Plastic has long had its calling among most housewives. Dishes, toys, basins and other accessories made of plastic are distinguished not only by their practicality, but also by their fairly low cost. But there is still one problem with plastic things, and this is the adhesive trace from a sticker, price tag or label. When water and a sponge do not help, it seems that this mark will remain forever, and the thing will remain hopelessly damaged.
Fortunately, it is still possible to solve the problem of the glue stain, but how? We present to you the top 12 ways to remove glue from stickers from plastic.
Necessary Preface
There are several conditions that, if met, will allow you to quickly and effectively remove glue stains.
- Don't delay cleaning. If you remove a sticker that leaves a sticky mark, remove it immediately. Otherwise, the remaining glue will attract dirt, dust, and hairs, and if the sticker was on an enamel pan, then after the first use the fire will “impress” the dirt into the base, and it will be much more difficult to wash the sticker off such dishes.
- Meanwhile, moderate heat is a good assistant in cleaning. You can use a hair dryer. The softened adhesive trace can be easily wiped off with a napkin.
- When choosing a chemical, first check its effect on an inconspicuous area, and only then treat the entire desired surface.
Construction hair dryer
How to remove a sticker from a car window if previous methods did not give the desired result?
Use high temperature, namely, try to wash off the label after using a hair dryer.
How to peel off a sticker without leaving marks:
- Wipe off the label after washing the car. Make sure the sticker and surrounding area are free of dirt.
- Connect the hair dryer, turn on the warm air flow, direct it to the desired area at an angle of 45 degrees. Keep it 2–5 cm away from the sticker. Do not bring the hair dryer too close to the label and paint of the car.
- Warm up for a few minutes. Heat the edges of the sticker last.
- After heating, you can easily remove the sticker from the car. If possible, do it by hand. If not, use a plastic card at an angle to gently rub the sticker off the metal or glass.
- Repeat steps 2–4 several times if you were unable to remove the stickers from the car the first time because they are too large.
- Continue repeating the steps until the peeling part is completely removed
- After this, take tea tree oil, drop a few drops on a damp cloth, and wipe the glass.
If you don’t have a hair dryer to remove the label, use a regular hair dryer to dry your hair. Another alternative is to use an iron.
Of course, the iron sole cannot be applied to plastic or glass. It is necessary to direct a stream of steam from the iron onto the sticker from the machine.
It is also recommended to use a heat gun instead of a hair dryer.
Available means
It is not economical to purchase expensive special products, because you don’t often have to deal with difficult-to-remove sticker stains. Try to make do with the funds that are always at hand.
Mechanical cleaning
If the stain is fresh, rub it off with your hands. The adhesive layer rolls off, shake it off. After this, wash off the residue with soapy water.
Melamine sponge
We enhance the effect with a melamine eraser sponge. The accessory is used to clean surfaces from stains of various origins. It will help in our case too.
We wet the contaminated area with water and apply the sponge to the stain until it disappears completely.
Eraser
We remove minor adhesive contamination with a school eraser.
- Moisten the desired area with water.
- We remove what we can with a coarse cloth.
- Leave to dry for a few minutes.
- Remove dirt with an eraser.
You may need to repeat the procedure.
Vegetable oil
A very effective remedy. You need flaxseed, olive or peeled sunflower. Apply the oil to the adhesive mark or difficult to remove sticker. After 2-3 minutes, when the paper and glue are saturated, remove them using a fingernail, knife or an unnecessary plastic card. Then we rinse this area with hot water.
Mayonnaise
In this product, vegetable oil takes up up to 70 percent. So mayonnaise is quite suitable for removing glue. We proceed in a similar way.
Liquids containing alcohol
You can use any alcohol, deodorant, cologne. The higher the percentage of alcohol in the liquid, the more effective the cleaning will be. We proceed like this:
- soak a napkin in alcohol and wring it out;
- wipe off the remaining sticker;
- wash it off.
We act carefully, having first checked whether the alcohol will harm the surface being treated.
Scotch
Sometimes the method known as “knocking out a wedge with a wedge” helps. It will work if the sticker stain is fresh. We glue a piece of tape onto it, and then quickly tear it off. Together with the adhesive tape, the remaining remaining sticker and glue from it will be removed. We do this several times.
Vinegar
You will need table vinegar, not essence. The liquid is not aggressive, so we use it on any surface. Vinegar will remove even old, dried traces of glue.
After applying the substance to the contaminated area, wait 5 minutes, allowing the paper and glue to soften, and then remove the softened mass with a non-sharp knife. To completely remove the stain, wipe with a sponge dipped in soapy water.
Petrol
Refined gasoline, kerosene, and lighter fluid can also easily remove adhesive films.
- We saturate the napkin with the flammable mixture.
- We wipe away the glue trace.
- After 2-3 minutes, apply the same cloth to the stain again until it disappears.
- Wash with soapy water.
Attention
Do not use flammable mixtures on lightweight plastic. If you are deciding how to remove stickers from furniture painted with alkyd paint, be careful too. Gasoline and similar liquids have solvent properties.
Household hair dryer
We use it to remove adhesive traces from different surfaces - both metal and fabric.
- Warm up the stain with a hairdryer.
- Remove the softened mass.
- Apply a thin layer of sunflower oil.
- After 5-7 minutes, wipe with a napkin.
- Wash off with soapy water.
It is better not to use a powerful hair dryer or turn it on at minimum heat.
Acetone
We use the substance in conjunction with a hair dryer. First, heat the adhesive label with a hairdryer, remove the softened substance with a thin object, and then wipe off the remaining sticky trace with a napkin soaked in acetone. The solvent can be replaced with nail polish remover.
Wet wipes
This method will help with minor contamination. You can rub a stubborn stain until it disappears, but you will have to spend a lot of time and effort.
Dish gel
Use to remove glue on fabric.
- Wet the contaminated area with water and apply the gel.
- After 2-3 minutes, wipe with a napkin.
- We wash the item completely; if it is furniture upholstery, we wipe it with a damp cloth.
Steam
Thermal exposure is suitable for materials that are not afraid of high temperatures.
- Heat the kettle on the stove until it boils.
- We bring the surface that needs cleaning to the steam spout.
- After a couple of minutes, remove the sticker fragments along with the glue.
- Wash the affected area with soapy water.
Lemon
The acid contained in the fruit will soften the glue.
- Wipe the stain with a piece of lemon and wait 2-3 minutes.
- Scrape off the softened mass.
- Wash off the residue with hot water.
We can achieve the desired effect with a solution of citric acid powder. We soak a napkin in it and wipe off the dirt.
Important
When choosing how to remove a sticker, we take into account the material with which you will have to work and the specifics of the objects themselves. Before washing off stains, disconnect electrical appliances from the network. We do not abuse liquids.
Mechanical method
Suitable for easy to remove labels. Even if the label was removed without problems, it still leaves a small trace of adhesive. Remaining adhesive can be removed mechanically. You need to rub the remaining glue in one direction, gradually rolling it into a ball. It is not recommended to remove the label with your nails, as they can easily be broken. It is better to use a spatula or pocket knife. Remaining glue cannot be washed in different directions, as the glue will be smeared on the surface.
Steam treatment
Hot steam will perfectly remove glue and stickers from any moisture-resistant surfaces. If you need to clean pieces of furniture, go over them with a steamer or get used to using a steam generator. If you do not have such appliances in your home, use another suitable cleaning method described in the article.
If the item to be cleaned is small, then just hold it over boiling water:
- Place the kettle on the fire and heat to a boil. Let the steam escape through the spout.
- Bring the item to the steam with the area that needs to be cleaned of glue.
- Hold for 2-3 minutes.
- The glue will soften and the sticker will be easy to wipe off with a knife or even a fingernail.
- Wash off remaining glue with soapy water or acetone.
How to remove stickers from furniture
It's not just price tags that have to be removed from furniture. Children often place colorful stickers, which over time deteriorate, fade and spoil the impression of the room. After removing the top paper part, the bottom layer remains on the glue. You need to get rid of it immediately, because very soon it will become covered in dust. What to do?
Hairdryer
Using a heated device, soften the glue and, prying it with a sharp object, remove it entirely from the surface. You should not heat the dryer too much if you are working with polishing or varnishing. After the procedure, wash the surface with soapy water and wipe dry.
Scotch
We take not ordinary, but construction tape, the adhesive base of which holds firmly and can attract other substances. We paste two layers of tape on the mark of the sticker, larger in size than the sticker was. We tear it off sharply. Ideally, the tape will tightly attract adhesive contamination.
Vegetable oil
Suitable for varnished surfaces, from which it will carefully remove stains. All that remains is to wash the treated area with soapy water. You may have to repeat the procedure twice. Do not use on natural wood!
Nail polish remover
The impact on the varnished surface should be short-lived. We soak a napkin with liquid and press it onto the remaining sticker. We wipe the stain almost immediately. It must disappear. We wash off traces of the product, wait for the surface to dry, and rub it until it shines.
Special product for removing stickers
Usually it's a spray. The product is sprayed onto the stain and after a short time the sticker is washed off along with the base. The surface will not be damaged.
Water or vinegar
The sticker can be easily wiped off with hot water.
How to remove stickers or tape marks:
- Pour boiling liquid into a container.
- Add some dish detergent.
- Shake the liquid until the soap dissolves well.
- Bring hot water to the plastic and pour onto the label.
This method is good for washing any stickers from the plastic part of the car. It is better not to use boiling water if you need to remove glue or a sticker from glass. It may crack.
You can replace water with vinegar. Its action is similar. The acid contained in it dissolves the adhesive base, and the label can be easily wiped off.
How to clean? Advice from an experienced housewife: mix vinegar with water in a 3:1 ratio. I applied the resulting product to the sticker. I waited 25 minutes and wiped it off without much effort using a spatula. Wash everything off with plain water.
As a result, not a trace of the previously glued sticker will remain on the surface to be cleaned.
How to remove stickers from dishes
Sellers generously supply cutlery, plates, glasses made of porcelain, glass ceramics, and ceramics with stickers. What are we doing?
- Heat with a hairdryer or boiling water, then wash with a hard sponge.
- We saturate the sticker with oil and remove it with a non-sharp object.
- Take dishwashing gel, add citric acid to it, and use the resulting product to wipe off the adhesive stain.
- Prepare a concentrated solution of citric acid and water, moisten a napkin and wipe off the dirt.
- Use acetone (or acetone-based nail polish remover).
It is better to combine scrubbing with washing dishes in hot water.
Thus, it is not difficult to get rid of the remaining adhesive base of the sticker. Assess the risks when choosing a product and act.
General rules for removing glue
It is easier to deal with the remaining glue while it is “fresh”. Over time, the adhesive mass will become overgrown with dirt and dust, making it more difficult to deal with.
Often you have to use “chemistry”, which can ruin the surface. It’s better to play it safe and try the product on an inconspicuous area.
To clean fabrics, it is advisable to use liquids that do not leave greasy stains and do not affect the dye. Paintwork and plastic can be easily damaged by solvent or other similar aggressive substances.
It is necessary to use toxic substances (solvents, gasoline) with the window open. You should also be careful not to get chemicals into your eyes.
