# Oxy-clean and wine bottles



## mmadmikes1 (May 25, 2010)

It gets mentioned all the time but let me say it as a lead item. You will not find a better way of getting labels off and cleaning inside of bottles than oxy-clean. Now I did use my Dads Carb boil-out once and did a better job but cost and the chemicals are sorta overwhelming. That and it can piss off a Father fast as hell. So if your new, go get oxyclean. I buy the cheaper generic stuff and it works fine too.


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## Runningwolf (May 25, 2010)

Mike I agree. I get the big box at Sams Club. I think its like 13 pounds.


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## ffemt128 (May 26, 2010)

Oxy gets my vote also.


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## Thunter (May 26, 2010)

+1 on the Oxy Clean from me. Great Stuff


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## wyntheef (May 26, 2010)

I use it too, but a new thing I've found is when rinsing the bottle with hot water, let it sit for a few minutes and also soak the label for a minute or so, and most of them come off pretty clean with just a little bit of rubbing.
Actually seems to work a lot better than the 24 hour soak, and I'm not a fan of that chore.


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## Andy419 (May 26, 2010)

I absolutely agree -- I "discovered" that last night (after reading a few posts that said Oxy-Clean was OK to use) and was going to post about it today -- you beat me to it! I put 2 scoops in a kitchen sink full of hot water. After about 20 - 30 minutes, the labels came right off, a little bit of rubbing and the bottles were completely clean.

Also -- if you need a little extra muscle (example: Mirassou bottles have a plastic sticker that is tough to get off), some dry Oxy-Clean on a damp sponge is a good abrasive.


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## Andy419 (May 26, 2010)

*Follow Up Question*

Question: How much more cleaning do you need after the OxyClean? I have some "One Step" cleaner I got from my HBS -- do I still need to use that or can I just rinse with K-Meta and be done?


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## mmadmikes1 (May 26, 2010)

I run them yhough the dishwasher after I oxy clean the with K met in washer and thats all I do


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## Runningwolf (May 26, 2010)

Andy419 said:


> Question: How much more cleaning do you need after the OxyClean? I have some "One Step" cleaner I got from my HBS -- do I still need to use that or can I just rinse with K-Meta and be done?



K-meta before bottling and you should be good.


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## Andy419 (May 26, 2010)

Thanks for the help!


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## mmadmikes1 (May 26, 2010)

Runningwolf said:


> K-meta before boiling and you should be good.


if you are boiling the bottles you dont need K-met


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## ffemt128 (May 26, 2010)

mmadmikes1 said:


> if you are boiling the bottles you dont need K-met




I think that was supposed to be bottleing....


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## robie (May 26, 2010)

Oxy-clean is great, but if you leave the bottles in it too long, they can have a film form on them, which can be a challenge to clean.

Just don't leave the bottles in longer than necessary.


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## midwestwine (May 26, 2010)

Ya I had the same problem with the film on them when I only soaked them for 30 min I wont ever use it again because I could not get the film off the inside of the bottles had to toss them out


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## Runningwolf (May 26, 2010)

robie said:


> Oxy-clean is great, but if you leave the bottles in it too long, they can have a film form on them, which can be a challenge to clean.
> 
> Just don't leave the bottles in longer than necessary.



This is the reason I don't use it to clean the inside of my bottles. I stand the bottles up and fill em with hot water then fill the sink with hot water to an inch or two above the label. I add about three scoops of oxclean.


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## Teamsterjohn (May 28, 2010)

LOL, your right Andy, and counting the days till the next time you have to add k-meta to the wine. Oxy-clean, I just started to use it a few weeks ago, and its great for me.


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## Birdman (May 28, 2010)

I use the oxyclean when I want to clean a bottle without meta (such as a cleaning a carboy that I am pressing still-fermenting red into). As for getting labels off, I just soak the bottles for a couple hours in a bucket and then use a razor scraper. They come right off easily. I have a 6 gallon bucket in the cellar. It nicely holds 7-8 bottles. I just put bottles in it as I drink the wine. When it fills with bottles, I fill it with water, scrape the labels, stash the bottles and start again. 

What I would really like to find is a source for new stelvin caps so I could use stelvin bottles and new caps. Corks are going the way of the do do bird I think!


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## xanxer82 (May 28, 2010)

Just bought a tub of oxyclean. Hope it works


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## joseph (May 30, 2010)

*+labels*

I do not use oxy but make my own labels with printer paper then use glue sitck.
warm runing water the lables come off in 15 sec no scrubing
Joseph


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## mmadmikes1 (May 30, 2010)

Joe I was talking about taking off labels from recycled bottles (commercialLabels). My labels come off way to easy sometimes


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## joseph (May 30, 2010)

*madmikes*

OOOHHHHH.
sorry . getting ready to go to the winery


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## mmadmikes1 (May 30, 2010)

ask them if you can have their empties . The bottles are the same that way and makes bottles look better


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## atarlecky (Aug 31, 2010)

mmadmikes1 said:


> It gets mentioned all the time but let me say it as a lead item. You will not find a better way of getting labels off and cleaning inside of bottles than oxy-clean. Now I did use my Dads Carb boil-out once and did a better job but cost and the chemicals are sorta overwhelming. That and it can piss off a Father fast as hell. So if your new, go get oxyclean. I buy the cheaper generic stuff and it works fine too.



I have been using a combination of sodium percarbonate (oxiclean) and tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) in a two-to-one ratio. This does an excellent job at getting everything clean and getting labels off.

As far as any slick feeling that is left, a quick dip in StarSan takes that right off and sanitizes at the same time.


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## bstnh1 (Jan 30, 2013)

How much Oxyclean do you guys use per gallon of water? How many rinses?


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## wineforfun (Jan 30, 2013)

I have a 3 gallon bucket that I only put 1 to 1 1/2 scoops in. The bucket holds about 7-8 bottles. I leave them in there for 30 min. for the easier removing ones and up to an hour or two for the harder ones. I just put warm/hot water in the bottles when delabeling, I don't put the oxy solution inside the bottle.


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## Arne (Jan 30, 2013)

I have found if you are getting a scum with the oxyclean, you are using too much of it. In a 5 gal. carboy, Iuse about 2 tsp. you still get plenty of foaming action and wind up without the scum. I will check on the size of spoon I use and post back. Arne.


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## olusteebus (Jan 30, 2013)

I use very little of the oxiclean and the bottles come out sparkling. I do use a drill for the inside with oxiclean. I leave the bottles in over 24 hours.


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## Arne (Jan 30, 2013)

Yep, just checked, the measuring spoon I use is a tsp. Since going with less havn't had any probs. with the white film forming. Arne. The power brush on the inside sounds like a good idea, Os.


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## dralarms (Jan 30, 2013)

So by using the smaller amount does that stop the "ring burn" problem where you get a ring on the outside of the bottle that you can't get rid of?


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## bstnh1 (Jan 31, 2013)

Thanks for the replies! I've just started using Oxyclean and the first couple of times I used about a tablespoon and a half to each gallon of water. The labels were already off and the bottles had been rinsed right after they were emptied. So I didn't soak them - just filled them with the solution, let it sit there maybe 5 minutes, gave them a quick wash with the bottle brush and rinsed them 4 times. I went through all that rinsing because the ratio I used produced an awful lot of sudsing. Guess I'll cut down on the Oxy and see how it works.


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## Arne (Feb 1, 2013)

dralarms said:


> So by using the smaller amount does that stop the "ring burn" problem where you get a ring on the outside of the bottle that you can't get rid of?


 
Havn't had the problem since i cut back on the amount of oxyclean used. Can leave them in til the water gets cold and no problems. Before if I waited too long they would get that ring burn and it was a bear to try and get rid of. Arne.


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