Quilt in a Day Forums

Had a brainstorm this afternoon and wanted to share a good tip.

I bought a bunch of fat quarters this morning...you know those stickers they have on them? Most of the time they peel off fine, but every once in a while, you get one that leaves a thin layer of stickum and paper behind. Very aggravating!

I had 3 that had paper stuck on them. I knew that WD-40 takes off gummy residues, I have used it on fabrics, but I didn't want to risk staining and was too impatient to do a test. I went to the laundry shelf to try to think of something...TA DAH! There was a bottle of Murphy's Oil Soap. Not the spray, but the basic liquid that you mix with water. I figured an oil-base would help clean off the adhesive; I have used Murphy's with a rag and knew it doesn't stain, so I gave it a try.

Warm water to saturate fabric, a good blob of Murphy's, a bit of gentle rubbing and an occasional scrape with a fingernail and the residue came right off. Rinse thoroughly. Worked GREAT and smells a heck of a lot nicer than WD-40!

That's a good idea. I have used a product called "goo gone" and it works really well not just on fabric, but anything. Smell kind of good too.
PamM

Carolej, thanks for the info. It will come in handy one of these days.

Mary

Carole, thanks for the tip. Like PamM, I use "goo gone" too. works fine!

I have heard of the Goo Gone and that it works...I just didn't have any here at home and was too impatient to run out to the store! I also like that Murphy's is a "multi use" product. Even moreso now!

What's that old phrase, 'necessity is the mother of invention'?

Thank You ladies so much for these tips on removing those pesky stickers from fabric. I appreciate it so much. Had never thought to use GooGone or the Murphy's Soap.

Huge Hugs

edited to correct typo.

That is a great tip! Wonder if old fashioned Fells Naptha Soap would also work? I saw it in bar for in the laundry section of the grocery store. I like those "old" items as they bring back great memories.

Wow, Fels Naptha soap...we always had some in the laundry area when I was growing up, but I never used it. Isn't it kinda harsh? Might want to check this one on a corner of fabric before using it.

I think the reason the Murphy's Oil Soap worked is that it's oil based; any oil will generally loosen adhesives. Just need to make sure it's not going to leave a big grease stain on our precious fabrics!

I have use peanut butter to remove labels from glass and etc.
You might try that.
Pat

here is a funny for you guys, when my kids were little, 3 under age 5, i woke up one morning had to be a doc by nine. well somehow the 3 yr old had 'found' some gum after he had been put to bed, well lets just say that he looked like he had blown a bubble and it had exploded all over his head, his hair was covered, his eye lids were stuck, one open one closed oh man it was total mess, i put baby in hi chair put the 5 yr old at the table to eat and started trying to clean up my poor little richard, i remembered that peanut butter was supposed to remove gum, well i eneded up at the doc with a kid still covered in gum and smelling to high heaven of pb. man oh man sometimes i even miss those days now that my babies are all in ther late 30and early 40's. those stresses back then would be so easy to handle now that i am older. i think i finely use crisco to get the gum off of him.