margen's Profile

Lem, I have cleaned up old leather handbags with a 1:1 mixture of vinegar, olive oil and a few drops of lavendar oil with success. No guarantees, but it seems worth trying.

In general, if the musty smell is from mould, you may have to kill the mould to stop it - in addition, or as alternatives, to vinegar or weak bleach, or a disinfectant (like pinesol), you can try putting the item in the sun or the freezer (not really possible with a chair, I know). If you can clean the mould off the surface (like on vinyl or leather) it will be much easier than if it is inside fabric or linings.

Eucalyptus oil can help too (it cleans and disinfects), but the scent can be strong itself.

I am drowning in inherited clutter from various family members. Some of the stuff I love because it reminds me of that person, or time spent with them, and some of it because they are beautiful things that someone has loved, and I can't bear to think of them discarded (even if I don't need them).

My progress in reducing the quantity of stuff has been slow, but at risk of being a total hypocrite, these are some things I have found helpful.

Take photos of items - keep them digital or print them and make a journal. Write down the stories that go with them - memories and who has owned them etc. Then give the items away.

Make something you would use out of the item. Make linen into cushion covers or quilts, use pots or cups as vases, planters. Alter clothing. Use glassware as candle holders. Ideas abound on sites like these for ways to refashion and repurpose things. At the very least make sure you use the items, not just keep them as "special" and never used.

Collect items together that you are using the same excuse for keeping, then edit them. Eg, I have a pile of handknits that my mother made me - they are beautiful, and precious reminders of her, but mostly they no longer fit me. Each time i come across one in my wardrobe or a storage box, i cannot bear to let them go. I started a pile of them, and it actually made me laugh how big it was. If i am only keeping them as reminders of her and her devotion to us then I don't need the whole pile. i am keeping one, giving the rest away. Also, when i think about my mother, I really have to admit that she would probably rather her hard work was being worn by someone who needs it, than hiding in my blanket box, so in that way i am keeping another precious memory of her alive as well.

Last idea is to give them away! I find it hard to think of precious things being lost or not valued by others. So give them to people who you know would value them - others who might want also want a reminder of that person, or someone who has tastes more similar to the person you inherited it from. Share the special meaning of the item with them. (this technique is not so good if you have a lot of likeminded friends, you will just end up swapping stuff)

Sometimes your insight or eye for beauty in an item can make others see the value in them, and you can get others (especially relatives) to take care of them for you. (When i helped clear out the belongings of a great aunt of my husband, there were many beautiful items that I couldn't bear to see thrown away and I took home because noone else would. Once I got them home, cleaned up or displayed well, my husbands family started admiring them and seeing the value of them. Actually now that we are getting divorced, I checked with my ex whether his family wanted to make sure he got all these items in his share of the assets. When it came to a bookcase with leadlight doors that I rescued, he refused to let his mother have it back because he said I deserved it because I rescued it when noone else could see any value in it!)

Ah Ha! Ungooing things is something I'm good at!

Try Eucalyptus oil. I don't know what is in these Goo products, or how economical Eucalyptus oil is in the US, but it works really well.

In general, for future reference all the above methods are worth trying. They work in one of 6 different ways that break down the adhesive.

One, is by abrasion, for example sandpaper, eraser, gentle scourer, baking soda.

Two is by heat, which will soften the glue and hopefully you can scrape it off. Eg. hot water, hair dryer

Three is with water, that will soften the paper part of the sticker and hopefully the glue underneath. Gentle option.

Four is using a detergent. Detergents work by attracting oils and dirt and making them want to attach to water, not the thing they are stuck on. This is also a gentle option.

Five is by using an alcohol as a solvent - rubbing alc, vodka, windex, methylated spirits etc. They dissolve the glue, but are more likely to hurt the wood finish than other ways

Six is by using an oil to dissolve the glue - olive oil, mayonnaise, peanut butter, baby oil, vaseline, furniture polish etc. These will be gentler on the wood than alcohols.

I think that WD40 and hairspray possibly work in a combination of these ways when they dissolve the glue. I'm not sure what is in them that does the trick. But these will be very likely to damage wood finishes.

Eucalyptus oil, or a concentrated orange oil product (don't know what they are called in the US) work especially well as oils that dissolve goo, so maybe there is some other factor about them that does the trick as well. I know the orange ones have detergent properties as well (and they smell nice!) Eucalyptus oil may damage the finish on the wood.

What will actually work will depend on many things including how long the sticker has been there and what kind of adhesive was in the sticker. Sometimes it has bonded so well with the surface below that you can't do much else than abrade it off.

Whichever kind of dissolving method you try, you need to give them a good chance of working, so leave them on a while and soak well if they don't work well straight away. Have patience. There are good ideas above to try.

Because the adhesives in stickers can vary a lot, you may get a no success with one method of breaking down the glue and a great success from another, so just keep trying. I'd try heat first, then a gentler, oil based idea then work from there, trying a couple of more harsher solvents before you give up and try an abrasive method.

Unfortunately, some timber finishes including old varnish are very similar in their makeup to the adhesives so they are easy to damage using the same methods you use to remove sticky stuff.

If you don't care about preserving the finish or the patina of the piece, I'd try hot water and a gentle scourer, then Eucalyptus oil and risk the damage. If all else fails sand it off.

I have an old desk that has been covered with stickers, but I don't care about the finish so I am not even going to try all these methods, just go straight to sanding it. Then I'll finish it again with stain and varnish.

Good luck!