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Home / Cleaning Guides / Floor & Carpet / Carpets and Rugs / How to Remove Tape Residue from Carpet

How to Remove Tape Residue from Carpet

Table of Contents:
  1. You Will Need
  2. Steps to Remove the Residue
  3. Additional Tips and Ideas

Jackie asked: How do I remove sticky tape residue from carpet? Workmen taped plastic over the carpet so it wouldn’t get dirty and now they have removed the plastic, but left sticky residue from the tape.

Removing adhesives from carpeting can be a time consuming job as it must be worked out of the carpet fibers. There are plenty of products available to aid in the process, but the larger the area that’s affected, the longer it’s going to take. There are no shortcuts with this clean-up job, but the results will be well worth the effort.

You Will Need:

  • Cleaning product (choose one):
    • Goo Gone (available at Walmart or other department and home improvement stores)
    • Lighter fluid
    • De-Solv-It (available at Walmart with the furniture polishes)
    • Rubbing alcohol
  • Soft cloths
  • Mild soap
  • Water
  • Bucket
  • Rubber gloves
  • Vacuum

Steps to Remove the Residue:

  1. Begin by choosing a cleaning product from the list above. If the first one doesn’t work, try a second. You may find that one works better for the particular type of tape residue found on your particular type of carpet, so feel free to experiment.
  2. It is best to work in small lengths along the strip of residue.
  3. Apply a small amount of cleaner to a section of the residue. Try to keep your section less than 12 inches.
  4. Wearing rubber gloves, gently rub the fibers of the carpet to work in the cleaner and loosen the residue.
  5. Gently rub the fibers with the soft cloth to remove the residue. Continue working with clean areas of the cloth until all of the residue is gone.
  6. Move onto the next section and repeat the process above.
  7. When the entire area of residue is removed, the next step is to remove the cleaning product.
  8. Wash the area with a mild soap and water mixture. Moisten a soft cloth and gently wipe the area until all of the cleaner is gone.
  9. Allow the area to dry completely.
  10. When the entire area is dry, vacuum to restore the fibers to their normal texture.

Additional Tips and Ideas

  • When using products designed to break down adhesives, ensure that you only moisten the tops of the fibers. If the product soaks into the carpet backing, it will dissolve the glue that holds the carpet together and cause a much bigger problem.

 

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About the Author

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Susan

I'm a stay-at-home mom who used to run a small housecleaning business. These days I consider myself more or a mad cleaning-scientist. I do most of the testing for our articles - as well as helping Mark & Melanie write them.

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Comments

  1. Kishla says

    July 16, 2009 at 11:47 am

    I used the rubbing alcohol method and it worked amazingly. Just use a circular, forceful motion… you will have to throw away your rag, but it really works, and it didn’t turn my tan carpet green. THANKS.

    Reply
  2. Emon says

    December 28, 2009 at 6:36 pm

    I would never have tried the rubbing alcohol, but the comment made earlier convinced me to try. GooGone also works, but takes much longer and is so much more expensive.

    Reply
  3. Lizbette says

    July 9, 2011 at 11:29 pm

    There are two different types of rubbing alcohol and the isopropyl type comes in varying degrees of isopropyl content… 70% 90%, etc. What did you use?

    Reply
  4. Kristin says

    October 13, 2011 at 10:57 pm

    The alcohol worked great. And EASY! FYI, I used 70%.

    Reply
  5. Danielle says

    February 27, 2012 at 10:37 pm

    I am completely amazed! I had this unknown sticky mark on my carpet. After reading the comments, I tried rubbing alcohol (70%) that I had on hand. About three minutes of elbow grease later, it was completely gone! I am telling everyone I know about this trick! I am sad to admit that I searched all over the house for more spots to remove. Give it a try; you will not regret it.

    Reply
  6. Carol says says

    March 9, 2012 at 8:00 am

    Thanks, I will try rubbing alcohol. I have just taken plastic up off my carpets and have lines with sticky stuff all over.

    Reply
  7. Susan says

    May 27, 2012 at 8:57 pm

    Thanks for all the comments. I haven’t started yet, but will be using alcohol as suggested, and I have high hopes. Thanks again.

    Reply
  8. Debra says

    June 17, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    I had a six inch piece of double-sided tape stuck to my carpet. I used the rubbing alcohol as recommended, by pouring a small amount on the first inch. Just after a few seconds, I pulled up the edge of the tape, and miraculously, I could remove the entire six inches in one piece. Thank you.

    Reply
  9. Karl says

    November 18, 2012 at 12:04 am

    Lacquer thinner worked fast and did the job the best for me. I duct taped tarps down in a customers hallway and bedroom (new carpet) and six weeks later, I tore it up. After a week, dust and dirt adhered to the residual adhesive left from the tape and we received a call back from the customer. I tried 90% alcohol and it made no difference whatsoever. I then tried lacquer thinner in an inconspicuous area and found it left no stain and did not discolor the carpet. So, I gave it a shot and applied a good amount to a clean rag and started rubbing. In less than a minute it came out and transferred to the rag. I used a powerful shop vac to be sure that I sucked up anything left and it looked good as new. Try it; I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

    Reply
  10. Eva says

    November 25, 2012 at 7:49 pm

    Rubbing alcohol worked great on the adhesive stain!

    Reply
  11. Larry says

    January 26, 2013 at 12:41 pm

    I had two way tape going around the edges of a small area rug to hold it “in place” on the wall-to-wall carpet. The tape had stuck to the carpet, collected dog hair and looked nasty. After reading the comments, I tried the rubbing alcohol (70% ) trick. Poured it on an old rag and then rubbed it in a circular motion. It removed all the sticky residue and the dog hair attached to it… In short; It works!!!!

    Reply
  12. Jim says

    September 1, 2013 at 9:22 pm

    I tried the alcohol to remove tape adhesive off carpet and it did nothing, and I worked hard on it. I will try the another method? Any ideas?
    Thanks,
    Jim

    Reply
  13. Nancy says

    December 26, 2013 at 2:15 pm

    We didn’t have alcohol so we used vodka and to our surprise, it worked great, and the carpet was really matted with glue from tape we used to keep a rug in place to cut down on dirt from outside… Who knew.

    Reply
  14. Michelle says

    April 16, 2014 at 1:32 pm

    I made the mistake of using double-sided fabric tape to keep the edges of a decorative area rug snug against my light beige (sand) colored Berber carpet in my living room. When I tried lifting the area rug to vacuum the Berber underneath, the double-sided tape was stuck to it. I had to slowly peel the foamy tape up off the carpet, but a thin layer of the sticky tape remained. I used clear vodka (ice cold from my freezer), moistened sections of the remaining glue/tape, and then used a microfiber cloth, rubbing side to side and in circular motions. The glue stiffened and lifted right up off the carpet, leaving no stain or residue. It was amazing!!

    Reply
  15. T. says

    September 26, 2014 at 6:25 pm

    Did anybody try this with duct tape on a rug? Either alcohol or Goo Gone, etc.?

    Reply
  16. Guido says

    October 11, 2014 at 10:18 am

    Used alcohol and it worked beautifully. Also scrubbed with an old nail brush in a circular motion, then dried with clean towels…Amazing results!!! Thanks

    Reply
  17. Colleen says

    March 5, 2015 at 1:48 pm

    Ten minutes ago, I asked how to remove sticky tape; saw about the rubbing alcohol. Tried it, and five minutes later, two pretty big and very sticky spots were gone!! Rubbing alcohol really works! Now I just have to get tape off my rubber gloves…

    Reply
  18. Belita says

    July 16, 2015 at 1:53 pm

    OMG! Thank you; it actually works.
    I thought I had ruined my carpet, and was cutting the fibers off (no-no), when I finally decide to “google it”.

    Reply
  19. EC says

    October 15, 2015 at 1:12 pm

    I used Lava soap and warm water, and it worked great. The carpet looked better afterwards than it did before.

    Reply
  20. Tori says

    October 21, 2015 at 4:45 pm

    OMG, I can’t believe my eyes; it’s a miracle. My hands and fingers hurt so bad from pulling the tape residue, and one minute down with the alcohol and one minute up and off with a microfiber cloth. Thank you everyone who told me about this. I am so happy and these jerks can’t charge me for the rugs. I am forever grateful.

    Reply
  21. Beasley says

    January 11, 2016 at 2:57 pm

    Can’t believe how easy that was! I had a chair protector stuck to my carpet – thought I would never get if off without using scissors! The isopropyl alcohol worked perfectly. I used a Q-tip to apply the alcohol and gently worked it free. Perfect result! Thanks so much for the advice.

    Reply
  22. Doris says

    February 12, 2016 at 3:42 am

    I duct taped a long strip to cover a lamp cord to prevent tripping…it’s about 4 feet or so. Will this work? Thanks a bunch!

    Reply
    • Avatar photoMelanie says

      February 14, 2016 at 5:44 pm

      Doris,
      Yes, the methods in this article should work on the adhesive used for duct tape.

      Reply
  23. Denise says

    June 15, 2016 at 5:09 pm

    I had a piece of tape that has been stuck to my carpet for a long time. I picked at it with my nails, tweezers…etc. without any luck. I finally stopped because I pulled a large fiber out of the carpet. I applied the isopropyl alcohol and within 30 seconds it was up and gone. Thanks a million.

    Reply

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