Can You Clean Stickers Off the Wall?
The project started out easily enough. You gave your daughter a few pieces of paper, markers and holiday stickers to make a card or picture. When you left the room to answer the phone, you returned only to find the stickers covering the chairs, dining room table and walls. Don't despair. Most stickers will easily peel away. If not, try a different strategy. Does this Spark an idea?
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Scraping
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If a sticker will not come off by peeling it away from the wall, use a razor blade, removed from its razor, or a putty knife to scrape the sticker away. Hold the razor or knife at a 45-degree angle to the wall and work the flat edge underneath an edge of the sticker. Push the blade gently, using short strokes, further and further under the sticker until it is all removed. Be careful to keep the blade at an angle or you may damage your wall. If the metal makes a scuff mark on the wall, try a pink eraser -- such as the kind you find at school -- to erase away the mark. This method effectively lifts up both the sticker and the adhesive, as long as it's done soon after the stickers are placed on the wall.
Soaking
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Use a wet sponge to soak the stickers, if you can't peel them off easily when they're dry. The sponge should be very wet, even dripping is fine, if you don't mind it. Blot the stickers well with the water and start to rub or peel them away after they are fully soaked. Let them soak up to 30 minutes, adding more water as necessary and checking for "peelability" occasionally. If the stickers won't peel, sometimes it can be more effective to use your finger to rub them off. Don't use this method if your child is expecting the stickers to remain intact. Once you remove the stickers, use a dry, clean cloth to dry the wall and rub away any remaining adhesive.
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Homemade Cleaners
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Vinegar is one of the most effective home remedies for removing adhesives. The acid in vinegar penetrates the adhesive and destabilizes it, making the stickers easy to remove. Pour a cup of white vinegar in a quart of water into a spray bottle. Spray the vinegar mixture all over the stickers and let them soak for several minutes. Use a spatula or your hand to rub or scrape the stickers away. This method is particularly effective for stickers that have been on a wall for a long time.
Commercial Products
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Commercial goo-removing cleaners and lubricants effectively take stickers off walls. Goo-removing cleaners work by dissolving the adhesive and lubricants saturate the sticker causing it to slide off the wall. With both types of products, spay the stickers until they are very saturated. Use a paint scraper or razor to scrape the stickers off and then wash the area with warm soapy water to get rid of the chemicals. Always test products like this on a hidden corner of your wall before using because they can stain or discolor paint or other wall surfaces.
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References
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