Dear Lifehacker, I’d like to ask the readers a question about removing stickers from windows. I have an awful line of “safety” decal stickers on my sliding doors that I would like to remove for aesthetic reasons as they ruin my view outside. Anyone out there had any success with removing these decals? They have no purpose in my household and while I realise their removal may go against Australian Standards, it’s my house and my view. Any ideas would be much appreciated! Thanks, Sticker Situation
Picture from windowfrosting.co.nz
Dear Sticker Situation,
I suspect that the best tactic for this situation is going to be the obvious one: a combination of a sharp edge (a craft knife or a razor blade are the likely choices) to lift and slice the stickers and a commercial product to remove any remaining sticky residue. I’ve used that approach successfully to remove stickers that have virtually set on windows, but must admit that I haven’t tried it on safety decals. If readers have additional strategies or suggestions, let’s hear them in the comments.
Cheers
Lifehacker
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Stuart
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:37 AMEucalyptus oil works a treat on stickers. It dissolves the adhesive and makes it very easy to peel the sticker off. Even if there is some sticky residue left just dab a cloth with eucalyptus oil on the residue and it will easily come off.
Tim
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:51 AMJust make sure you don’t scratch off any tinting or similar surface on the glass. You could make a real mess of things.
Garth
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:57 AMOrange Essential Oil works the best out of the options listed above.
I use it with a cloth and anything adhesive comes off really easily.
There’s even a product called “Orange Mate” (I think) that can be bought at some supermarkets that is mostly orange oil.
sjc
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 11:03 AMA hair dryer can also help.
Suzukiscottie
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 11:30 AMGently heat the stickers with a hairdryer; That’ll make them come away a lot easier.
Simon
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 11:30 AMTry a window scraper, you can get them at places like Godfreys etc.
http://www.mavensupplies.com.au/window-scraper-blade-95mm/
Stove
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 12:03 PMmost of these techniques also work great on the 500 indestructible stickers that come attached to every new laptop.
Deb
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 12:13 PMJust be aware that while you know there’s a glass door there, if people come over and they’re not familiar with your house, they can slam themselves into your lovely sticker-free door.. Unfortunately based on personal experience…
Johno
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:02 PM+ 1. Beers + no stickers = sore nose
splintex
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 12:27 PM2 Brands, Remove and Skin Prep. Adhesive removal swabs used in medical situations. Check chemists, my wife (nurse) uses them and they work a treat on everything from stuborn bandaids to year old car rego stickers. I think the ‘skin prep’ brand is the citrus based one and that works the best that I have found.
Check the dressings section of your local chemist.
Andrew
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 12:33 PMI ran into a sliding door when I was young (around 3 or 4) and still remember it. A couple of points:
a) they probably had decals but I was either too short, or having too much fun too notice.
b) luckily it was safety glass, so I just bounced off, rather than getting cut in half. It hurt, but caused no permanent damage.
light487
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 1:12 PM“but caused no permanent damage.”
Are you sure? :)
Brandon
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 5:32 PMOnce, when I was 9 or 10, I walked into a mirror that they have on either side of the refrigeration thingies at some fruit shop, because I was leaning over to see what everything looked like that way. Right into my own reflection…
Sam
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 1:41 PMUse a razor blade (you can get these at any hardware) and soapy water. This is the easiest way to remove adhesive decals from glass. I work in the sign and graphics industry and this is how we do it. If you use any sort of chemicals to dissolve the adhesive you will end up will a big pile of goo which can be even more difficult to deal with. Just make sure that there isn’t any tint or other kind of film on the glass first because a razor blade will damage it.
Greg
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 4:53 PMOrange oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Tea Tree oil, All will do the job. and all will also remove chewing gum from carpets, Hair Etc.
Jade
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 11:29 PMToothpaste is great for polishing adhesives off glass.