# removing wine labels



## sholomy (Oct 3, 2013)

some labels come off easily after a little heating but some are very stubborn and leave a residue ive read of people using wd40, goo gone,mineral spirit, oxy clean and even peanut butter. outside of peanut butter are any of the above not too toxic and can they be used safely? does peanut butter really work and if yes by the same token would any other food grade oils work? what has worked for u?


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## Runningwolf (Oct 3, 2013)

I soak my bottles in oxy clean for 30 minutes, scrape what comes off, soak some more and scrape again. You might want to try and do a search for this on the forum here because everyone has there favorite procedure the works best for them.


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## sholomy (Oct 3, 2013)

oxyclean works well to remove the stubborn glue residue? is it safe? will the oxyclean wash away without leaving a residue?


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## sour_grapes (Oct 3, 2013)

Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW) works well on a lot of labels. (It seems there are a few different types, and they respond to different solvents.)


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## oreoman (Oct 3, 2013)

I soak my bottles in hot water and a combination of B-brite and PBW. Very rarely a problem getting the labels off. For the glue I use a single edge razor blade if it's a problem. More people use Oxiclean but I started with PBW and do not want to switch.


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## Runningwolf (Oct 3, 2013)

Oxy clean rinses off easiest if you don't allow it to dry on the bottle. PBW is also an excellent cleaner but more expensive.


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## derunner (Oct 4, 2013)

I cleaned 700 bottles this winter/spring. First get the label scrapped off. I used boiling hot water first with a soak and a paint razor blade scrapper.

To get off the glue, try Brillo pads for the non water soluable glues. Sure paint thinner will be easier, but I did not like the idea of paint thinner next to the bottle in case any gets inside while rinsing.

Brillo pads and elbow grease will work for stubborn glues.


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## sholomy (Oct 4, 2013)

im also wary of bringing anything toxic close to the bottle. some suggest peanut butter if set overnight will dislodge the glue but i havent tried yet


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## sholomy (Oct 4, 2013)

i also read filling the bottle with empty water can help the label peel off smoothly with the glue without leaving a residue


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## Sammyk (Oct 4, 2013)

We fill the bottle with hot water; do not soak the bottle in water until you peal the label off. By the time I have filled the upright bottles in the sink the labels are ready to peal off the first ones filled. Works like a charm for the bottles we get from two different wineries. After the label is off we lay the bottle in a skin filled with hot water and oxy clean.


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## bkisel (Oct 4, 2013)

Soak a bit.
Peel off what I can (often whole label comes off).
Scrape the rest.
Course type washing pad with baking soda and a little elbo grease removes remaining paper and glue.

I'll be trying the hot water fill idea posted above.


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## JohnT (Oct 4, 2013)

Use a pressure washer! 

I built a "cradle" out of 2X6 and some chicken wire. I soak the bottles in warm water for a minute or two (just to soften them up), then blast them. Does a great job! Just wear saftey goggles!


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## Runningwolf (Oct 4, 2013)

JohnT said:


> Use a pressure washer!
> 
> I built a "cradle" out of 2X6 and some chicken wire. I soak the bottles in warm water for a minute or two (just to soften them up), then blast them. Does a great job! Just wear saftey goggles!



LOL Sheesh, John why are you holding back? Why not just pull out the sand blaster!


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## JohnT (Oct 4, 2013)

Runningwolf said:


> LOL Sheesh, John why are you holding back? Why not just pull out the sand blaster!


 
Spent too many hours scraping! When I got done one day, I realized that I spent 6 hours scraping the labels off of $40 worth of bottles. 

Annoyed and aggrivated, I spotted my pressure washer. The room grew dark and a heavenly light rained down upon it. A choir of angles then sang out. It was a truly inspired moment....


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## suecasa (Oct 4, 2013)

I pick up used bottles from local vineyards … here's my technique …

Fill the sink with hot water and a squirt of dish soap … fill bottles with that water and make sure they are positioned with their labels covered. let sit over night.

Take an old steak knife and use either the teeth or the back edge to scratch off the labels … most will come off easily. the rest put back in the water for a while once most of the paper is off. at the same time use the knife to tear off any foils that remain on the neck.

After the labels are off …I use a Mr Clean Eraser to remove the glue residue. I tear the eraser in 1/4s and each piece will usually clean 15-20 bottles before is gets too gooey or disintegrates.

Very few that I end up giving up on and recycling. All in it averages less than 5 min per bottles. Good for the environment. Good for the pocketbook!


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## bkisel (Oct 4, 2013)

Maybe the ancients had it right all along... Wine Skins!


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## RegionRat (Oct 4, 2013)

JohnT said:


> Use a pressure washer!
> 
> I built a "cradle" out of 2X6 and some chicken wire. I soak the bottles in warm water for a minute or two (just to soften them up), then blast them. Does a great job! Just wear saftey goggles!



I also use a pressure washer. Works like a dream. The next time I do it I will shoot and post a video of it.

RR


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## BernardSmith (Oct 4, 2013)

I find that copper scouring pads with dish detergent works to get the glue off of about 95 percent of the bottles. The other 5 percent I need to add a drop or two of cooking oil to the scourers and that removes the gum. I assume that since I apply the detergent and oil to the outside and I apply them to individual bottles and the bottles are not soaked in solutions of oil or detergent there is little risk of the oil or the detergent ending up inside the bottles so risk of contamination is very low.


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## Sammyk (Oct 4, 2013)

We have what is know as a canning sink. The one side is larger and deeper. It will hold 25 bottles upright. I start by filling each bottle with hot tap water. By time we are done filling the last bottle with the hot tap water we can peel off the label on the first filled bottle. It takes 30 minutes from start to finish to do 25 bottles. There is NO scraping what so ever, the labels peel off in one piece. Once the label is off, we add oxy clean to each bottle and finish filling with hot water and let them soak for a few hours. Rinse and we have 25 bottles ready to go. The wineries where we get the used bottles rinses them after they empty them so there is not even any rinsing on our part before adding oxy after the label is removed.

We get bottles from 2 different wineries and both bottle sources work the same way to get the labels off in one piece.

The one trick we found is do not get the label wet when filling with water. We only fill each bottle under the hot water tap with a funnel to the height of the top edge of the label.


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## derunner (Oct 4, 2013)

Sammy, have you tried that technique with lots of different bottles? I wonder if that just works with your 2 types of bottles? I got 700 different bottles and probably had 50 different brands. Some washed off with just water and others were stubborn.


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## sholomy (Oct 5, 2013)

some great ideas thanks
im going to try to fill the bottles but if i have any trouble from there im going straight to the pressure washer


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## n2tazmania (Oct 7, 2013)

Seems like we have a few Tim "The Toolman" Taylors on here.....  More power!!!!

Someone is going to say... "I just hook the pressure washer up to the dishwasher and fire away".......


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## randomhero (Oct 8, 2013)

What i do which works very well is, i put as many bottles standing up in a large cooler and then put some oxyclean in. After that i put the hottest water my faucet will produce on until it is filled. 

After a couple hours of soaking pretty much just peel what labels are left off.

I did 12 cases like that in about 6 hours.


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## jamesngalveston (Oct 8, 2013)

I do the same thing now..but instead of oxyclean I use TSP.


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## 72Chevelle (Oct 8, 2013)

I use TSP as well works like a charm. I just have a 5 gallon bucket that will hold 5 or 6 bottles and i do 5 or 6 at a time and just keep the solution for the next 5 or 6 I get my hands on.


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## sholomy (Oct 8, 2013)

tsp is food safe right? i think i might try that


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## digitaleye (Oct 8, 2013)

Always a great topic! I spent several years using the hot water and/or long soak in straight water (used to add a bit of KMBS to inhibit any growth). That worked for maybe 30-40 percent of bottles. Labels would float off or come off with light scraping. The rest still required a LOT of scraping. Now, I use PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash) at 1oz per gal in a 5 gal bucket and a good 80% of the labels float right off in a couple days. Maybe another 10% still require a bit of scraping and the last 10% are just really stuck on and go in the recycling. Can't believe how much better it is with PBW. I thin OxyClean will work too but its essentially formulated as a detergent with scents and such that I'd rather not contend with down the line. Sure, I wash the bottles after but PBW isn't that expensive that I want to take any extra risk.


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## vacuumpumpman (Oct 8, 2013)

sholomy said:


> tsp is food safe right? i think i might try that



You might want to look at the MSD sheets for that information - I don't think it is food grade at all.


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## vacuumpumpman (Oct 8, 2013)

from digitaleye -
I think OxyClean will work too but its essentially formulated as a detergent with scents and such

They make a non dye -non scented and non chlorinated oxy clean 

it has the green top


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## cimbaliw (Oct 9, 2013)

Someone around here, maybe JSWordy, bakes the bottles at low heat for a time and claims the labels and glue flake right off. Next time I run into a batch of labeled glass, I'm going to try this. For now I've grown soft, my LHBS is only 15 miles away, I just buy them. I do think the retreads I have are thicker glass than what I buy locally.


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## vacuumpumpman (Oct 9, 2013)

cimbaliw said:


> Someone around here, maybe JSWordy, bakes the bottles at low heat for a time and claims the labels and glue flake right off. Next time I run into a batch of labeled glass, I'm going to try this. y.



I do recall someone taking a heat gun to it


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## jamesngalveston (Oct 9, 2013)

tsp is not food safe....it is used in almost all cereals you buy in the store, but its in very small qtys.
I make sure that I rinse a few times and then one step cleaner.
By that time there is no tsp left.
I dont think I would drink oxiclean,most household cleaners, are a bar of soap, but i use them to clean things, and myself.. Go figure.


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## digitaleye (Oct 10, 2013)

vacuumpumpman said:


> They make a non dye -non scented and non chlorinated oxy clean
> 
> it has the green top



Great tip, I had no idea there were different versions. PBW isn't super expensive but if I can get the Oxi Free cheaper and locally that's a much better deal, Thanks


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