Removing Label Goo

I have a buddy that is a big fan of Amstel Light and he's more than happy to supply me with the emptys. The only problem is that they don't have a normal label. They have a plastic sticker that is a PITA to rip off, and once I to get it off, there is a bunch of sticky glue gunk left on the bottle.

I've tried soaking them, salt water, goo gone, dish soap, and every cleanser hidden under my kitchen sink. Does anyone have a secret to get this stuff off the bottles?

Have you tried Oxy Clean yet? It works for me every time.

No I have not.... Thanks. Also, will Oxyclean sanitize my bottles? It would be nice to do two things at once.

Oxyclean will clean your bottles. I don't think it is necessarily a sanitizer. I would use a sanitizing agent like StarSan after they have been cleaned/delabeled.

I hate those plastic labels. Even after soaking in oxy clean the label didn't come all the way off. I had to scrape off the surface of it and then soak again.

Oxyclean is a Cleaner...NOT a sanitizer...

So no it won't...

But with a long enough soak it will remove most labels I have had to remove...including multilayered plastic ones...

if their's residue left (which if you soak long enough for the labels to slip off, there usually isn't anything left) I find that a "magic Sponge" product does the trick.

Oxy Clean is definitely the way to go. I have a ceramic sink so I can just use that but if your sink is metal I'm pretty sure a long soak is bad for metal. If that's what you have use a fermentation bucket or rubbermaid instead. The following method works for me:

[1] Scoop out some Oxy Clean and dump it into your container (bucket/sink/whatever...).

[2] Fill container with warm to hot water, enough to cover the bottles. I like to add the Oxy Clean first and then use my sprayer to get it nice and mixed up.

[3] Add your bottles and make sure they are completely submerged.

[4] Leave to soak overnight (if possible). The longer the better.

[5] Usually the lables will literally float off. Any slight amount of goo left behind will almost rinse off but if not, just use a normal kitchen scrubby-sponge and it will take no real effort to get clean...almost a wipe.

[6] Thoroughly rinse all of the bottles...and then rinse them again.

[7] Let them dry upside-down for a while and they'll be ready to store until you are ready to use them.

NOTE: As others before me have mentioned already, your bottles are clean but NOT SANATIZED. You still need to sanatize before filling on bottling day.



I do this at least once a week to prep my empties in advance. Every saturday night after a group emptying session we put the empties in the sink and the last thing I do that night is start the Oxy soak. They're ready for me by morning.

Hope that helps!

-Tripod

Definately helps. Thanks everyone. I didn't think that Oxyclean would count as a sanitizer, but I thought I heard the yelling guy from the commericials say that it was a sanitizer.

Well, I'm off to make some more empties!

i dont know why, and maybe it was just me, but when i tried to used amstel bottles they didnt seal right. i've never had a problem with any other bottle-just a fyi

defenestrate said:

i dont know why, and maybe it was just me, but when i tried to used amstel bottles they didnt seal right. i've never had a problem with any other bottle-just a fyi

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Ya Amsetel bottles are a pain in the arse to cap with a regular wing capper because the lip is small and high. If you have a bench capper and are willing to put a little elbow grease into it, use them. I have given up on Amstel bottles, however, too labor intensive to get everything right/clean.

GGRRRR.... I knew free bottles were too good to be true.