Best way to get a label off a bottle

[NotSure]

Hi folks,
Not sure what group to put this in, but put it here. I'm going to make some very small batches and wanted some 2 litre Fermentation Vessels. So, I got some 2 Litre Old Rosie. Reason being, (1) it's cheap for an FV, and (2) you get cider with it. Usually, I get the labels off of German swing-top bottles off in the electric dishwasher with no problem, but the Old Rosie labels won't budge.

Would you have any tips you would share for removing labels?

 

[Clint]

Right.....
If they don't come off in hot water...either leave em on or if you don't like them...chuck em!

 

[moto748]

The 'steel wool' type pan scourer pads.

Like this:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ec/0b/0d/ec0b0d83982fa19a3d771b00c4fd29a4.jpg

 

[NotSure]

The 'steel wool' type pan scourer pads.

Thanks

 

[Dogbyte]

From experience in other areas of life, some labels in some applications comes off best with either heat ( from a hairdryer or heat gun) or alcohol ( which I presume works on some glues that are not water soluble) and I`ve tried both when struggling with soap and water.

 

[Joust]

Hammers

 

[NotSure]

From experience in other areas of life, some labels in some applications comes off best with either heat ( from a hairdryer or heat gun) or alcohol ( which I presume works on some glues that are not water soluble) and I`ve tried both when struggling with soap and water.

Thank you for the thoughtful response.

 

[the_quick]

Paper labels usually come of in hot water, everything else either isopropyl alcohol or nail varnish remover (with acetone) as this will remove and dissolve the glue.
Ever so often I come across a label that nothing will fully remove the glue.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Soak in PBW hot, use desolv it orange solvent, If it's a plastic label and won't soak up water and it doesn't peel off after these measures chuck it in recycling and get other bottles.

 

[Random Badger]

Hammers

Really big ones.

 

[sifty]

Just going through this myself. Went to a beer tasting event last week and brought home a clinking sack of 500ml empties...

Soaking in hot water with some oxi clean/pbw/sodium percarbonate seems to work on most. Then I just scrape the softened label off with a wooden popsicle stick. Any sticky residue I get with a metal pot scourer. There are some plastic labels that peel off ok, but leave a residue that wipes off with a solvent. They'll need a good wash and rinse prior to sanitizing for bottling of course, but labels are gone...

 

[Shatfield]

I've found that WD40 is good for removing stubborn labels or the sticky residue that's sometimes left behind.

 

[RichardMW]

Hi folks,
Not sure what group to put this in, but put it here. I'm going to make some very small batches and wanted some 2 litre Fermentation Vessels. So, I got some 2 Litre Old Rosie. Reason being, (1) it's cheap for an FV, and (2) you get cider with it. Usually, I get the labels off of German swing-top bottles off in the electric dishwasher with no problem, but the Old Rosie labels won't budge.

Would you have any tips you would share for removing labels?

if they are paper labels, i usually scrape them up a bit, let them soak in hot water, remove the soaked paper and get rid of the gum using sticky stuff remover:

sticky stuff remover on amazon

if they are plastic film labels, peel off as much as you can and then use aformentioned sticky stuff remover

 

[Chippy_Tea]

@NotSure

This Is The Best Way To Remove Labels From Glass Bottles, By Far (onegoodthingbyjillee.com)

Long thread - How to remove bottle labels the easy way.

 

[NotSure]

@NotSure

This Is The Best Way To Remove Labels From Glass Bottles, By Far (onegoodthingbyjillee.com)

Long thread - How to remove bottle labels the easy way.

Great. Thank you! Thanks to all other folks who answered as well.

 

[sifty]

Is there any issue washing away cleaning residue after these methods?
I can't get OxiClean here so used a laundry powder with similar ingredients. (Also found that brakeclean or carby cleaner solvents dissolve gum like magic). So assuming a good hot wash with dish soap will clean the glass ok before a rinse through in the dishwasher?

 

[Richard_H]

I have probably salvaged about 100 bottles that I have collected since being a home brewer, if your lucky and have a bottle from a brewery that uses a tactic that seems to be very popular in Germany and Belgium then about 30 minutes in cold water is enough for the label to slide of in perfect condition leaving almost zero residue behind and the bottle is good to go. If that doesn't work (it wont with most English ale's) then an overnight soak with a cleaning solution added (bleach is my choice) and a butter knife handy will allow you to scrape of the label and glue will work with most.

If your still having no joy then time to move on, I have found out the hard way that some are a real pain in the a**e and are simply not worth the effort.

 

[RichardMW]

Another top tip if you have a lot of similar second hand bottles, is to make sure they work with your bottle capper before going to the bother of delabelling them.
I was gutted to find that the bottles used for London Pride (one of my go to ales) don't play nicely with my cheapo capper. The "collar" is slightly narrower and they don't crimp properly, and so despite loving the beer I can't reuse the bottles.

 

[Racehunter]

Another top tip if you have a lot of similar second hand bottles, is to make sure they work with your bottle capper before going to the bother of delabelling them.
I was gutted to find that the bottles used for London Pride (one of my go to ales) don't play nicely with my cheapo capper. The "collar" is slightly narrower and they don't crimp properly, and so despite loving the beer I can't reuse the bottles.

Just buy a bench capper

 

[RichardMW]

Just buy a bench capper

Couldn't justify the cost at the time of buying my capper, especially as I used to put most of my brews in a king keg, but yes I suppose you're right.