Stop Goo Fail: Clean Stickers, Tape and Glue Off Glass

Scraping stickers or pulling tape off glass can leave a sticky residue that becomes a dirt magnet. You may think the little bit of goo left behind isn't a big deal, but you'll change your tune when it's been colonized by dust bunnies. So what's a resourceful person to do? Clean the glass with any run-of-the-mill glass cleaner and let it dry. Then search your cabinets for a few innocuous helpers: vinegar, rubbing alcohol or soap and hot water. These products act as mild solvents; any will help separate a sticky substance from glass. Just wet the adhesive with your weapon of choice, then scrub, scrub, scrub.

If the adhesive's still stubborn, bring out the big gun: acetone nail polish remover. The same stuff that strips the polish off fingernails will remove residual adhesive, but you'll still need a fair amount of elbow grease. If you're into more effortless home care, opt for plastic wrap. Just wet the sticker, label or tape (or what's left of it) with warm water, top it with plastic wrap and let it soak. Odds are, the sticker will slide off after a few hours and you can rub off any remaining glue.

When it comes to goo removal, simpler is usually better — but not always. Our next advice may sound like an old wives' tale, but the concoction's surprisingly effective. For stickers that just won't budge, try a multi-layered approach. Soak the sticker in hot water and cover it with a layer of orange oil (you can find this in the furniture polish aisle), baby oil or vegetable oil. For good measure, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest overnight.

Speaking of veggies, researchers recently discovered a promising new type of adhesive made from vegetable oil. The environmentally friendly cocktail offers a sticky alternative that can be used for everything from postage stamps to price labels. The best part, developers say, is that it can be made from inexpensive renewable sources — namely crops such as corn or soybeans. We're just hoping it will come off the glass a little easier than its predecessors.

If you're ready for a serious adhesive battle, then head to the auto store. There are plenty of commercial products, such as Fast Orange or Goo Gone, that can give you a leg up. Designed for cleaning motor oil and grease from hands, they work just as well for sticker, tape and glue residue. Why? They contain a degreasing agent. In the case of citrus cleaners like Fast Orange, the degreasing agent is usually d-Limonene. Others rely on heptanes, a powerful solvent. To be safe, both types of products should be used in small measure in a well-ventilated area.

WD-40 is a standby in many households because a shot of this lubricant can fix everything from squeaky hinges to frozen door locks. Although the product's 1950s origins were in rust prevention, we like WD-40 for its ability to cut through sticky residue on glass. Spray it on, let it sit and use a clean cloth to remove. And if you'd like to impress your friends not only with your adhesive-removing skills, but also with your trivia knowledge, try this on for size: WD-40 is short for Water Displacement, 40^th formula — the name a chemist gave it during development.

Why do these oily products work so well on sticky goo? If you hearken back to chemistry 101, you'll recall most adhesives — at least the kind we've got gumming up our glass — are oil-soluble. So it only makes sense a bit of greasy fluid will shorten their life spans. And if you need to remove adhesive from other colored glass items, such as beer bottles or bud vases, it will work just as well.

Of course, you could go an entirely different direction by using lighter fluid. Its active ingredient, naphtha, will make short work of any stickiness. For an equally serious approach, soak a cloth in denatured alcohol and apply it to the adhesive. Just be sure you have plenty of ventilation and aren't near an open flame.

With all this scrubbing and cursing of gooey residue, it only makes sense to avoid it in the first place. So are there tapes that won't leave adhesive behind on glass surfaces?

Gaffer tape, also known as cloth tape, typically leaves no residue. The product is similar in appearance to duct tape and comes in varying widths and colors. A relatively recent entry into the marketplace is no-residue duct tape. Its manufacturer claims it won't leave any residue behind, as long as you remove the tape within six months of application.

If you'd really like to go the extra mile, make your own sticker glue. You can use this homemade adhesive to make nearly any paper product into a sticker. We especially like it for scrapbooking our children's art projects (let's face it, all those finger-painting papers take a lot of adhesive to add to their portfolios).

Boil three tablespoons water, one packet of unflavored gelatin and one-half teaspoon white corn syrup. Then, make it smell nice with just a dash of extract (we like vanilla or almond). After the mixture cools slightly, brush it on paper and then stick it to the surface of your choice. Of course, you don't have to adhere it right away. Even if you brush the homemade adhesive on and let it dry, you can always remoisten it later. It will be like an envelope, with its adhesive just waiting for a little moisture to become gummy again. Best of all, you can wipe it clean off any surface with some hot water.

This homemade glue works well if you have children who don't like the concept of one-time-use stickers. If you tire of the wailing that reverberates off the rafters after stickers lose their "stick," slather some of this homemade adhesive on and watch the magic unfold. Now if only we could discover a proverbial glue that would help them bond with a new babysitter. That's something we'd never complain about.