Completely unrelated to O cleaning question

[Becks]

Anyone have any good hints from getting blu tack stains off walls? Apparently I have to pay 200 quid for my room to be repainted if mine aren't off by Thursday morning. Oops.

[Jene]

hey...i've had that problem before.....ok, erm..
try rubbing the stain with another bit of bluetack...if this doesn't remove the stain you can either...
use a fine ' scraper' (the back of a metal spatula)....or a scourer thingy for normal pans....but only gently because managed to rub the paint off in some places.and, hmmm, i had something else but cant remember it at the minute, ooh, ye, fairy liquid works on not-very-obvious stains, think thats bout all that works for me..

[FatBoy]

Get some sugar soap from a DIY shop - this is the best stuff for cleaning painted walls without damaging the paint. If this doesn't shift it you could try moving up to meths or on to white spirit but these will both almost certainly damage the paint.

[Jene]

oooh ye...nail varnish remover...the ones which are acetate based..or somthing like that

[the duncan]

just paint the walls your self, can do it easily for less than £200, or is your room the size of a small house?

[Toni]

and if the walls are white tipex works!

[Becks]

Theu're just that really annoying off white so tippex (last year's tactic) isn't an option. Can't repaint as our surprise room inspection is tomorrow, and fairy liquid, bleach and jif are all failing dramatically....argh!

[gross2004]

not much of a surprise if you know when it is:)

[Becks]

Nah...they weren't going to tell us but then I found out

[Jene]

i'd try n scrape it off....sounds silly but hey...if it recks the paint..well u would of had to paint it anyway...u could paint it though..buy a few of those tester pots....n they dont take long to dry.

[cj]

If they're grease stains the blu tack packet suggests lighter fluid or dry cleaning fluid, like you're gonna have those lying around. White spirit shouldn't damage the paint if you use it sparingly. Otherwise you could try lemon juice/vinager, they usually work, your room will just smell hope you get them off ok.

[SJ]

if you're the arty type and have acrylic paints lying around they do the trick as they dry quickly and you can mix them to get the right colour (my landlord never knew )

[i-pod]

I admit this may not be terribly helpful for Becks, as the late night chemist probably doesn't stock it, but heptane (hexane at a pinch) is excellent for this purpose. It also works a treat for getting chewing gum off things, including fabrics. Amazing what eleven years of chemistry will teach you.

[chrisecurtis]

Extract from Heptane data sheet:

Highly flammable. Readily forms explosive mixtures with air.

that could solve the problem of the blu-tac stains - might cost you more than a lost deposit though

[i-pod]

Highly flammable. Readily forms explosive mixtures with air.

True, but I wasn't suggesting burning it off! Someone suggested lighter fuel, which probably has an even scarier data sheet. For that matter ethanol/water mixtures can do nasty stuff, so don't let anyone smoke near them next time you fancy a drink.

Safety warning - extinguish all those candles and keep the dragon in the hallway while using heptane