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I attached few pieces of masking tape to a linoleum floor to help a child with her exercises (long jump kid-style). Now when I removed the tape, there is residue left through the whole length of the tape.

How do I remove residue from masking tape? Ideally with generic stuff or products of FMCG giants (P&G, Unilever, Johnson&Johnson to name a few), not branded things from DIY shops (like WD-40 or Goof-Off), as items like WD-40 or Goof-Off are too rare in the area where I live. Even better if it's child- / prengancy-friendly (I realise the latter is too unlikely to exist, so it's really optional).

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  • Have you tried just soapy water? – Steven Jul 2 '14 at 18:17
  • Have you tried vinegar? It is quite effective. – treeNinja Jul 2 '14 at 19:21
  • @Steven I tried Fairy and it didn't help. – yurkennis Jul 3 '14 at 4:25
  • You mentioned Goof-Off... At the risk of sounding like this is a response to a product recommendation, I'll say that this product works reasonably well. You'll still have to clean its residue up, of course, but still. – alt Jul 3 '14 at 5:54
  • @alt Please go ahead and add this as an answer, it's absolutely legit IMHO. – yurkennis Jul 3 '14 at 18:57
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What you seek is a non polar organic solvent. WD-40 is a good stand in, but even better would be xylenes which are usually available at hardware stores (that's basically what goof off is). Really though, any non-polar solvent will work, mineral spirits, turpentine, brake cleaner, gasoline, diesel, tiki touch fuel, ether, THF, or melted lard. The more volatile the solvent the less residue it will leave and the less child/pregnancy-friendly it is. Brake cleaner would be very volatile and easy to clean up and is very awful to breathe. Lard would be at the opposite end.

Polar solvent, like alcohol, won't work as well.

As others have said, be sure to test that it won't damage the floor.

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I applied Cif and left it for a quarter of hour, then wiped it off--it removed almost all the residue.

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You mentioned Goof-Off... At the risk of sounding like this is a response to a product recommendation, I'll say that this product works reasonably well. You'll still have to clean its residue up, of course, but the product on its own does what it advertises.

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  • I've had better luck with Goo Gone for sticker residue. For one application in particular, Goof-Off actually just ended up creating a gummy mess. – Doresoom Sep 2 '14 at 17:13
  • Goo gone or mineral spirits will do the job just fine. – user30262 Jan 2 '15 at 12:37
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I use Ronsonol's naphtha (zippo fluid; expensive) for small jobs or any 'white solvent' (mineral spirits). However spirits contain oils, so where surface prep requires it (if I need to put the tape back) I use denatured alcohol. Alcohol would probably clean up the mess once goo-gone has loosened it into a sticky smear.

As with any solvent, test it on an inconspicuous spot first to check whether it will discolor or eat into the materiel. Also, next time use painter's blue masking tape. I've never had much luck with goo-gone.

How do I remove the gluey residue left by gaffer tape on glass?

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