Tuesday, August 18, 2009

My Love-Hate Relationship with Goo-Gone

Bean's Cub Scout shirt was a hand-me-down and there were a couple patches on it that needed to be removed. Unfortunately, these patches had been attached with a nasty sticky adhesive. The guy at the scout shop recommended Goo-Gone so I bought some.

On one hand, I don't know how I ever lived without the stuff. It did take the stickiness off the scout shirt as well as the gum out of Bean's Sunday pants. I got the gob of green gum off the carpet that's been there since Christmas. Next I need to work on the gum on the seat of the van (I am NOT fond of gum!)

Today we used it to clean sticky residue off our front window. My creative children stuck a bunch of those sticky foam shapes all over the front window. It looked cute, but after the sun baked it it left the most crusty, sticky mess. It took a long time to clean off but with the boys' help we eventually got it. I hope they learned their lesson.

What I do NOT like about Goo-Gone though is the fumes. It smells like orange, which I have no problem with, but the minute I catch a whiff I get a headache. I feel like I'm being slowly poisoned. Then when you run the rags you used through the wash the smell is supposed to come out. It doesn't. It infects the entire load of laundry. Yuck yuck yuck!

I bet I could probably use something else on a lot of the applications Goo-Gone is typically used for. I may have been able to get the crusties off the window with vegetable oil and a razor blade. So if I save the Goo-Gone for only when we absolutely have to have it, perhaps it won't kill us.

Or I could just make wads of gum and the backs of stickers the theme of my home decor.

3 comments:

Annalea said...

So far, I have successfully prevented my children from ever bringing gum into my house. Or car. Or anything. Through conscious choice, we just aren't gum chewers.

As for Goo-Gone, I wholly agree. Magical stuff with horrendous fumes.

I've successfully removed incredibly sticky stuff with oil . . . butter, olive oil, or safflower oil. Lotion or hand cream sometimes works, too.

P.S.) Headaches from chemical fumes are a sign of adrenal fatigue . . . and I know of some good herbs for that, if you're interested. Have a great day!

Laney said...

Try vinegar on the windows and lemon juice concentrate on the other things :)

Unknown said...

What I have to do when I use goo gone is use the smallest possible amount on the smallest possible rag (half of a kid's worn-out sock for example), then after using it, throw it away. I can't even stand to have it in my garbage can for more than a few minutes. I don't use it very much, either.