How to Get Sticky Residue - 6 Steps

Take as much of the sticker off as you can. To avoid scratching the surface, just use your fingernail or an old plastic credit card, rather than a knife.

Use an eraser to rub the little sticky bits of label off the surface. If you’re lucky, your job is now done. If there’s still a sticky residue left on the surface, it’s time to reach for the vegetable oil.

Use the sponge to dab vegetable oil onto the sticky residue. You don’t need much – just enough to lightly coat the area that’s still sticky. If you don’t have vegetable oil to hand, olive oil should work just as well. (Only use oil on non-porous surfaces, as it could stain clothing, unvarnished wood and other porous materials.)

You’ll want to leave the oil to soak in for at least half an hour, ideally more like two hours.

Use a hairdryer to warm the gluey residue. Choose a warm, not hot, setting, to avoid damaging the surface.

Fill a bowl or sink with hot water and add a dash of washing up liquid. Use the sponge to rub the sticky residue off. It should now come off easily. Don’t scrub with the abrasive side of the sponge, as you could accidentally scratch the surface you’re cleaning.

Dry the surface as much as you can using a clean tea towel or old, clean soft cloth. An old T-shirt is perfect for jobs like these.

Whether it’s a glass jar or your beloved gin goblet, you’ll want to soak it in hot soapy water for at least half an hour.

Most of the label should now slide off as the glue will have mainly dissolved. Use a sponge or washing up brush to remove the rest. If the label is still resisting, try dipping the sponge in nail varnish remover.

If any stickiness remains, soak the glass in diluted vinegar overnight. One part vinegar to three parts water should work. (If the glass is looking cloudy, use equal parts white vinegar and water to get it sparkling again.) Alternatively, dab vegetable oil onto the residue and leave it to soak.

Use neat vinegar and a microfibre cloth – or a small nail brush – to scrub the glass clean.

Run a cloth under warm water. Wring it out and press it against the sticky patch.

Dip the cloth in an acetone-based nail varnish remover. Use it to rub the sticky bits off the glass.

Clean the windows using hot, soapy water or a specialist window cleaner.

The above steps should be enough to remove the sticker. If there’s any residue left, you may need to use a blunt knife to scrap the bits off, but do take care not to scratch the window (or yourself!).

If you do need to deal with sticky residue, check the care label first. If the garment is dry clean only, don’t attempt the below. If it’s silk or wool, you might want to invest in a specialist detergent.

Gently peel off as much of the sticker as you can. Use your fingernail for this, rather than anything sharp that could tear the fabric.

Wearing rubber gloves, rub a good quality laundry detergent directly into the problem area. Alternatively, you could use a specialist adhesive stain remover, but do check the bottle to make sure that it’s suitable for the fabric.

Wash the garment in a machine or by hand. Use the 40 degrees setting, as anything hotter could actually make the problem worse.

If any sticky residue remains when the garment comes out of the wash, repeat steps four and five before letting the garment dry. If all else fails, you could try rubbing surgical spirit into the problem area, before washing it as normal. If you go down this route, do test it on an inconspicuous area first however, just in case...

Using a sponge and hot, soapy water, wash as much of the sticker residue off as you can.

Dab surgical spirit onto the residue using a clean cloth or old T-shirt. Don’t have any surgical spirit to hand? Try neat vodka.

Using the same cloth, rub the residue. It should now come off fairly easily.

Wash the area with hot, soapy water and then pat dry. Surgical spirit is flammable so you don’t want to leave any on the surface. (And throw the cloth straight in the washing machine too!)