What to Consider When Buying Adhesive Remover

If you’re looking to buy adhesive remover, you have plenty of options. There are so many available that it can be hard to make the right choice, as they can all loosen and remove adhesive. The differences really depend on the ingredients of the adhesive remover.

Citrus

Some of the friendliest types of adhesive remover used citric acid technology. There’s very little odor associated with them, and many can be cleaned up with water, making them not only simple to use, but with far fewer chemicals involved.

When shopping, scan the labels for the word citric. You can buy citrus adhesive remover both as a paste and as a liquid. If you’re removing items from vertical surfaces, choose the paste as it will more easily stay in place. For horizontal surfaces, such as floors, either will work well.

Soy-Based

Soy-based adhesive remover is especially good at softening old adhesive and you can use water to rinse it off. You might well have to leave it for a number of hours in order for it to soften the adhesive properly. Give it time to work then scrape off the glue.

Solvent-Based

While the other products are water-based and will clean up with water, solvent-based adhesive remover is more dangerous. The smell is stronger and you should only apply it in a well-ventilated room to cut down on the fumes. It’s advisable to wear a breathing mask and gloves when working with this kind of adhesive remover. Also, make sure there are no open flames around because solvent-based products are often highly flammable. That said, they’re often stronger and work faster than water-based adhesive removers. For some tasks, this can be an advantage.

Instructions

It’s important to read the instructions on adhesive remover before you buy it. Some will work better on some materials than others. Some will require specific conditions. Make sure you pay attention to what is written regarding using the adhesive remover in wind or in sunlight. Both have the ability to cause some products to evaporate.

The time to give adhesive remover to work should always be noted and followed too. If you leave it too long, the adhesive can harden again before you come back to it.

Specialist Adhesive Removers

Certain materials will require a specialist adhesive remover. Hardware stores will usually stock some variations of this. If you need something out of the ordinary, check online to see what’s available to do the job and read reviews of how well it works. You’ll either be able to buy it on the Internet or have your hardware store order it for you.

Dry Ice

If you want to remove floor tile, you can use dry ice and an adhesive remover. Making sure you wear heavy gloves or, holding it with pincers, move the dry ice over a tile, letting it sit for a few seconds, then move it and the tile will come up. You need to only do this is a very well-ventilated room.