How to Get Rid of the Gluey Gunk Left by Sticker Reside

Have you ever thought about how many home things come with stickers on them? Or, if you’re a parent you most likely have noticed how much kids love to stick them everywhere.

From informational stickers on your home appliances to your laptop, and almost any glassware that you buy there is some kind of sticky label on them. And let’s not forget the kids, okay? Armed with stickers they’ll place them all around the home.

Removing the sticker will leave a sticky residue that is a pain in the neck to remove. In some occasions, you can even damage the surface you’re cleaning from sticker residue.

From removing adhesive residue from glass to cleaning wooden surfaces off stickers, we’ve got you covered with all the information you need. We can even clean it for you. 

How to remove sticker residue from glass

Removing sticky residue from glass surfaces is a pretty easy and simple process. All you’ll need is a laver, dish soap and hot water.

1. Leave the stickers on
   In order to make the sticker cleaning residue as fast as possible, make sure to leave the stickers on. Tearing them may help you remove them from the glass surface but in most cases, you’ll just tear it.
2. Fill a laver with hot water and dish soap
   It really doesn’t matter what you’ll fill with hot water as long as you fit your glassware in it. Use fairly hot water mixed with any dish soap available to you.
3. Leave the glassware to soak
   20 to 30 minutes should be more than enough to get through the residue and loosen it a bit.
4. Wash the glassware
   The stickers should have started to peel off by now, so all you have to do is to wash the surface. Grab a dishwashing sponge and dish soap and just wash the sticker residue off.

How to remove glue residue from wood, metal and plastic

Wood, metal and plastic surfaces can be a bit trickier to clean from sticker residue. They’re scratched and damaged a lot easier. That’s why you can’t just scrub it off from the surface.

1. Remove the sticker
   Try to get most of the sticker off. If possible, make sure not to tear it and removed it cleanly. If you have leftover sticker it will be a lot harder to clean the sticky residue.
2. Apply vegetable oil
   Vegetable oil will soak up the sticker residue and will make it easier to clean without you having to do a lot of scrubbing. Leave the vegetable oil to soak for two to three hours and wipe what’s left.
3. Do a final clean of the surface
   Use water, or generic surface cleaner to do a final clean and remove any residue that might have been leftover.

How to remove sticker residue from walls

Removing the sticker and the residue from walls can be quite tricky. Mainly because there’s a chance to peel off the paint under the sticker. Be careful with this one, otherwise, you may have to repaint the wall.

1. Remove as much of the sticker as possible manually
   Carefully try to peel off as much of the sticker as possible. The less sticker leftover is on the wall the better. Be careful not to peel any paint.
2. Use a rubber eraser to clean the sticky residue
   Just like you’re erasing pencil from paper, remove any sticky residue from the wall using the rubber eraser.
3. Wipe off the wall with a damp cloth
   Use a damp cloth and wipe the wall. Ideally, this will remove any sticky leftover from the wall.

How to remove sticker residue from a car window

Car windows are especially tricky because the stickers can “bake” in the hot summer weather, making the adhesive on the sticker especially hard to remove. There are still ways to remove them though. After all, you can’t freely use water in the interior of your car. There are all types of electronics that can go wrong if you soak them.

1. Use a damp cloth to soak the sticker
   With the help of a damp cloth soak the sticker for a couple of minutes. You can place a dry cloth underneath in order to catch any dripping water. 10 minutes should be enough to loosen the sticker adhesive.
2. Use an ice scraper to remove the sticker
   Make sure to use a thin ice scraper, because it won’t scratch the glass. Don’t use an ice scraper if you’re removing sticker residue from the exterior paint or the interior in the car. Use it only on the windows. Otherwise, you risk scratching the paint, plastic or leather in your vehicle.
3. Apply vegetable oil to soak leftover adhesive
   There’s a chance you won’t remove all of the adhesive, so you may want to apply a small amount of vegetable oil and let it sit for a minute or two. Wipe off the windows after that.

That’s pretty much it. All that is left is to remove any streaks from your window, apply wood milk to nourish your wooden furniture or wash your glassware and jars. It’s as simple as that!

How to remove sticker residue from clothes

Clothes can be a bit trickier to clean from sticker residue. Mainly because the fabric they’re made from will defy the method you’re going to use.

Don’t iron the sticker residue. It will be much harder to clean after applying heat to it. If it’s possible don’t put the garment in the drier as well.

Cleaning sticker residue from natural-fibre clothing

Nail polish remover isn’t only for your nails. Yeah, it works for removing sticker residue from clothes as well.

1. Lay the garment on a table
   Your kitchen table will do just fine. The ironing table is another option.
2. Place a towel behind the stain
   We only want to treat the stain, right? The towel will act as a barrier between the stain and the other side of the garment.
3. Make sure the glue is dry
   This won’t work if the glue hasn’t dried out.
4. Dab acetone on the sticker residue
   But first, try it out on an inconspicuous part of the garment. Dab a cotton ball on the sticker residue until you remove all of the goo.

Cleaning sticker residue from synthetic clothing

It’s much easier.

1. Place the garment in the freezer
   You’d need the glue to be extra hard in order for the method to work. Give it 20 to 30 minutes to harden the sticker residue.
2. Pick off what you can from the reside
   Try to remove as much residue as necessary. It’ll just make it easier in the next step.
3. Wet it and rub the stain
   Use warm water and dish soap. Scrub the sticker residue with a microfiber cloth.
4. Soak the garment
   Make sure you use clean and warm water and let the garment soak for half an hour.
5. Let it air dry