Something a little different today as an advent calendar goody: Tips on removing price tag glue from stuff that is soon to be a gift (or stuff recently received as a gift):

When you give a gift it’s good form to remove the price labels (especially any big red stickers screaming “30% off” or “clearance”). Not all gift recipients care about that sort of thing, but no need to announce the fact that you got a good deal on something. The problem is that those pesky labels rarely peel off cleanly. Often you are left with bits of torn label or bits of glue that do their best to stick to everything else and attract the nearest speck of dirt.

The good news is that it is fairly easy to get rid of the glue left behind by labels with a little patience and a few household supplies:

Removing Price Tag/Label Glue from Porous Surfaces

This method works best for items that would stain from having oil rubbed on them (e.g. books, cloth, some plastics). It is also the cleanest and quickest method for removing label glue so I usually try this one first:

Sticky Tape Method

1. Remove the label as much as possible. Avoid tearing label as much as possible.
2. Take a length of packing tape (the clear stuff works best) and wrap it around your fingers, sticky side out (if it’s sticking to your fingers when you’re done, you’ve got the tape inside out).
3. Dab at the label glue with the sticky side of the tape–this should pull the label glue off.
4. Repeat until all of the glue is removed.

This method works well when you can get the label off without tearing. It does not work well for removing torn sections of label so you may have to scrape those off before using the tape to remove the remaining glue.

Removing Price Tag/Label Glue from Non-Porous Surfaces

These methods work well on non-porous surfaces like glass and some harder plastics (note: some softer/porous plastics will stain from oil):

Hot Water Method

It should go without saying that if you use this method the gift it question should not be one that would be damaged by soaking it in water (if that would damage the item, see the oil method below):

1. Fill a sink or other container large enough to hold the item with hot water.
2. Place item in sink so that the label is covered by the hot water.
3. Let soak until the label slides off (this may take 20 minutes to several hours).
4. Use dish soap to remove any remaining glue or dry the item and use the Sticky Tape Method to remove the remaining glue.

Oil Method

Again, it should go without saying that this method should not be used on any gift likely to be damaged by applying oil (which some softer plastics are):

1. Dab oil onto the label (keep rubbing it in until it starts to soak in or it starts to run off).
2. Let the item sit for 20 minutes or longer (the label will slide off easily when ready).
3. Use dish soap to remove any remaining glue or dry the item and use the Sticky Tape Method to remove the remaining glue.

I hope that was helpful for someone. See you tomorrow.

Related posts:

1. Advent Calendar: December 20, 2009
2. Advent Calendar: December 8, 2009
3. Advent Calendar: December 19, 2009
4. Advent Calendar: December 3, 2009
5. Advent Calendars Aren’t Just for Kids: Give a Homemade Advent Calendar as a Gift