How to remove bottle labels the easy way.

[Global33]

Ah. Vinator. Yet another bit of kit that'd not heard before and now I want.

 

[BlackIsland]

Ah. Vinator. Yet another bit of kit that'd not heard before and now I want.

That is the main symptom of GAS (Gear Aquisition Syndrome). Highly contagious.

 

[Global33]

That is the main symptom of GAS (Gear Aquisition Syndrome). Highly contagious.

I know all about that. I've got boxes and boxes full of climbing and caving kit and shed loads of vaping stuff. One draw of my freezer is dedicated to nicotine for when the new law comes in I can keep mixing my own.

I said when I bought the Brewing stuff that I'd be keeping it simple, but really I knew I was lying to myself.

 

[APINTA]

I find this is the easy way I know it is American but it has worked every time with my beer bottles & wine bottles [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YklGdu-5Kc[/ame]

 

[Crafty Jack]

Well aware that this is a mega-bump for an old thread, but just wanted to share a method that I use that hasn't been mentioned yet.

I only use brown 330ml bottles, re-used from beers that i've purchased. Some have paper labels, some have the plastic type but all are on with pretty stubborn adhesive. I fill the sink with very hot water from the tap (Our tap water runs near boiling i'm sure haha!) and dump all the bottles in for a soak for about ten minutes. This loosens up the label itself, which then peels right off in one piece and goes in to the bin.

I then make up a mixture in a mug of equal parts cooking oil (I use vegetable oil) and baking powder (Just the cheap stuff from the co-op or wherever really.) I then paste this mixture on the bottle's label area and make sure all the adhesive is covered. Leave the mixture to go to work for another ten minutes, then simple rinse/wipe off with a scourer under the tap. Adhesive literally disappears and leaves the bottles like brand-new. Easy!

 

[DiBosco]

Washing soda was the the first thing I tried when I started brewing. It's nasty, nasty stuff and didn't work that well.

I find that every time I sterilise something with VWP, once I've finished with it, I bung the bottles in it that I will use next time. Leave them to soak for several hours and all but things like the foul Thornbridge labels come off easily. Some slide off, some need a little light scrubbing.

 

[Bernie]

Isn't Oxyclean (sodium per acetate) quite basic and would act in similar way to cleaning soda?

I would to have cheap round labels I could print on and them glue to the cap.

 

[Cwrw666]

Plastic labels:

I slowly fill the bottle with boiling water. This softens the glue and the label can be peeled off easily. Usually there's loads of glue left on the bottle. I wrap a piece of paper kitchen towel round the bottle and wet it with white spirit. After a few minutes remove the towel and the glue can be wiped off. Then wash it in soapy water.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Plastic labels:

I slowly fill the bottle with boiling water. This softens the glue and the label can be peeled off easily. Usually there's loads of glue left on the bottle. I wrap a piece of paper kitchen towel round the bottle and wet it with white spirit. After a few minutes remove the towel and the glue can be wiped off. Then wash it in soapy water.

I did this but used goo gone instead of white spirit, then I decided too much effort and don't use those bottles. Erdinger and most bottles from belguim just fall off in warm water... :thumb:

 

[F00b4r]

I did this but used goo gone instead of white spirit, then I decided too much effort and don't use those bottles. Erdinger and most bottles from belguim just fall off in warm water... :thumb:

Yep, living in Germany also mean just soaking the bottles in hot water for a few minutes for the label to just slide off. The new recycling laws coming to the UK will hopefully mean that labels there also move to the paper ones à la Old Peculiar etc.

EDIT you may also see the move to better thicker bottles too. :)

 

[Cwrw666]

Yes, it's funny how continental brewers are happy to glue their paper labels on with water soluble glue while big British breweries seem to stick theirs on with a thick layer of what looks like hot melt glue or worse still some sort of superglue that nothing touches.

 

[ElvisIsBeer]

Washing soda was the the first thing I tried when I started brewing. It's nasty, nasty stuff and didn't work that well.

I find that every time I sterilise something with VWP, once I've finished with it, I bung the bottles in it that I will use next time. Leave them to soak for several hours and all but things like the foul Thornbridge labels come off easily. Some slide off, some need a little light scrubbing.

this!

 

[Alex.mc]

Aldi sells Banks's Amber Bitter in 500ml brown bottles for 89p!
For 89p it's really very decent....... And best of all, the labels literally fall off after soaking in water for an hour! I pull off the lables, put the bottles back in the water for another 20 mins and then the remaining glue just falls off when you look at it with a scrubber!
Its win-win!

 

[GerritT]

Just dump 'm in the dishwasher and that's it. Check the filters afterwards.

 

[merrydown]

The secret of removing labels easily is buying beers from producers that distribute with labels that are easy to remove :) Brewdog and Uprising (my favourite) are two such examples. You peel a corner and slowly peel off the label with your strongest arm.

I always diamond cut the label before attempting I've tried:

Dishwasher: Worked for 2%.
Washing Soda: Worked for 25%
Hot running water and a firm, sharp blade: Worked on 98%

However I had to use 'Sticky Stuff Remover' like the American 'Goo Gone' to remove the residue, even from some Brew Dog and Uprising bottles.

 

[Bjorn Toulouse]

Plastic labels:

I slowly fill the bottle with boiling water. This softens the glue and the label can be peeled off easily. Usually there's loads of glue left on the bottle. I wrap a piece of paper kitchen towel round the bottle and wet it with white spirit. After a few minutes remove the towel and the glue can be wiped off. Then wash it in soapy water.

This is the method I use in particular with wine bottles, white spirit is great for stubborn glue removal

 

[Brewed_Force]

I use Avery peelable labels. They can be removed by carefully peeling, leaving no residue. That doesn't help with commercial bottles though...

 

[Robsparky99]

All depends on the glue, I've found some labels literally fall off within minutes in hot soapy water with no residue (Kopparberg, Bavaria, London Pride, Rekorderlig, Bass Trademark no.1), others are an absolute bugger and I have to use white spirit to clean them. I think I have some of that in the cupboard, will give it a try!

I'm becoming way more picky when it comes to diving in the local bottle bank!

 

[Robin_2]

Simply the best been using for a long time. When I put my own labels back on the bottles I paste the labels with milk. They come off under the tap with warm water

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Better to drink your milk and use prit stick to stick your label to the bottle and your label will come off easy when you steep the bottle in hot water with a small dash of washing up liquid

 

[Mavroz]

I soak all my bottles in a bucket with Sodium Pericarbonate in it. Most of the paper labels just lift off within maybe a hour.
Paper labels that are stubborn get the stanley knife blade treatment, quickly scraping them off.
Any residue that is left gets a scrub with a damp scourer, then a 30 minute quick wash in the dishwasher.
Plastic labels get peeled off. Warm the bottle first and they peel quite easily.
For the sticky residue that is left on the bottle, i recommend this https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/label-removers/4821277/ (Other places may be cheaper)
It smells of oranges, but a quick spray on the residue, wait a minute or so, then just wipe and rub with a dry cloth and the residue wipes off.
These bottles are then rinsed in the sink with a little WUL to get rid of the orange smell, then a 30 minute dishwasher blast.
Never lost a bottle to residue yet and i have nearly hit my first 100 now, haha.

Will up a pic of my homebuilt internal washing and sterilising rig if you wish, but not sure where to yet.