How to Remove Stickiness After Removing Stickers

Stickers are available in a variety of sizes, shapes and designs.

You can find stickers just about anywhere you go. From labels to price tags, stickers inform you of important warning and sizing information. Unfortunately, stickers require some form of adhesive to adhere them to various surfaces. This adhesive can leave behind a sticky residue that lasts for days after you have removed the sticker. Fortunately, various common and inexpensive household items remove the stickiness from a variety of surfaces.

Things You'll Need

• Dish soap
• Cloths
• Towels
• Toothbrush
• Nail polish remover containing acetone
• Pre-wash stain treatment
• Water-displacing spray
• Small bowl
• Cotton swab

Instructions

Bottles and Jars

1. Fill a sink with hot water and add a few drops of dish soap. Submerge the bottles and jars in the hot water and let them soak for several minutes.

2. Scrub the stickiness off the surface with a plastic mesh pad. Let the bottles and jar soak for several more minutes if you meet resistance.

3. Rinse the bottles and jars with cool water and wipe dry with a towel.

Clothing

1. Place the item in your freezer for several minutes until the stickiness hardens. Carefully brush the hardened adhesive off the fabric with an old toothbrush. Continue with the remaining steps if the stickiness is still present.

2. Lay the clothing sticky side down on a towel. Dampen a clean cloth with nail polish remover that contains acetone. Blot the back of the stickiness with the cloth for several seconds.

3. Turn the clothing over and apply a pre-wash stain treatment directly to the sticker residue and let sit for 10 minutes.

4. Launder and dry the clothing as you normally would.

Hard Surfaces

1. Apply water-displacing spray on the stickiness and let sit for several minutes before wiping the goo off the surface with a damp cloth. Continue with the remaining steps if the residue remains.

2. Fill a small bowl with 1/4 cup of acetone-containing nail polish remover. Dip a cotton swab in the nail polish remover and gently scrub the sticky residue off the surface.

3. Wipe the surface clean with a cloth dampened with cool water and dry with a towel.

References

• Good Housekeeping; Removing Sticky Adhesive; Heloise; October 2002
• Self-Adhesive Labels: Removing Sticky Labels & Residue
• Good Housekeeping; Remove Sticky Name-Tag Residue From Clothing; Heloise