Depends.. some will come off easy in hot water, some need to be scraped off with a razor blade. Most will come off easy and then I use a stainless steel scrubie to remove the glue.
After reading stuff on here, I have come up with this method-
Soak heaps of bottles in bath tub for at least 24 hours (Hope you have a shower thats seperate!) then use a blade (I have one for my ceramic stove top which is kind of like a window scraper...well I have two so others will help me as i ahte this task!) and I scrape them off, the longer yuo can soak them the easier they come off. Aaaaaaand when you do your own ones and recycle, use milke or glue sticks to put them on so that your labels come off easier when it comes to removing them. Makes life so much easier!
I agree with the glue sticks for relabeling they come right off in hot water. Many like to soak the bottles in oxy clean. I guess it does a great job. I just bought some so will find out later. I soak them in hot soapy water for 10 or 20 min. then most come right off. For those that dont come off I use a dull scraper.
I boil water and fill up the bottles while soaking in soapy water. Many of them will come right off (50%) - others I have to scrape (45%) and then others I give up on as I don't like using chemicals like adhesive remover (5%)...
I fill the bathtub up with water as hot as it will get and mix in Oxyclean(Walmart SunBrand) and put as many bottles as I can n there making sure they all fill and sink. I can usually fit around 45-50 bottles at once in there and let it soak for a few hours but some will need more help. For the most part most of them will float right off but some will need the help of a scraper blade while theyre stiil warm as they will come off easier when the glue is still warm. Go across the bottle with the scraper.
i agree with wade after reading his post a while back i went out and bought oxyclean and filled up a bucket with oxyclean and over night the labels that were more like paper rather then the labels that were sticker labels, floated right up to the top. so as far as i concerned i am going to oxyclean for all of my bottles to get the labels off, it really does work!!
It does not sanitize, it is just a cleaner, you will have to use k-meta. It will also leave a residue as C & B Brite will an why I dont use those. C-Brite basically is a santizer but not labeled as one so maybe Oxiclean is but I dont feel safe with it and dont like the residue it leaves behind, kinda like a chalky substance.
I tried a few of the listed methods and this is what worked best for me. half cup of water in the bottle microwave for about 2 min or until boiling then most of the labels peal with glue in one peice. if that does not work i use this.
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I used a 4" grinding wheel to make an old paint scraper fit a standard bottle at a 45 deg angle then sharpened on the steel. Scrape then warm water.
I use a razor scraper and scrape side ways instead of up and down. This way the blade lays flat the along the entire edge. I rest the bottle on the top corner of my laundry sink from support.
Soak them in super hot water with washing soda or Oxyclean for two-three hours. Some labels float off others need to be scrapped. If glue still remains I use Go-gone to get the sticky stuff off. They all go into the dishwasher after to remove any junk. Blast em with K-Meta or Na-Meta and store upside down.