Ask Mrs. Clean: House Cleaning, Stain Removal and Organizing Tips

[Misty07]

Over the years, my husband and children have stuck stickers on our fridge. Now I want to clean them off, but I don't know the best way to do this. Generally they are the kind of stickers that come on fruit.

I'd like to know what the best way is to remove them.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[mrscleannw]

I have just the product for you! My son had an impressive collection of stickers that did not bother me too much until I realized they were impossible to remove.

The product is called "Goo Gone" You can find it on ebay or in the grocery store.

Works great for all those gooey, sticky, gummy, greasy cleaning problems. Removes chewing gum, grease, tar stickers, labels, tape residue, adhesives, oil, blood, lipstick and mascara, shoe polish, crayon, bumper stickers. Works on carpets, upholstery, clothing, wood, and cement.

This should do the trick for you. I've honestly not found a product that works better.

[Misty07]

Okay, thanks for the tip. I will look for Goo Gone.

[AnnaMae]

I couldn't agree more with the recommendation for Goo Gone -- it's
"da bomb!" as the kids around here say

I found it when I first started collecting vintage goodies from thrift shops and yard sales -- the sellers invariably use impossibly-sticky labels as price tags, and I feared scrubbing them off because I certainly didn't want to scratch or otherwise mar the surfaces of my precious new acquisitions.

After the Goo Gone has done it's "gone" thing, I wash off the orange-scented oily residue it leaves behind with a touch of Dawn liquid dishwashing detergent; then I give the area a clear-water wipe-off, then a little dry-buffing, and voila! -- my new bargain collectible is ready to join a collection that has cost me peanuts but looks like a million bucks .

BTW: didya know that Dawn is such an effective yet mild degreaser that veterinarians have been using it for years to remove motor-oil from pet's coats, and wildlife rescuers also use it to remove oil-spill residue from the feathers of waterfowl? (I'm a hopeless animal-lover, so that good thought makes me feel happily weepy!)

Luckily for this retired Golden Ager, both these excellent products are always available at my local Dollar Store !

[mrscleannw]

Welcome to Mrs. Clean's Forum!
Goo Gone is a great suggestion, it does work wonders.

If for some reason it does not work there is a fairly new product on the market called Motsenbocker’s Lift Off #2 and it is amazing.

This petroleum-based product not only works fast on lipstick but it also works exceptionally well on any oil-based stain such as paint, crayons, tar, candle wax, sap, chewing gum, bumper stickers, price tags, contact paper, and more. It also works on fabric, tile, tools, plastic, vinyl, etc.


Good Luck!
Mrs. Clean

[AnnaMae]

Motsenbocker's??? Sounds like an imported German beer to me <joke!>

Seriously, thanks for the heads-up on it -- if Goo-Gone ever fails me on a particularly-tough project, I'll definitely go and get me a big ole swig o'that new-fangled gook-remover that sounds delicious!

[mrscleannw]

I could not agree more.

Sometimes the product names are just as fun as that moment when you see you have actually "beat" the stain and it is gone!

[AnnaMae]

I think it was the "bock" part of the name that triggered my beer-related joke ... you know, as in "bock beer"? I myself cannot enjoy any form of alcoholic beverage -- I smell the cork and I'm under the table! I do, however, enjoy a non-alcoholic "mock bock" with pizza -- something about those two tastes together is just wonderful (and fattening, of course !)

I've tried using warmed vegetable oil to loosen sticky things, but it just didn't work as well as good ole Goo-Gone. Also, I've found that nothing works better to remove the Goo-Gone residue from washable surfaces than liquid Dawn dishwashing detergent ... to remove residue from non-washable surfaces, I use a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol and swipe it very lightly and quickly so as not to damage the surface. Lemon juice is also an excellent and more-natural/organic degreaser, I've found ... which brings me to:

wintertime in deep-desert territory here means that once again, my neighbor's lemon tree is dropping fruit she doesn't use all over the ground ... so, with her permission, of course, I've been collecting the juicier ones for my salad dressings and beverages, and chopping up and running the pieces of the less-edible ones through my garbage disposal -- the lemon rind and juice helps to deodorize the unit. Running a tray of ice cubes down the disposal occasionally helps to sharpen the blades.

I've been fighting off a winter cold with the help of Celestial Seasonings brand peppermint tea -- opens the ole sinus passages and soothes the tummy, especially when mixed with neighbor's lemons squeezed into warmed honey for flavoring and further salubrious benefits. Try this regimen next time you're feeling a tad under the weather !

AnnaMae

[mrscleannw]

Those are great tips for cleaning with lemons. I use the same method to clean my garbage disposal.

[CleanMachine]

Goo Gone is incredible, it might take a few applications, but the stuff is great. You can also add it to mop water if you have any tough gunk on the floor and it's very effective, especially if you let it sit for a while.

[FriZer]

I tried the Goo Gone item that you are telling guys. I have the same issue as Misty07. My kids is fun of putting many stickers not even in the fridge but all over our house. This Goo Gone works really perfect.

[kleeninit]

I like to use complex orange put some on a paper towel stick it to the sticker come back in half an hour and usually the sticker and paper towel are laying on the floor...I find it at my janitorial supply store.