How To Remove Sticky Adhesive Tape Residue

You are currently renting a place and one of the policies is that no object, posters, or adhesive should be left hanging when you decide to transfer to another flat. You may be a teacher or an office worker and you have posted several posters on the wall, not knowing weeks after, by the time you remove them, a sticky mess is left on the wall. Whoever you may be or whatever the purpose of the adhesive is, nobody ever wants a sticky residue on their walls. 

So, how do you remove an adhesive that has stuck and left a residue on the wall? Read on as we give you some quick tips as to how to clean up the residue that your adhesive tape left. 

Always Conduct An Initial Test 

 Except otherwise stated on the product label, XFasten adhesive tape products are designed to not leave any sticky residue to most surface paint types. However, for all types and brands of tapes, it is important to initially test the adhesive to know for sure if it does leave a residue or not.

Once you receive your adhesive, don't apply it immediately. Cut a short strip first and stick it in a small corner on your wall. Let it stay for a few hours, then remove it. If it leaves a considerable amount of residue, then think again before using it. Contact the manufacturer and verify as to whether or not it is residue-free.

Use a Hair Dryer's Air Exhaust

However, if the damage has been done, then the first step would be to use a hair dryer. Most adhesive raw materials may it be silicone, foam, rubber or synthetic adhesive solidify at cold temperatures. At their reinforced states, it is nearly impossible to cleanly removing them without damaging the surface. However, they all start to melt at around 50 Degrees Celcius- a temperature which a hair dryer's exhaust can reach easily.

Soften the adhesive by directing the hot air exhaust to the surface. When it has thoroughly softened, you can wipe off large chunks of adhesive from it. If you don't have a hair dryer, then steam from a pot of boiling water will also do the trick.

Time To Apply Household Chemicals

At this point, large chunks of adhesive would have been removed through melting. In order to proceed to the next step, you would need the following common household items:

White Vinegar

Hot Water

Baking Soda

Detergent

Used Toothbrush (or any brush) or Wiping Towel

Mix 1 part of White Vinegar to 2 parts of Hot Water. Add 2 Tablespoons of Baking Soda and 1 Tablespoon of Detergent. While still hot, apply the solution in the area using a used toothbrush. Gently scrub the area until some of the adhesive residues are removed. Scrub the area and apply more solution if needed.

Finally, wipe the surface and apply another round of solution to the area. Let the residue soak for 20 minutes then come back to scrub the area with a toothbrush. Reapply as needed.

Removing Small Residue

If there are still small traces of residue left, then on a pan, heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil. Remove it from heat and coat the traces with the oil. Be careful on handling hot oil. Always consider keeping some distance between you and the oil's container.

Let the trace sit for another 15 minutes. Then rub the surface with a towel or a brush.

To Sum Up

Those were the steps which you can follow in order to completely remove any traces of sticky residue on your wall without unnecessarily damaging the surface. If followed carefully, one can achieve desirable results in removing the adhesive residue on their wall.

Do you have any experience on removing adhesive residue? If so, what did you do to remove it? Join us in our discussion by leaving a comment below. Also, if you have any questions, don't forget to send us a message either through our Contact Page or by sending us an email at customerservice@apipema.com.

Have a nice day ahead!