Store-bought Adhesive Removers come with these warnings: “HARMFUL or FATAL if swallowed” and “DO NOT Breathe Fumes” Yikes! No thank you… How about a Homemade Goo Remover recipe requiring only three natural ingredients… and it removes sticker residue like magic!
When I decided to organize my spice drawer, one of the things I wanted to do was create cohesive labels for all my spice jars, but you know what happens when you peel off the old labels, right? A sticky goo-y mess. I didn’t want to use a store-bought Goo Remover on my spice jars because they still had spices in them, and I can’t imagine it would be a good idea to get even a little bit in our food (see warning labels above… “Harmful or fatal if swallowed”), so I decided to try my hand at making my own (food safe) Adhesive Remover… and it worked like a charm!
Here is one of the spice jars after I removed its original label. Look at that leftover sticker residue!
What You Need to Make Natural Goo Remover
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Ingredients Needed for Homemade Goo Remover
- Baking Soda– Baking soda works as a mild abrasive to help lift and remove the sticky adhesive
- Fractionated Coconut Oil– Fractionated coconut oil is a liquid at room temperature and aids in dissolving adhesive and goo
- *Citrus Essential Oil– Feel free to use a citrus blend, or single citrus oils such as lemon, orange, tangerine, or grapefruit. Citrus essential oils work wonders on sticky messes. You can see how well it removed greasy grime in our kitchen here. Please make sure you are using a high-quality essential oil. If you are unsure where to buy essential oils, check out this post to help you find a brand that works best for you.
Supplies Needed for This Homemade Goo Remover Recipe
- Small Glass or Ceramic Bowl– When working with essential oils, it is best to use glass or ceramic as some essential oils (including the citrus essential oils used in this recipe) can break down certain types of plastic.
- Tablespoon
- Paper Towels
How to Make Homemade Adhesive Remover
Start by adding 2 parts baking soda to a small bowl. I made a smaller batch, using 2 Tablespoons of baking soda.
Then add in 1 part fractionated coconut oil. In my case, I added 1 Tablespoon.
Give that a stir until combined, then add in a few drops of citrus essential oil (I used 3 drops). Stir one more time.
Scoop up a small amount of the mixture and place it on the adhesive left behind from stickers or labels, and rub it in with your finger.
If you are sensitive to any ingredients used in this recipe, please wear a glove when applying.
Allow it to sit for a minute or two and then use a dry paper towel to rub the Adhesive Remover in a circular motion, concentrating on the areas that had the sticker residue. It’s best to do this over a trash can so you don’t get the goo remover all over the place. It should come off easily, with hardly any effort at all. Continue using the paper towel until all the Adhesive Remover is gone.
The sticky goo on your item should be completely gone.
It’s that easy! And the best part is, there are no harmful ingredients used.
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Natural Adhesive Remover Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Parts Baking Soda I used 2 Tablespoons
- 1 Part Fractionated Coconut Oil I used 1 Tablespoon
- 3 Drops Citrus Essential Oil Increase amount if doubling/tripling the recipe
Supplies
- Small Glass or Ceramic Bowl
- Tablespoon
- Paper Towel
Instructions
- Add 2 parts (I used 2 Tablespoons) baking soda to a small glass or ceramic bowl
- Add 1 part Fractionated Coconut Oil (I used 1 Tablespoon) and stir
- Stir in Citrus essential oil (I used 3 drops for this recipe)
- Apply the mixture to residue/goo and allow to sit for a minute or two
- Use a paper towel and rub in a circular motion to remove goo remover. It is recommended that you do this over a trash can to avoid a messy clean-up
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Hi! How long will this last? Will it go rancid if you don’t use it all?
I am realizing that I didn’t address this question in the post (and I typically try to do that). But, truth is, I don’t use goo remover all that often, so I tend to make a small batch and use it right away. While the ingredients themselves (coconut oil, baking soda, and essential oil) shouldn’t go bad for quite some time , I am not sure how the consistency would hold up; it’s possible you’d just need to stir to combine and it would still work great. I might have to try and see how it goes 🙂