How to Take Stickers Off a Refrigerator

Cleaning is required to remove stickers from refrigerators.

Kids often find stickers intriguing, so they tend to adhere the sticky decals on household surfaces such as refrigerators. Although stickers enhance paper, they detract from a refrigerator's appearance. Stickers contain adhesive coatings that bond to refrigerators, and this bond increases over time. The longer stickers stay on a refrigerator, the greater of a challenge they become to remove. Promptly remove stickers from refrigerators to save time and energy. Fortunately, basic household supplies take stickers off refrigerators.

Things You'll Need

• Hair dryer
• 2 rags
• Dish soap

Instructions

1. Wedge your fingernail underneath the edge of the sticker and try to slowly peel it off the refrigerator.

2. Blow hot air onto the sticker for 45-seconds using a hair dryer if you could not peel it off. Use the hairdryer's hottest setting and hold the machine 6 inches from the refrigerator.

3. Wedge your fingernail underneath the edge of the loosened sticker and pull the sticker back until it peels completely off the refrigerator.

4. Inspect the refrigerator for sticky residue. If the sticker left adhesive gunk behind, wet a rag with water and a drop of dish soap.

5. Wipe the sticky residue with the soapy rag, completely cleaning the adhesive off the refrigerator.

6. Dampen another rag with water, wiping down the refrigerator to rinse off the dish soap.

Tips & Warnings

• Wipe very stubborn sticky residue off the refrigerator using undiluted vinegar.

References

• Apartment Therapy; How to Remove Unwanted Stickers Using a Hairdryer; Molly Anderson; February 2010
• University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service; Removing Stickers and Labels; Linda R. Adler