By Bob Vila and Donna Boyle Schwartz | Updated Apr 28, 2023 3:49 PM
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These days, each and every time you buy something new, the product seems to come with a sticker on it. Usually, that sticker comes off easily enough, but the residue it leaves behind can be a real pain to remove. If you’re tired of wasting time trying to clean bits of glue off your recent purchases—and if you don’t want to buy a bottle of Goo Gone (view on Amazon)—you can remove sticker residue using one of the following tricks. Each involves a common household staple you probably already have in your kitchen, and all are bound to be more effective than your fingernail alone.
Reach for the cooking oil next time you want to remove sticker residue.
A degree of caution is necessary with this method, because many oils can stain absorbent materials. Concerned? Test a drop of your chosen oil on an inconspicuous part of the object. Proceed only if the oil leaves no trace.
Rubbing alcohol is another option for removing sticker residue. (In a pinch, you could even use vodka!) The process is no different from the one you’d follow if you were using cooking oil.
A mild acid like vinegar works well to remove sticker residue.
Some gurus of gunk attest that, above all other methods, mayonnaise ranks as the ultimate way to remove sticker residue. Given that mayonnaise combines two of the ingredients mentioned elsewhere in this discussion (oil and vinegar), it doesn’t seem so far fetched that mayonnaise would prove effective. Its use, however, should be limited to nonporous surfaces like glass or plastic, as it’s liable to stain materials that are absorbent.
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