The Case of the Sticky Mezzuzah

September 21, 2015 7:38 PM

I put a ceramic mezzuzah with a peel-off adhesive strip on my daughter's door and discovered, too late, that it had a very strong adhesive. Now I am moving, and would like to remove the mezzuzah without damaging the paint on the door. How best to proceed? The move is next week, so solutions that take time are OK, as long as they don't also take a lot of effort.
posted by ubiquity to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Is there any chance the adhesive strip was a piece of double sided foam tape? You can slip a very thin serrated blade (cheapo steak knives are great for this) in behind there and gently saw it off right through the foam. Then buff the remaining foam off the door jamb and use a solvent like goo gone to get the residual stickum off. (Test the goo gone on an inconspicuous place near the floor to make sure it won't damage your paint.
posted by phunniemee at 7:44 PM on September 21, 2015 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Maybe try using dental floss? I've seen dental floss suggested for removing badges from a car without damaging the car's paint.
posted by Rob Rockets at 7:53 PM on September 21, 2015 [7 favorites]

I've never even thought about using dental floss for stuff like this before but wow, that's a great idea. That would work really well, I think. Same principle, but no need for a knife and much easier and safer to wield. You should do the dental floss thing.
posted by phunniemee at 7:54 PM on September 21, 2015

Dental floss really is a great idea and had never occurred to me either.

Glide dental floss is almost unbelievably slippery.
posted by jamjam at 8:56 PM on September 21, 2015

A hair dryer on high heat could be used to melt or soften the glue, but you would have to be careful not to damage the paint.
posted by cazoo at 8:59 PM on September 21, 2015

I just examined my mezzuzah, and I would go with a slightly heated butter knife and rubbing alcohol. I don't remember how I stuck it up there six years ago, but it's pretty well fastened.
posted by Ruki at 10:40 PM on September 21, 2015

Most of the really strong self-adhesive sticker glues respond well to heating. I'd combine the hair dryer and dental floss ideas. To avoid paint damage, just don't let what you're blasting get too hot to touch.
posted by flabdablet at 1:35 AM on September 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

I've always used tea tree oil to get any sticky residue, off of anything, once you've got it off with the thread (or dental floss, as was suggested) rub some tea tree oil, any residue will come straight off. If you can't run a piece of thread behind to get it off, try dropping some tea tree oil behind, should eventually come off.
posted by Shibui at 8:14 AM on September 22, 2015

A hair dryer on high heat could be used to melt or soften the glue, but you would have to be careful not to damage the paint.

I'd also be worried about damaging the scroll inside the case.
posted by Shmuel510 at 8:16 AM on September 22, 2015

Response by poster: The dental floss worked like a treat! Thanks!
posted by ubiquity at 11:50 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]