue-All in 1947, it contained casein. You can find this ingredient in dairy milk. It was only later that Elmer’s Glue would use synthetic ingredients.
Both Elmer’s Glue-All and Elmer’s School Glue are made from the same ingredients, but there is a difference in each of their formulas. The glue includes propylene glycol, Polyvinyl alcohol, and Polyvinyl acetate ingredients.
Like many types of white glue, Elmer’s Glue can include several additives such as biocide preservatives, antifreeze solvents, tackifiers, and plasticizers. Elmer’s Glue-All is considered unstable for prolonged use because it contains many additives.
Today Elmer’s Glue-All is a liquid mixture packaged in a white squeezable bottle with an orange twist gap lid. For Elmer’s School Glue, the bottle comes with a green twist gap lid.
What’s the difference between Elmer’s School Glue and Glue-All?
So what is the difference between Elmer’s Glue-All and Elmer’s School Glue? Well, both types of glue are made from the same ingredients. There is a difference in the quantities and, the ingredients will have slightly different properties.
Usually, Elmer’s School Glue is more affordable than the Glue-All. The price difference could mean that Elmer’s School Glue is cheaper to manufacture.
If you’re a person who likes to craft or if you have kids who enjoy being crafty, then you might prefer to use Elmer’s School Glue. The school glue is easier to manage and wash out of clothing.
Children have a habit of getting glue in the strangest of places, among other things. So when Elmer’s School Glue is easy to wash out is a significant advantage.
You will be able to get the glue off your clothes with enough washes. But you can clean even stubborn bits of glue stuck to clothing easily with some water and soap.
There is a drawback to using both these types of glue. If you use them to make slime, the slime could have different properties. In most cases, when Elmer’s Glue-All is used, the slime is of better quality.
But everyone is different, and it will come down to your personal preference. Just make sure that you don’t let your kids loose with glue. It might get stuck in their hair, and then you’ll need more than soap and water to get it out.
For any DIY projects, Elmer’s GLue-All and Elmer’s School Glue would be ideal choices. Both of these types of glue can bond to any permeable service. In particular, Elmer’s Glue-All is an excellent choice for woodworking, even with tricky jobs such as gluing two ends together or gluing cracks.
Some other brands of glue might act faster than Elmer’s Glue, but it is still a strong adhesive for DIY projects, especially when you use clamping. With woodworking, specifically, Elmer’s Glue-All is recommended for your projects.
Elmer’s School Glue specialty would be track ballast on model railroads if glue could have a specialty. Using Elmer’s School Glue will make your work more manageable if you ever need to take the track back up. If you used Elmer’s Glue-All, there might still be a struggle but not as much of a battle.
Typically, when mixing glue for the ballast, the ratio is four parts water and one part glue. The ratio can even be six parts water and one part glue in other cases.
When you need to take the track back up, simply wet the ballast with some water and let it soak. Then you can add more water until it softens up to take the track up easily.
You should use Elmer’s Glue-All with model building or anything else where you need to glue pieces together.
What is Elmer’s Clear Glue made of?
Elmer’s Products also include Elmer’s Clear School Glue in their product range. Like its counterpart, Elmer’s School Glue is made from the same ingredients as Elmer’s Glue-All but in different quantities and slightly different properties.
Elmer’s Clear School Glue, just like Elmer’s School Glue, is safe and easy for children to use. Children can safely use Elmer’s Clear School Glue to make different kinds of slime.
Is Elmer’s Glue toxic?
Typically, the types of glues used in homes, including Elmer’s Glue-All and Elmer’s School Glue, are not considered toxic or poisonous. But this doesn’t mean that glue poisoning in your home can’t happen.
Glue poisoning can happen if you purposely inhale the fumes from the glue to get high. Believe it or not, some people do this. You should be careful with industrial-strength glue because it’s considered the most dangerous.
Is Elmer’s Glue natural or synthetic?
Elmer’s Glue-All and Elmer’s School Glue are synthetic types of glue because of the artificial materials and additives used in the mixture. But in 2013, Elmer’s Products launched Elmer’s School Glue Naturals.
This new school glue would be their first natural glue in their range. The adhesive is also sold in recycled packaging.
Is Elmer’s Glue made from horses?
No, Elmer’s Glue is not made from horses or any horse parts. The glue is made from artificial materials and additives. Most of their glue formulas will contain polymers.
In the past, glue was made from collagen from animal parts, specifically horse bones and hooves. During the 1700s, the very first animal or hoof glue industry opened.
This industry became very popular during the 18th-century. At the time, ranchers would send off their old horses to glue factories. The popular industry led to the popular term “horse glues.”
From 1932, plant-based and synthetic glues started entering the commercial market. These non-animal-based glues led to fewer animals being sent to factories to get the collagen needed for the glue.
Is Elmer’s Glue made from cows?
No, Elmer’s Products are not made from animals or animal parts. The earliest version of Elmer’s Glue was named Casecorez Glue which contained casein. The casein is a byproduct of cow’s milk.
Many people might get the misconception that Elmer’s Glue is made from cows because of the Elmer the Bull logo on the bottle. Elmer the Bull became Elmer’s Glue logo of Borden’s Company’s logo for their dairy products, Elsie the Cow.
Elsie, the Cow, was designed to be the logo for Borden Company’s dairy products. Elsie was meant to help the public trust their pasteurized milk, even though it was more expensive.
Is there a natural alternative to Elmer’s School Glue?
If you don’t like the idea of you or any children using synthetic glue for your projects, there are some natural glues that you can use. In 2013, Elmer’s Product launched its first and only natural glue, Elmer’s School Glue Naturals.
There are also natural substances, aside from corn starch, which can glue your projects. These include wheat starch, potato starch, and pea starch.
Corn Starch is also known as maize starch glue. It has been primarily used in North and South America to make corrugated and paper products. It has also been used to thicken soups and sauces.
Companies and manufacturers have used wheat starch in the manufacturing and processing of food. In Australia and Northern Europe, wheat starch is used in the industrial manufacturing process.
Commonly, potato starch is primarily found in Europe. Finding potato starch would depend on how easily it’s produced overseas.
Pea starch is one of the more recent discoveries for starch glues. Pea starch is recommended for projects that involve using heavy cardboard and producing micro and nano-flu for corrugate manufacturing.
In general, starch glues can be an endless source of renewable super glue. But you should think about what your project needs when deciding between using starch glue or even dextrin.
