Non-Toxic Adhesive Removal

Intro: Non-Toxic Adhesive Removal

Does anyone else know the pure frustration that comes when you want to reuse a jar (or container of some sort) but when you peel off the label you can't get the sticky adhesive off underneath? This drives me insane!

I recently came across some spice jars with labels on the glass and the plastic lids. I figured I would just soak them for a long time and all the labels and sticky adhesive would come right off. Wrong! This was not the case at all, and after scrubbing for an extraordinarily long time, I knew it was a lost cause to continue with the soaking method.

My husband suggested using xylene, but since I was going to be using these specific jars for food I didn't want to use something so toxic, especially on plastic lids that could absorb the odor or chemical. (I also know xylene isn't food safe, so I threw that option out the window.) ;)

I started researching how to remove stubborn adhesive and found a million different suggestions/solutions from milk to rubbing alcohol to canola oil. I decided to try a bunch of common kitchen ingredients to see what would work best. Keep reading to find out!

STEP 1: Put to the Test!

In my attempt to remove adhesive in a non-toxic manner I tried: Jif peanut butter, rubbing alcohol, vinegar, olive oil, coconut oil, and natural peanut butter.

I left all of the lids to sit for about 15 minutes (because that's what I read to do!) and tried to scrape some of the adhesive off. NONE of these methods worked....well, not at first!

I got frustrated that they didn't work because I really love the jars and lids and wanted to be able to use them! Anyway, I got busy with daily life and forgot about the lids entirely. The next morning I remembered them and looked at them in disgust! But...to my amazement, some of the methods worked, and worked REALLY well!!

STEP 2: Rubbing Alcohol & Vinegar

Neither rubbing alcohol nor vinegar worked at all. They actually made things worse by drying the adhesive onto the lids. Don't bother wasting your time with these!

STEP 3: Peanut Butter

Jif peanut butter and natural peanut butter worked well. If you have a sticky situation any peanut butter will work to dissolve adhesive and since most people have peanut butter in their kitchen pantry it's a good option. (it's not the best option though!)

I was able to easily scrape the adhesive off with my fingernail and wash the lid clean with soap and water.

STEP 4: Olive Oil

Olive oil worked okay. I had to scrape for quite a while to get the adhesive off but in the end the lid came clean and will work if olive oil is all you have in your kitchen.

STEP 5: Coconut Oil - WINNER!

Coconut oil was the clear winner for removing sticky adhesive. As you can see in the photo the coconut oil not only dissolved the adhesive but allowed the leftover label to come off in a chunk instead of having to scrape over and over.

STEP 6: Saving the Fails

I saved the failed attempts (rubbing alcohol and vinegar) by rubbing coconut oil on the lids and letting them sit overnight. They came clean like a dream!

Comments

[SeanS9]

A pleasure to read a blog with actual content and no filler garbage. The coconut oil worked like a charm, thank you.

[everyman]

one of the most useful, well-written, well-formatted articles i've ever read on the www
i never leave comments on any website but this outsanding so i went through the sign up process to leave feedback thanks you're awesome

[elenalichman85a]

Has anyone used any of these methods to remove floor glue?

[herby325]

A stamp collecting friend of mine is using "Pure Citrus Orange Air
Freshener" (from Home Depot) to remove stamps from envelopes. I have
used this spray on all sorts of label adhesives and it works like charm,
better than Goo-Gone. Spray it on, let sit for a couple of minutes, and
peel it off. I tried it on all sorts of adhesive labels and it works
like magic. Try it. The main ingredient is oil from oranges. Totally
natural.

[HlyZ1]

I’m wondering how your friend gets the oil out of the stamps afterwards?

[herby325]

He applies the spray to the back of the envelope so the stamp itself has very little residue, if any. You need very little spray, don't soak it. Try it.

[instructor12345]

Pull the label off and use a eraser to take off the goo left behind. Done

[grannyjones]

Butter works quite well. I know this because we had a cat that pulled down a fly paper strip, which tangled with his coat and was pulling out clumps of fur. I rubbed butter into the mess, which neutralized the adhesive. We toweled him off, leaving only a little butter, which he was content to remove himself.

[mario59]

WD-40 works for me in zillion of cases...after one can soap & rinse well..

[GADiltz]

The coconut oil works pretty well on medical tape adhesive. I recently had surgery and had to change the bandage often, the tape build up and build up and build up the thing that worked best though was good ol fashioned Crisco. Coconut oil made it very sticky and messy Crisco seem to dissolve it better easier to move when all was said and done kind of like you're moving pitch and tar and your skin.

[tzny]

Thank you for sharing. I've had great success with food-grade mineral oil - it removes adhesive residue like a charm. You can also use it to maintain wooden cutting boards or utensils. IKEA has the best price for a good size bottle.

[cutshopguy]

There is a product we have available her in New Zealand, called Desolvit, which is citrus oil - the sort of stuff you get out of orange or lemon skins. Completely food safe and works really well, in minutes.

[njwins]

Desolvit is less than 20% orange oil. The rest of the stuff is 'liquid hydrocarbon' and alcohols. See the MDS

http://desolvit.com.au/MSDS%20-%20De-Solv-It%20ACW...

I'm not convinced it's food safe.

I use a product called 'Solvit' which is just orange oil and ethanol. MDS here:

https://www.lightningcleans.com.au/content/msds/So...

Much safer to my way of thinking and smells much better too. A lot of the 'orange oil' products have liquid hydrocarbons in them so you have to be careful.

[michaell_d]

Can it also remove the residue left by the Gorilla Superglue on my cars dashboard?

[wold630]

I don't know, but if you try it please let us know how it works!

[michaell_d]

Peanut Butter did help. The stain/residue is still there but now it's less noticiable.

[John Ciccarelli]

I'm hoping to do this (remove adhesive labels) from over 20 large (4'x8') sheets of plastic (Lexan, acrylic, ...) that I recently obtained. The sheets have been stored indoors for decades, so the paper+adhesive protective layer on both sides won't peel off as it would have soon after the sheets were manufactured. Does anyone have experience with any of these label remover candidates in my situation?

[FlorinJ]

I described how I use paraffin candle oil in another comment. I suppose this should work on your poly-carbonate/acrylic plates too - to my knowledge, paraffin oil does not affect those materials. Given that they are dried over a long time, however, you might have to do some rubbing/waiting before the solvent penetrates the glue layer.

[FlorinJ]

What I use: paraffin candle oil. I always have some at home.

How I do it: soak the label in water, and, once softened, scrape what comes off - the smooth, paint-covered surface of the label otherwise prevents the oil from reaching the glue. You don't have to do a very good job of removing the paper so far, you just have to end up with a porous paper surface, instead of the smooth, sealed one that the label initially had. Put a few drops of candle oil and rub it into the paper - that's why you wanted a porous surface, the oil would not easily reach the glue through the intact paper surface. The adhesive will dissolve and come off easily and completely, together with the remaining pieces of paper. Now wash with dish washing soap as you would any regular dish. The candle oil comes off like any other grease, leaving absolutely no residue behind.

[winnetui]

Additional some of my tricks to the same problem (situations and glue may varie).

Patience. Try to get a corner of the label free, fix it in a way (magnets, pegs..) and let do the weight very slowely (and there by clean) the main work (keep the place below cushioned...) Or manually, as a meditation/ force endurace training...

With the label (glueside) itself you often can dub away any residuals of glue.

When I use volatile solvents, it helps to keep a less amount of chemistry for longer time in place by covering it with alumnium foil (alcohols, volatile oils, naphta and similar).