Stickers are colorful, useful in their own right and a favorite among children. Unfortunately, an overzealous child can use waterproof stickers to decorate all sorts of surfaces, such as the walls in your home. I’m sure you’re aware that stickers can be more than a little difficult to remove and they often leave behind a sticky residue that stays there for weeks. Thankfully, there are several inexpensive household items that can easily remove the stickers and their sticky residue.
Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is often used as an antiseptic, but has a wide array of uses, including removing stickers from walls. Dip a cloth in rubbing alcohol and lightly scrub the sticker in a circular motion. Continue in this manner until the rubbing alcohol has saturated the sticker. Use the blunt side of a butter knife to carefully scrap the sticker off the surface.
Water-Displacing Spray
Generally used to provide lubrication and prevent corrosion, water-displacing spray is a versatile product that helps stops squeaks and can get those stickers off your wall. Simply dampen a cloth with the spray and rub the sticker until it is thoroughly saturated with the liquid. Let sit for about 10 minutes before scrubbing the sticker off the surface with paper towels.
Olive Oil
You may have this useful ingredient on hand in your kitchen right at this moment. Which means you don’t have to make a trip to the store to remove those stickers. Just add several drops of olive oil to a clean cloth and rub the sticker until saturated. Wait for several minutes, to give the oil enough time to soak into the sticker, before scrubbing the sticker off the surface with a clean cloth.
Acetone
Acetone is a common ingredient in nail polish removers and can work wonders to dissolve the adhesive that is binding the sticker to the wall. To use acetone, dip the corner of a rag into the liquid and gently rub the sticker until it is thoroughly saturated. Let the acetone penetrate into the sticker for about 5 minutes before wiping the sticker, which should be softened, with a paper towel. Wash the remaining acetone off the wall by wiping it with a clean cloth dampened in water. Acetone, however, can damage surfaces so it should be used with caution as a last ditch effort to remove stickers.