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The worst part of buying new dishes and cookware—especially pieces that have been marked down—is trying to remove sticker residue after you attempt to peel off the price tag.
I know this all too well because I’m what you would call a Maxxinista.
Like my mother before me, I spend an embarrassing amount of time and money at discount department store TJ Maxx. And my favorite department therein is housewares. That’s where I stock up on trendy pink glassware from celebrity stylist turned clothing designer turned homewares designer Rachel Zoe, tea towels a Coastal Grandmother would love, and “slightly blemished’ half-price All-Clad I don’t need but buy anyway because it’s half-priced All-Clad. And, oh look! There’s a pair of All-Clad tongs. Might as well get those too since the price is so nice.
Unfortunately, my low-price finds come with a different price to pay: hard-to-remove stickers.
TJ Maxx perforates all of its adhesive tags so it’s impossible to sneakily slip one off in the store. But getting those stickers off isn’t any easier in the comfort of your own home, and even if you manage to remove all of the paper fragments, there’s always residue left behind. Always.
While this isn’t a problem unique to one store, TJ Maxx’s stickers seem to be the stickiest and most annoying. In fact, removing one is rivaled only by the act of trying to get a large label off of a glass bottle so you can repurpose it for something else.
Believe me when I tell you I have tried every supposed hack for removing sticker residue from smooth surfaces.
There’s the blow dryer (takes too long and doesn’t always work), nail polish remover (rarely works but often damages my counter and messes up my mani), rubbing alcohol (might as well just laugh in my face), and even razor blades (I’m not ready to talk about that one yet).
I’ve soaked glasses and bottles in hot water, in hot soapy water, in cooking oil, and in warm greasy water, but any soaking method only works if you submerge the items for about an hour and it rarely gets everything off anyway.
Even Goo Gone requires a ridiculous amount of rubbing and you constantly have to put more of the product on a clean part of whatever cloth you’re using or it will stop being effective after just a few swipes. It smells awful too—and the stench lingers.
I’m pleased to report that after years (nay, decades) of trial and error, I’ve discovered a solution that actually works: The Pink Stuff.
Yes, that TikTok-famous cleaning product that can get baked-on gunk off of enameled cast iron and aluminum sheet pans can also quickly and easily remove the sticker residue from your new Martha Stewart ceramic bowl or Jessica Simpon margarita glass.
As much as I’d like to say it’s magic, the pale pink paste works so well because it’s oil-based and it’s abrasive. The vegetable oil (glycerine) base softens and loosens the glue while the fine quartz crystal scrubs it away without scratching or damaging smooth, nonporous surfaces. And it does so better and faster than any other method I’ve ever tried.
To remove sticker residue from a hard surface, all you have to do is dip the damp end of a cleaning cloth into the little tub, scoop out some of The Pink Stuff, and scrub it over the sticker residue. Then wipe it clean and enjoy your residue-free glass and cookware.
But before you do, a word of warning: When using The Pink Stuff to remove sticker residue, be sure to spot test it on anything softer than metal, glass, or ceramic. You don’t want to risk scratching or scuffing materials like plastic or acrylic—unless, of course, it’s something you can replace for next to nothing at TJ Maxx.
By The Editors of Epicurious
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