Maybe one of the most comical yet inconvenient things that can possibly happen to any given piece of clothing is to actually have a sticker sneak its way through a complete laundry wash cycle, including most of the times going through the full drying process and subsequently leaving a pesky trace of residue behind. You might think that these things cannot happen that often, right? Surprisingly it is much more common than we are led to think.
With kid’s clothes specially, there are so many ways a decal, name tag, and many more varieties could get into your clothes and be left there, and the glue will soak on your fibers and hold on for dear life, since adhesive paper is used to make a great variety of products which are in turn made in several different models, getting any kind of sticker to perk onto one of your clothing items sooner rather than later is a very prone situation to be in.
And we have all been there, just right after discovering the misplacement, we sometimes will try to peel it off or scrape it to see if the paper residue and its remains will come off. Unfortunately, some of these don’t really come off without leaving some kind of evident trace that will leave a stain on the garment, even more so if the clothing item had been already dried or gone through the dryer, in which case the glue of the sticker will be adhering even more to the fibers that went through the mishap.
In that order, this situation, although inconvenient, is fairly easy to resolve. With a couple steps, we will show you how to remove sticker residue from clothes without leaving any trace that there once was such an item there to begin with.
The other good news is that all you will require are a couple of products that most of you would probably have stashed in your pantry anyway. Before we give away any better news on how to remove sticker residue from clothes please keep in mind to hold onto the piece of clothing with the residue on, since washing the piece of cloth another time will only cause more harm than any possible help.
Without further ado, below you will find out how to remove sticker residue from clothes the most effective way. We have gathered some of the easiest ways to do this process in a cinch so you can use your garments again and not a single soul will tell your dressings ever had a sticker gone through a wash cycle.
Read on to find out what you’ll need and the best method for any specific type of material, and always remember to check your labels so you use the best washing method to optimize the quality of the item, since many fibers or blends have extra care steps or special indications when it comes to de products mentioned next. If needed, always to a test on a corner or least noticeable side of the apparel.
Alcohol and nail polish
The first and easiest way to take sticker residue out of any clothing was picked for our list since you only will require one of these two products: alcohol or nail polish. Keep in mind that the nail polish can only be used on natural fibers since the chemicals would melt any man-made fibers that come in contact with it. With this method, you only need to blot the sticker with a rag or cotton ball soaked in the product of your choosing and rub away. You could help separating the glued paper to the garment with the use of a credit card -or any card really- to scrape the well soaked residue from the piece. After trying this method, we recommend washing the garment once more now that it is free from the stain and any minimal glue that might have been left in between the threads.
If its heavy duty.
This next method applies for those stickers that are made with a strong glue that just won’t come off as easily from your wardrobe. For this, a series of steps and products are used to get the best possible result with the least noticeable outcome. You will need:
White vinegar.
Stain remover or a strong detergent.
Sponge.
Spatula or card.
Old cloth towel.
Soak it in.
First step is to simply soak the area of the incident with warm white vinegar. Run it through a few seconds on a microwave safe dish so it’s warm enough but not too hot, then use a sponge to carefully blot the stain. This will loosen up any paper left behind, you can then peel it or push it with a spatula or card to help it even more which will also soften most of the adhesive underneath leading and preparing the way for our next step.
Bring in the products.
Second step will be to now use a prewash stain remover liquid or a strong detergent to treat any stain left behind by the sticker or its glue. Spread the detergent with your fingers or list a brush to make things faster. After washing it normally you can inspect the piece of clothing to assess if any other residue was left behind.
What about dry-clean?
For pieces that are dry clean-only as labeled by the brand or maker, a dry cleaning solvent will do the trick when in this situation. Some people choose to directly take these clothing over to the dry cleaner, especially if the clothing item is indeed expensive, but treating it with solvent should be the help you need to get most residue out from these items.
Now, some stickers are made with a type of glue that holds more strongly than others. In case one of these made their way into your clothing, you might have to opt for a specific type of product to get the job done. That is why the market is full of a great range of such products, from Goo-gone to stain solvents for plastic and many more, you can opt to get one of these if the sticker just won’t budge after trying all these methods. You might have to prepare the area and get as much as the sticker away from the surface of the clothing before using the stain remover or product selected, this way the product can go directly into the glue and lift it.
On a last note.
Preemptively, you could catch this from happening by doing a quick inspection on any garment before washing, but we all know that an eventuality like this are most likely the consequence of rushed wash days and busy days, fortunately you now master how to remove sticker residue from clothes and will handle the situation like a pro.
You can even enlist your children to inspect their own clothing if they are of age. This way, you can minimize the changes of any sticker ever happening to cling on your clothes to begin with.
