How to remove insulating tape glue. The best application techniques

How to remove electrical tape glue? Maybe you used duct tape for a makeshift repair job on a lamp, or maybe you used it to fasten wires running down a baseboard or along a cabinet.

Or maybe you used it on your bike to stop the brake line, or maybe on a window to secure the Christmas decorations. And it is possible that, after a few days or a few weeks of laying there, at the time of removal, residues have remained on the underlying surface.

And these tracks, let’s face it, are anything but beautiful to look at. But there’s more: being glue residues, those traces will eventually attract dust and dirt, getting worse over time.

It is therefore essential to find an effective way to remove insulating tape glue without damaging the surface in question and, if possible, without having to buy special solvents or detergents.

There are no insurmountable problems: removing insulating tape glue is in fact easier than you might think and can also be a pretty quick operation. It’s all about following the right technique! Let’s have a look at how to remove and clean the glue residue left by insulating tape after use.

Electrical tape, a summary

Insulating tape is not just tape. It is, in fact, an accessory that has a very precise use, being made of a special low conductivity PVC support.

Insulating tape is, in fact, created to allow for the “isolation” of the elements that, otherwise, could transmit electrical current to other objects. The typical uses of electrical tape are those carried out by electrician, who use it in daily work to repair electrical cables or to create junctures between several cables without resorting to clamps.

Thus, it’s easy to understand that insulating tape, in itself, would not be the most appropriate adhesive tape for hanging objects, or for carrying out other repair work: other types of adhesive tape are more suitable for those uses, such as regular, simple tape for easy operations, for example double-sided tape or even American duct tape, which should never be missing in one’s home toolbox.

That said, it is not at all rare to make “improper” use of electrical tape, thus using it not as an insulator, but as an adhesive too. In these cases, something which lead to you seeking and reading this article may happen: you might need to remove the tape and, with it, glue residues left on the underlying surface as well: let’s have a look at how to do it!

How to remove electrical tape glue?

You should know that insulating tape, like all adhesive tapes, is made up of, as an extreme simplification, of two elements. A rigid support, which in this case is also insulating and particularly elastic, and an adhesive side.

Some parts of glue can be separated from the support during their use, thus clinging more tenaciously to the underlying surface than to the support itself.

The likelihood of something like this happening increases with the piling on of factors such as application time, exposure to UV rays, and so on. As anticipated, however, it is not such a big problem: it is certainly possible to remove the insulating tape glue without doing any damage.

Removing insulating tape glue residues: first of all, soften it

Even before you start scratching the glue residue with your nails, our advice is to soften the residue itself, making it easier to remove.

It is not mandatory to use industrial solvents, and it is not always recommended to use acetone or alcohol, which may leave traces on certain surfaces: in most cases it will be sufficient to use household substitutes. So, for instance a water and lemon juice, water and white vinegar, solution.

All you need to do is dip a sponge in this solution and wet the area affected by the glue residue, leaving it on for a few minutes. At that point, you can proceed with the actual removal of the glue.

Removing insulating tape glue: the right tools

In some cases, it will be enough to use a sponge to remove insulating tape glue after softening it. In other cases, however, it may be useful to use a plastic scraper, which will allow for efficient scraping of glue residue without damaging the underlying surface: the scraper used in winter to remove ice from the windshield of the car can work perfectly fine.

Old plastic cards, such as old loyalty cards or expired credit cards, also work very well. This way, you’ll be able to quickly remove the glue, and then proceed with the regular cleaning of the surface!