Removing Bottle Labels

[Hirsty]

Back when I first fell under the influence of the dark side and started homebrewing it was easy to remove labels - just soak them in a bucket of water over night and the labels would come off. Nowadays, however, it seems nigh on impossible to get the stickers off.

I have just been putting labels over them but is there a better way? How do you remove them?

 

[Walker]

when i collect oldies from people (usually with a nice spot of mould in the bottom), i fill them and soak them in a big plastic box with water with 5-10% bleach for 12 hours or so , then use a bluntish flat blade knife to scrape them off and a green scratchy washing up pad to get the last of the gum off, most are easy some are less so :)

 

[BeerEagle]

Some bottles I got recently have plastic labels which have a clear background. The trick with these is to soak them in warm water for a while then peel back one corner with a sharp knife, then the whole label should peel off in one go.

 

[Darcey]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Solv-Mykal-St ... _821wt_905

! Works a treat!

 

[Cononthebarber]

I had some Grolsch bottles (swing top 450ml) the labels came off real easy, just left them in warm water for about 15 minutes and it peeled right off no bother.

 

[oldstout]

Past caring........ :lol:

Despite hours of steeping, some of mine - in particular Double Maxim bottles - refuse to budge :shock:

Nyeh b o l l o c k s I say. Who cares?

 

[Dave1970]

I've found some that don't come off with soaking do come off if you fill the bottle with hot water and leave for 30 secs, this seems to soften the adhesive and the whole label peels cleanly..worth a try for some

 

[anthonyUK]

I would just look for more bottles. There are plenty of decent ones with easily removable labels to waste too much time.
Don't be afraid of asking local pubs, bars or restaurants. They normally have to pay to have them collected so anything to lighten the load is a bonus.
You could also find a few early morning if your refuse collection includes a separate glass box for recyclables

 

[Cussword]

WD40 is good at removing the sticky residue. After knifing off the paper, spray it on, leave for a couple of minutes & wipe off with a paper towel impregnated with the WD :thumb:

 

[graysalchemy]

I use a hot air gun but they can be a PITA. Because I get so many now I can be choosy and bin ones which are a pain. Oxy cleaner or washing crystals are good to soak them to remove mould etc from inside,

 

[kentmark]

Roasting hot sink of water, submerge the bottles for 10-15 mins. Most of the labels come off then no problems. For any sticky residue / awquard labels add some washing up liquid and a quick scrub with a scouring pad does the job.

HTH

 

[eggman]

I fill and soak mine in a sink of hot water with a couple of drops of washing up liquid leave for 5 mins and most peel straight off, any that don't get binned :

 

[gurtpint]

Been a process of trial and error for me... I just soak the bottles in hot water and then peel the labels off. Some brands' labels are nigh to impossible to get off so I just don't bother with them anymore. I just make mental notes as I go along so I have an idea which bottles are most co-operative (Fullers, Alecoq, Westons, Saku to name a few - most German and Czech lager bottles I've come across, too) and just stick to those. Being friendly with a few people working in bars works a treat when it comes to having access to a good number of empties.

 

[The Goatreich]

I full the bottles full of warm water to get them up to temperature a bit, then put them in the sink and fill this with hot water from the tap, and topped up with the kettle, plus a squirt of washing up liquid. Leave them overnight, or for a few hours depending and usually by the time I come back most will have fallen off. It just takes a bit of a scrub with a scourer to get rid of the remaining paper and glue.

Some are trickier than others, but they usually all give in with a little elbow grease.

Also, I always keep the collar labels on if they say things like "CAMRA says this is real ale", or "Award winning ale" :p