Magic American Corp.Product packaging promises that Goo Gone will
remove crayon marks from walls.
It has to be one of the major minor annoyances of the 20th century -- the sticker that won't unstick. A price tag can hang around for years, like foot fungus, reminding you in 1998 how much you paid for a plate back in 1987. Sticky situation?
No problemoAnd if you do get the sticker off, you're left with the adhesive, so your rubber slippers stick at the heel where the price tag used to be.
Well, it ain't the cure to the common cold, but the folks who make Goo Gone say something they call "citrus power" holds the answer to this modern dilemma.
Goo Gone combines citrus oils with a refined mineral oil for a stain and spot remover that is particularly effective on gummy or sticky residue.
The packaging promises that Goo Gone will take crayon marks off of walls, lipstick off fabric, chewing gum off carpet, grease off the grill -- and more, more, more. All that and it's nontoxic, noncaustic, kind to the environment -- and smells like oranges.
Goo Gone has fans on the Internet. The Beginners Guide to Action Figure collecting, a Web site that deals with preserving all types of collectibles, calls it "the greatest invention since sliced bread," and offers a step-by-step guide to using Goo Gone to take price tags off valuable trading cards.
Other net surfers have used it to take grease off the stove vent and get the squeak out of their brakes.
Our Star-Bulletin testers put Goo Gone up against another biodegradable cleaner, simple green, and found that it works comparably on general cleaning. Neither product got lipstick out of a T-shirt, or did very well on chewing gum. But Goo Gone did work like magic on adhesive stickers, including some that had been stuck on for years.
Goo Gone has been around since 1985, but the manufacturer, Magic American Corp., is now upping its profile, marketing Goo Gone with a comic-book spokesman, GooGone Guy.
Along with basic Goo Gone, you can now get a spray bottle of Goo Gone Multipurpose or Patio Furniture Cleaner.
Goo Gone sells at discount and hardware stores. Kmart, for example, sells a 4-ounce bottle for $1.99 and an 8-ounce bottle for $2.99.
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