It seems like just yesterday that Martha Stewart’s garlic peeling hack was tearing apart the internet. Armed with a pair of mixing bowls, her legions of fans vigorously shook and shook till they had more garlic cloves than they needed (as if that’s even a thing).
Everyone knows we love a Martha hack. So, when we saw that she’s back with a new one, we had to jump right on it. Turns out she knows a thing or two about peeling off those pesky price tag stickers that never seem to come off kitchen ware. Naturally, people are obsessed.
If you’re like me, the only trick in your arsenal is the soak, scrape, and fail method: You soak the item in hot soapy water, get tired of waiting, pull it out too soon and scrape off the sticker. Half of it gets left behind, at which point you either take your nail (or some sharp-edged object) to it, or give up.
A simple search on YouTube will yield more sticker hacks than you can handle, from employing odorless mineral spirits to single edge razor tools—even lighter fuel, which is less appealing for obvious reasons.
But Martha's trick is simple, and far less frustrating:
- Turn on hairdryer
- Point close to sticker for 15-20 seconds (or thereabouts).
- Turn off hairdryer.
- Experience a micro surge of dopamine as you peel off sticker in one quick motion.
Naturally, we had to try and replicate the success of this video. In the interest of science, we decided to try it with three different kitchen ware materials upon which a sticky price tag was stuck. Here is our verdict on each (with proof attached):
Glass
This was the easiest one, which could be attributed to the fact that stickers peel off easiest on glass, anyway. Not to take away too much from the success of it, because it left no residue, which is a marvelous thing.
Stoneware
Three words: Did. Not. Work. The sticker was as stubborn as ever. I mean...do they bake these on?
Stainless Steel
The good news: We got the sticker off in one swift motion. The bad news: We did get some gluey residue (which will probably come off with a scrub). The ease with which the sticker peeled right off though, was a mini marvel. We'll take it, Martha.
Do you have a trick to remove stubborn stickers? Let us know in the comments!
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Written by: Arati Menon
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30 Comments
For larger items, I peel the sticker off as much as I can by hand then the baking soda works on the residue. I had some gum residue from a label on a floor lamp, and just a sprinkle of baking soda and a moist rag took it clean off with no toxic chemicals or excessive moisture.
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