We Tried Removing Superglue Using Neosporin, And This Hack May Need A Band-Aid

Everyone knows that annoying feeling of a patch of dried superglue on their hands. I've always accepted superglue residue as an inevitable part of using it. Eventually it wears off your skin, and errant glue patches often show up on nearby items after a crafting sesh. Plenty of non-conventional household items have been known to give superglue a run for its money. Vaseline, white vinegar, lighter fluid, acetone, and hydrogen peroxide are all supposed ways to get rid of stray specks of glue from a variety of surfaces.

Among the anecdotal remedies for removing superglue is Vaseline's hurt-healing cousin Neosporin. Since they are made with the same base, petroleum jelly, there's chatter on the internet that the antibiotic cream will also do the trick. My sources claiming petroleum jelly as a glue-fighter mentioned removing the stuff from skin or glass. I had both, plus an old tube of store-brand triple antibiotic cream in my medicine cabinet. So, I thought I'd see how well it worked against ultra-strength glue on both my hand and a Mason jar.

My plan for the experiment was to put a bit of glue on my knuckle and another glob on the side of my jar. People who've seen success with petroleum jelly shared that you need to spread a layer over the dried glue and rub at it with your fingers to remove it from skin or with a scouring pad from glass. After the product has done its work, the glue is supposed to flake away with ease. Considering that petroleum jelly is a main component of Neosporin, I borrowed these steps for my experiment.

Given my thrifty Scots roots, I started with the tube of cream that I already had rather than buying a new one. On closer inspection, my Safeway Select cream was five years past its expiration date. Well, it was still worth a try; just because my tube was old didn't change that the cream's base was petroleum jelly. If old stuff worked, it'd be proof enough that the hack was effective.

I dabbed a bit of Krazy Glue onto the side of my jar, waited for it to dry, then spread on a layer of store-brand cream on the spot. After a bit of rubbing, it appeared round two was in store. And round three. No success, but I was using expired cream in a knock-off brand. To be sure, this experiment merited a fresh tube of Neosporin.

It was commitment time. With the cap off my Krazy Glue, I dabbed some glue on my knuckle and a new spot on my Mason jar. I chose my knuckle since it's an easy spot on your hand to ignore, much more so than a finger or palm. As recommended, I applied a coat of Neosporin over my gluey knuckle and rubbed the spot with my fingers. I know that it often takes more than one try to remove the targeted glue from skin, but after three rounds of coating and rubbing, my skin still was topped in glue.

I painted a generous glob of glue on the raised pattern on one side of the Mason Jar; since the pattern had a raised border around it, I figured it would contain the glue rather than letting it run over the side of the jar. Once the Krazy Glue dried on the glass jar, I covered it with a thick coat of Neosporin and rubbed at the glob with a scouring pad. The thick layer of dried glue remained unfazed. Since patience is often key, I recoated the spot with ointment and let it marinate a bit. After about 15 minutes, I set into the hardened glue patch again with the scouring pad. As I'd suspected, the Neosporin didn't make the glue any easier to remove after some wait time.

Given my experiences, I would cross this remedy off your list of ways to get the sticky stuff off skin. Plus, none of the other solutions already in my cabinet or garage — namely rubbing alcohol and WD-40 — worked to get the glue off my middle-aged skin. Maybe younger, springier skin takes to these fixes better than mine did. And, with how well the Krazy Glue clung to the side of my Mason jar, I'd say Neosporin is also a no-go for removing it from glass.

I have to conclude that you should save the tube of Neosporin for the hurties instead of superglue mishaps. For removing it from skin, I'm going to give superglue a failing grade. Maybe I'd give it a D- since I think a few flakes chipped away as I rubbed at my glued knuckle. For removing superglue from glass, Neosporin earned a solid F. From my teaching days, these kinds of grades tell me that Neosporin does not meet expectations when it comes to tackling superglue.