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How to Remove Sticky Labels from New Clothing (Quickly and Easily!)
by LeAnn R. Ralph

Description: Tips for removing sticky labels from new clothing.

I recently acquired three new pairs of jeans. This particular brand (Field & Forest) came with a long label pasted down the back of one leg.

I tried and tried to peel the label off, but all that happened was small pieces of it broke off. The majority of the label remained stubbornly stuck to the pants.

"I can't wear them that way!" I said to myself.

Then I remembered that non-aerosol hairspray removes ink from clothing. It is not necessarily the hairspray that works, I know, it's the alcohol. I keep a spray bottle of ordinary rubbing alcohol in the bathroom to clean the faucets and the toilet and my eyeglasses, and I wondered if the alcohol would work on labels.

I retrieved the alcohol from the bathroom, sprayed the label on one new pair of jeans, waited a minute or two, got a paring knife out of the drawer in the kitchen -- and presto! The label peeled off so quickly and easily, I could hardly believe it. The alcohol dried in 10 minutes, and I was able to wear my new pair of jeans.

To remove a sticky label that refuses to peel off a new piece of clothing, try this:

1. Spray the label with ordinary rubbing alcohol, or, if you don't have any rubbing alcohol, use non-aerosol hairspray.

2. Wait a minute or two.

3. Gently scrape the label off the clothing with a paring knife, a butter knife or another straight edge, such as a credit card or a ruler.

4. Wait 5 or 10 minutes for the alcohol to dry -- and you're on your way!

LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the books "Cream of the Crop (More True Stories from Wisconsin Farm)" (trade paperback, Sept. 2005); "Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm" (trade paperback 2003); "Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam" (trade paperback 2004); "Preserve Your Family History (A Step-by-Step Guide for Interviewing Family Members and Writing Oral Histories" (e-book 2004). You are invited to read sample chapters, order books and sign up for the free newsletter, Rural Route 2 News -- http://ruralroute2.com.