removing bottle labels

[kyle56]

Hey there just wondering what you guys find the easiest way to remove bottle labels thanks much

 

[erick0619]

Soak them for a day In a concentrated pbw solution

 

[slym2none]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=527347

 

[Takuie]

1 scoop of oxyclean per gallon of water does miracles for me. Even gets the crust moldy gunk out of the bottom of the bottles. Hot water oxyclean bath for around 45 minutes and the labels that don't float/fall off are easily wiped off.

 

[j1n]

really depends on what they used to put the label on. I find some to be very hard to get off even with a PBW soak over night.

 

[brew_darrymore]

I do an Oxiclean soak in hot tap water for a few hours.

 

[fuelish]

Depends on the bottle labels...I find it enough of an exercise in futility that I just leave them on and don't worry 'bout it - I'm not entering any competitions, so labels are of little concern as long as the beverage is good. My "presentation" starts in the glass, not in the bottle

 

[Kent88]

I mostly agree with @fuelish - I usually just fill the bottles with hot tap water, put them in a kettle with more hot water so the labels are immersed, put the kettle on a hot burner and bring the temp up to about 130F for 10 minutes, and I should be able to peel the labels off. I put the bottles back in the kettle for another 20 minutes and wipe off a lot of the remaining adhesive with a damp paper towel.

I've had some wine bottles that have absolutely horrible adhesive on them. PBW gets most of it off, but even leaving it overnight doesn't get it completely clean. If having pristine bottles is important to you, anything that doesn't come clean after a long PBW treatment, take it outside to the recycle bin and throw it in there hard enough to break it.

 

[grrickar]

really depends on what they used to put the label on. I find some to be very hard to get off even with a PBW soak over night.

Also depends if the labels are 'water soluable' or not. I tried to delabel some Smithwicks bottles and the labels were almost some crazy combination of foil and vinyl (or at least laminated). No amount of soaking would get them to turn loose. I tossed them in the recycling bin and gave up.

 

[GHBWNY]

Also depends if the labels are 'water soluable' or not. I tried to delabel some Smithwicks bottles and the labels were almost some crazy combination of foil and vinyl (or at least laminated). No amount of soaking would get them to turn loose. I tossed them in the recycling bin and gave up.

Ditto Southern Tier labels. Not foil, but glued on with something from a NASA lab. I tell friends NOT to bring me ST empties.

 

[aprichman]

I use baking soda and hot water. 90% of labels will come off with no resistance after a 10-15 minute soak. I hit the bottles with a steel scrub pad after I remove the labels to make sure all the glue is off. The other 10% of bottles get recycled, not worth the effort IMO.

 

[cannman]

Oxyclean scoop into warm/hot water in 5 gal bucket, leave over night. Most labels will slide right off! Have a lot of bottles? Fill up your bathtub with water and oxyclean!

Make sure you rinse your bottles inside and out or the oxyclean will leave a film...

 

[brewkinger]

really depends on what they used to put the label on. I find some to be very hard to get off even with a PBW soak over night.

Agreed. If after the usual oxy clean soak, they do not fall or easily peel off, they are recycled.

I will not scrub any labels or industrial /NASA strength adhesives off ever again.

 

[Btaz]

After speaking in whatever water /pbw, I use a small wire brush (I think an old BBQ brush) to remove the glue and any paper that didn't peel off.

 

[ConorO]

I soak mine in a cooler full of very warm water and an oxidizer like Easy Clean. After a few hours of sitting in there, the labels start to float to the top. I then remove all the labels, briefly scour the outsides of the bottles in the water to remove excess glue, and afterwards rinse.

 

[unionrdr]

I started using recycled PBW to soak labels off with. when I soak a fermenter clean, running it through the fermenter's spigot into my orange home depot bucket to soak the labels off in. I hate it when they use some kind of super gorilla snot as a label adhesive. I've gotten southern tier labels off fairly easily, but they do need to soak overnight.

 

[Mexibilly]

When I was saving bottles I'd pour a glass, immediately fill the bottle with hot water and rinse, fill it half way 3 or 4 more times, shaking vigorously for a second or 2 each time, fill it all the way up with hot water and finally, when I had enough, I'd fill the sink with hot water, submerge the full bottles and let them soak overnight.
The next morning the labels come right off and any leftover glue or paper comes off easy with a green dish scrubby.
The ones that won't come off easily the next morning get recycled.
I perform the same fill and shake ritual with my labelless bottles after pouring and fill them with hot water to soak for an hour or more before dumping out and one more quick rinse.
I've never washed a bottle and never had an issue, but I perform this rinsing ritual without fail.
Washing is probably required for bottles that aren't immediately and thoroughly rinsed.