Not everyday cleaning. The laminate over the ink is made to take wiping, washing, and handling, so ordinary cleaning products are fine on a sticker once it has bonded.
Fine for routine cleaning
- Dish soap and water
- Household spray cleaners and glass cleaner
- Disinfectant wipes
- Rubbing alcohol, now and then
Wipe across the sticker rather than scrubbing into its edges. Give a new sticker 48 hours before anything scrubs it, so the adhesive has set.
Alcohol does take permanent marker off a laminate. If someone has written on a sticker, clean it with soap and water instead. See writing on stickers and labels.
What damages stickers
- Solvents, such as acetone, nail polish remover, lacquer thinner, paint thinner, and brake cleaner. They can cloud the laminate and lift the ink.
- Adhesive removers and citrus degreasers. They're made to dissolve adhesive, including the adhesive holding your sticker on, and when they're used near a sticker they creep under the edge.
- Concentrated chemicals, such as undiluted bleach, pool chemicals, strong acids, and caustic cleaners. Splashes left to sit, or contact day after day, will eat at the print and the edges in time.
- Gasoline and other fuels, spilled on a sticker again and again.
Harsh places need a replacement plan
Where a sticker lives with chemicals every day, like a pool equipment room, a chemical storage room, or a hood over a fryer, plan to replace it on a schedule rather than treating it as permanent. Keep critical safety information on rigid signs. Our trade guides go into detail for pools and spas and hood cleaning.
Grease is an application problem
Cooking grease and oil are the most common reason a sticker won't stick in the first place: the adhesive bonds to the film of grease instead of the surface. Clean the spot with isopropyl alcohol, and let it dry before the sticker goes on. For labels on oily products, choose BOPP Custom Roll Labels. See food label materials for the fridge, freezer, and oil.
If you're not sure about a cleaner you use every day, try it first on one sticker somewhere out of sight.