How much oxyclean in 50gal water to remove labels?

[JulietKilo]

Trying to remove labels from a couple hundred 22oz bottles in a 50 gallon stock tank/bin. To submerge bottles it has to be filled up. Read a bunch of threads on oxyclean/water ratio, most speak of "scoops"?, I just have measuring cups. Anyone done this and know a good ratio? Thanks!

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I've never done it at the scale of 50 gallons of water, but I would try 1 cup of OxiClean Free and moderately hot water. Give it at least 15 minutes of soaking.

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[JulietKilo]

Funny you say that, I was just out putting 1 cup in. Only garden hose access so water not hot. I assume 24hrs is long enough that oxy will have done all it will do by then?

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I've always used hot water, but my guess is that after 24 hours with OxiClean and cold water, you will find most of the labels floating at the top of the water.

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[Silver_Is_Money]

Funny you say that, I was just out putting 1 cup in. Only garden hose access so water not hot. I assume 24hrs is long enough that oxy will have done all it will do by then?

How did it work? Did the labels fall off?

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[madscientist451]

I use baking soda, about 3 tbs for about 2 gallons in a bucket. I've never compared prices, but I'll assume baking soda is cheaper than oxyclean?
Doing a couple of hundred at one time seems like a big hassle to me, maybe get a smaller tub and break it down into smaller batches. You don't need to mix more baking soda and water just keep using the same mix over and over until your done.
To mix a large amount, I'd use a bucket and warm water to make sure either the baking soda or oxyclean gets dissolved, then dump it in to your larger volume of water.

 

[kh54s10]

I have soaked bottles for 24 hours. One scoop in a 5 gallon bucket. The scoop looks to be about 1/4 cup. Some brands labels come right off, others don't. Some are barely loosened at all. Those ones go in the recycling bin.

 

[JulietKilo]

The Oxy/percarbonate certainly helped a lot, actually "ALL Oxy Booster, Free and Clear" is the version my store had. Submerged about a hundred assorted 22oz bottles in water overnight and the easiest labels(Harpoon and Switchback) came off but left some adhesive. Sprinkled a cup of oxy over the water and most of the rest(Sam Adams & others) came off plus the adhesive wiped of with scrubby sponge. The last dozen tougher ones needed oxy sprinkeld directly on the wet labels to come off. One bottle had a bumpersticker grade label impervious to the oxy, only a solvent would get that one off, not worth the time and fumes.

 

[EtchyLives]

The Oxy/percarbonate certainly helped a lot, actually "ALL Oxy Booster, Free and Clear" is the version my store had. Submerged about a hundred assorted 22oz bottles in water overnight and the easiest labels(Harpoon and Switchback) came off but left some adhesive. Sprinkled a cup of oxy over the water and most of the rest(Sam Adams & others) came off plus the adhesive wiped of with scrubby sponge. The last dozen tougher ones needed oxy sprinkeld directly on the wet labels to come off. One bottle had a bumpersticker grade label impervious to the oxy, only a solvent would get that one off, not worth the time and fumes.

My favorite labels are from Flying Dog and Lagunitas. The worst are Elysian and DuClaw. Sam Adams sits somewhere in the middle.