Stickers can be a fun way to decorate your space, or coax little ones into doing something you ask them to do such as cleaning up their toys. But, when it’s time to remove them, you might find you have a sticky situation on your hands. Follow these 6 steps to get stickers off walls, mess-free.

Step 1: Set Your Hair Dryer to Low

The first step in getting stickers off walls is to bust out your hair dryer. Any old hair dryer will do, it doesn’t have to be a special make or model to do the trick. Turn it on the lowest setting to start with, and then aim it towards the sticker, approximately 6 to 8 inches away from the wall.

Helpful Tip: If you have a heat gun, you can also use it to help get stickers off your walls. Simply set it to low and move it back and forth over the area of the sticker about 6 to 8 inches away from the wall.

Step 2: Test the Temperature of the Sticker

While you’re blowing the hot air from your hair dryer towards the wall, stop to check the temperature of the sticker every few seconds. Once it is warm to the touch, you can turn the dryer off.

Keep in Mind: You want the sticker to be warm and not hot. If the adhesive on the sticker backing gets too hot, it will become tacky and is less likely to peel off cleanly. You’ll end up with a much bigger mess to remove than when you started.

Step 3: Start to Gently Peel the Sticker

Once the sticker is warm to the touch, begin to gently peel it away from the wall, starting in one corner and slowly working your way towards the opposite corner. You don’t want to rush this process as you risk ripping the sticker and possibly the paint from your walls.

Helpful Tip: If the sticker does not easily come away from the wall, you will need to use the hair dryer to heat it up for a few more seconds to help loosen the adhesive a bit more.

Step 4: Continue Peeling Until the Sticker Is Removed

Patience is the name of the game here, especially with larger stickers or wall decals. Continue slowly peeling the sticker off the wall, applying heat from the hair dryer when necessary until the entire sticker is removed.

Helpful Tip: A small flat scraper can help with removing larger stickers from walls, or allow you to operate the hair dryer with one hand while you scrape off the sticker with the other.

Step 5: Remove Any Residue

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, stickers won’t remove cleanly and there will be some residue from the adhesive left on the wall. If this happens, you can use a small amount of all purpose cleaner and a cleaning cloth to gently clean away any residue

Helpful Tip: Always test a small amount of cleaner in an inconspicuous spot on the wall to see how your wall surface will react, before applying it to the spot where the sticker was.

Step 6: Use an Adhesive Remover

If applying heat to the sticker doesn’t help loosen it, you can always use a specially-designed adhesive remover to get the sticker off the wall. Apply according to the manufacturer’s instructions and then try to peel or scrape the sticker away.

Helpful Tip: If you’d rather not purchase an adhesive remover, white vinegar works in the same way. Apply a small amount to the surface of the sticker with a cotton swab or paintbrush and let sit for about 5 minutes before trying to peel or scrape the sticker away. You might have to repeat this process several times in order to remove the entire sticker.

Keep in Mind: Adhesive removers and vinegar can react with the surface of your wall and should be spot tested in an inconspicuous spot before a full application.

While removing stickers off of walls can be a real hassle, it doesn’t have to be. With these 6 simple steps, you can quickly and easily get stickers off walls with little to no mess.