apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

great tip, thanks!

yay thank youuuu

I've also had good luck with using an iron, set to steam, about an inch above said sticker/label. Hold for 20 seconds, and voila! Peels right off.

What have you done to that hairdryer?

Thanks for this tip! Any ideas on how to remove the adhesive left over when you remove a label from a food can? Thanks in advance?

I prefer Goo B Gone for removing stickers..quicker and easier. But you can also use a hairdryer to deal with water rings on your sealed furniture and it works great!
http://modernhaus.blogspot.com/2010/02/literary-leanings-or-how-to-pick-book.html

Using a hairdryer also works for removing stickers from your car. Bumper stickers, parking stickers, whatever you've got.

So I just moved into a new apartment and on one of the windows someone had stuck some sort of masking tape. It was really stuck to the window and I was afraid to peel it off and leave massive adhesive spots behind. Just took the hairdryer to it and the tape came off in full. Thanks for the tip & for no more tape filled views!

A hairdryer also works great for removing old contact paper, then use orange oil to remove any remaining adhesive.

Another tip, if you can access the back side of what the sticker is stuck to (such as the thin plastic cover in the photos), you can apply constant heat as you slowly peel. I've always loved this trick.

The peanut butter method works for me - put peanut butter all over the goo and let it sit (I usually do overnight for tough adhesive) and wipe off. Totally non-toxic. Goo-gone is icky and it will strip your nail polish!

Mayonaise also works well-- I know, gross!-- but really, if you smear a little mayo on the sticker (although i usually resort to this after I've already tried to remove the sticker and it leaves behind that mess of adhesive and sticker-backing), let sit for a while, and wipe off.

This only works with real mayo, mind you. Not the imitation stuff.

I tried this on one of those pesky used book stickers and all I got was a sticky (though now sticker-free) book. Advice?

Finally a solution without hot water, soap and scrubbing. Thank you! :)

I second the peanut butter idea...Trader Joe's recently changed the adhesives on their salt/pepper grinders, and while I can make do with the plastic, the labeling just isn't so pretty...and peanut butter overnight really did the trick! Brilliant.

A mixture of fabric softer and water will help remove stickers and wallpaper. Just have to soak it nice and good.

Glad to know I'm not the only one with a gnarly looking blow dryer.

the main reason why the peanut butter and mayo work is the oils... any oil will get the residue off but the thickness of the peanut butter and mayo reduce any run off.

I've had great success with letting a wet sponge sit on the label for 10-20 minutes. Label usually peels right off. And no peanut butter to clean up!

I agree that the first line of attack should be a little soak in water (preferably hot water). I bought about 40 pieces of china on super sale, but each piece had multiple stickers and giant pieces of tape on it, identifying the clearance price. I spent DAYS trying to peel them off by hand, then soaking them with Goo Gone, then trying to scrub the Goo Gone into action. After all that effort and frustration, I decided to soak them in a sink filled with hot water and dish soap. I almost cried when I found that everything came right off. I wanted to kick myself for not trying the water first.