Best way to remove label glue?

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StrictlyIPAs

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One person told me to buy a product called Lift Off from Home Depot, another told me to use hot water and a razor blade...

How do you remove the toxic label gunk from your commercial bottles?:cross:

THanks!
 
Soak in hot water and Oxyclean overnight. The subborn glues will come off with a little scrubbing with a Scotch pad.
 
And while 24 hours is probably a good amount of time to soak your bottles in Oxyclean (throw 'em in and forget it!), I have definitely soaked off labels in less time (an hour on bottling day). You may need to use that Scotch brite pad a little more, and WEAR GLOVES. Every time I use Oxyclean and get some on my hands, they are peeling skin for the next day or two (maybe I make mine too concentrated).
 
Hot water oxyclean soak. Peel the labels off before the water gets cold. Then I just wipe any remaining glue with a dish cloth. I also don't even use the name brand oxyclean, I have "Sun Oxygen Action"
 
I have been salvaging bottles at work (I work at a bar) and have just let them soak in Dawn and hot water for about 30min, then use a s/s scrubber. Couple of swipes and label and glue are removed.
 
Ease of removing varies tremendously depending on the brewery. For me, Hoegaarden practically fall off, but St. Peter's are impossible (as much as I like the shape). I think it helps to save too many bottles and just give up on some.
 
I soak them a few hours in warm water with a couple of ounces of bleach per gallon. Really cheap. A plastic card scrapes off the labels that don't fall off. A scrub brush takes off the glue residue. Will the Oxyclean or Starsan let me avoid the scraping and scrubbing?
 
I have a 40 qt cooler that I use to clean bottles. I pour in some powderd dish soap, add hot water and leave the bottles soak overnight. The cooler keeps the water hot and most labels slide off by themselves. I cleaned the labels off of 16 cases of bottles this way.
 
I just did a bunch of bottles in oxy-clean. After a hour must of the labels peeled off or just fell off. But not the foil ones from Sam Adems or Anderson Valley, they took some extra work. The glue was about gone in another hour except for Serra Nevada and some others. A plastic scrubby took the rest off. I'll give them a bleach/vinegar bath hours before I bottle.
 
Oxyclean and hot water...soaking a minimum of 24 hours. The lable and the glue slip off.


Thats what I use.

I let them soak on a friday night and when my daughter comes over she tells me that she thinks they are ready and then helps me dump them and peels the labels off. All I have to do is take a sponge and wipe off the glue and rinse the bottles out.

Works like a charm.
 
Oxyclean is definitely the way to go if you are doing Sam Adams Bottles. I threw 24 (mmm… October fest) in my garage utility sink with some Oxyclean and hot water. Let them soak overnight. The next morning all of the labels were floating on top. Dumped, and rinsed. They were squeaky clean, no glue residue.
 
I always use HOT water and about an hour soak. Most of the labels and glue come off with a scotchbrite pad and some dish soap no problem. Of course some beers don't.

I might have to try the oxiclean stuff. I've been meaning to get some anyway.
 
I've also heard that Wal-Mart has a knock off of Oxyclean that works just as well, and is cheaper.

Every big box store, and even dollar stores sell some version of oxyclean. They work or don't work to a greater and lesser extent, than the original. Usually you just have to use more to get it to work as well as the more expensive brands. Just make sure the active ingredient is Sodium percarbonate.
 
Another vote for Oxiclean (or the generic equivalent)

I'd like to thank Billy Mays for yelling at me that I should use it.
 
I just pulled out 11 Sam Adams and 1 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale bottles last night from a cooler I filled with hot water and oxyclean. All the Sam Adams bottles came out perfect, the SNPA has just the faintest bit of adhesive left on it. Added 9 various other bottles to the water without adding any more oxyclean or hot water. We'll see how those turn out tonight.

(+1 to personal post count, I'll get to 10,000 someday :) )
 
I use a water soak to get the labels off. Then use mineral spirits on the glue. It comes off without fail very easily every single time.
 
Knock-off Oxyclean is the stuff. I use it to soak tubing, clean kegs, soak Better Bottles, and remove labels. Usually after an hour of soaking I find a bunch of labels floating on the surface, except for those stinkin' Sam Adams labels, those things are stubborn.
 
I use oxyclean also but you have to let them sit.
I soak in hot water for 2 hours and all but the sam adams comes off.
The key for me is to drain and add more hot water for a minimum of 4 hours.
 
Fastest way is to get some Acetone at the hardware store. I bought some kegs off ebay and got them just in time to bottle an English Bitter, and a Nut Brown Ale. The kegs had sticker residue all over them so I put some Acetone on an old rag and the glue just wiped away.

Afterwards give them a good cleaning with Oxyclean, and a sanitizer and you are in business.

Archers use Acetone all the time to clean glue residue off the arrows when replacing or changing out vanes.
 
Used to use hot water and bleach or amonia soak and still had scrub some labels. Switched to oxyclean - (or any of the similar product) - let soak for a day or so, and so far have not had a stuck label yet.
 
Fastest way is to get some Acetone at the hardware store.

Acetone is a very effective solvent, but is flammable, noxious, and toxic.
I use it to prep metals for painting or glueing.
It's just too nasty for household chores.

Ordinary vegetable oil will dissolve many adhesives.

+1 for Oxyclean and a nylon paint-stripping brush.
 
Some labels just slip off after a 10 minute soak in hot water. Others require a prolonged soak with oxiclean. For the more difficult ones, I use a carbide scraper to scrape off a small amount of the surface of the label or rough up the edge. This lets the water get behind the label, and speeds things up dramatically.

-a.
 
Knock-off Oxyclean is the stuff. I use it to soak tubing, clean kegs, soak Better Bottles, and remove labels. Usually after an hour of soaking I find a bunch of labels floating on the surface, except for those stinkin' Sam Adams labels, those things are stubborn.

This may sound wierd, but I find that Sam Adams bottles are really easy to delabel with oxyclean except for the Sam Adams Light which are a major PITA. Anybody else notice this? I'm guessing they use a different glue or maybe bottle them in a different plant.
 
+1 on amonia + water and letting it sit overnight. they slide right off.
 
I've got a 5 gallon rubermade tub, I can get a bunch of bottles, 2.5 cases easy. I use a couple of spoonfulls of oxy and hot water. other trick I came across, fill all the bottles with water first, put in tub standing up, then add oxyclean and h20. bottles wont float up. I had a bunch of Bass bottles that labels practically jumped off the bottles, ROGUE Dead Guy were PITA.
oxyclean also removes the paint pen labeling I write on the bottles. this stuff is friggin amaizing!!!!
 
Acetone is a very effective solvent, but is flammable, noxious, and toxic.
I use it to prep metals for painting or glueing.
It's just too nasty for household chores.

Ordinary vegetable oil will dissolve many adhesives.

+1 for Oxyclean and a nylon paint-stripping brush.

As long as you don't get it inside the bottle there is no issue. And if you are that worried, a quick wash in the dishwasher without any soap will clean everything off. I have used Acetone for years with no problems.
 
Does anybody else find it sad and disappointing that Billy Mays is now remembered more for Oxyclean than he is for the great catch in the 1954 World Series?
 
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