recycled bottle post-cleaning logistics (for temporary storage)

[bshef]

I was going to chime in about the mineral spirits; the fumes and chance of getting inside would worry me. I usually use a scouring pad to get the glue off but have used Goof Off - orange based - without any contamination.

 

[Scooter68]

... have used Goof Off - orange based - without any contamination.

Had a similar product, still, because it had citris OIL that required another strong detergent to break down that oil. Hard to find something to take those labels off and as long as I can find the easily removed labels, I'll stay away from the the others. Hot soapy water, or just HOT water inside the bottle often make a lot of labels peel off nicely.

The move to more, eco friendly glues should help, over time. Most of those are water soluble.

 

[jvbutter]

not like you need another opinion, however more similar thoughts always made me feel better when trying something. my process is, after emptying the bottle, rinse, when i get 4-5 on the counter, start a sink of hot water from faucet tap, not stove boiling hot, add 2T One Step to the water, dissolve well, then bottle brush them allow to soak longer, after 15 min or so, pull them out rinse and set up on drying tree. After dry, place in box. Day before bottling, pull them out, check them for cleanliness, then day of, make another sink of sanitizer. rinse a about 2 cases worth, let them dry in the dishwasher rack, then fill them up.

 

[gsf77]

I cleaned some bottles last night using the hot water inside and outside letting them soak for 15-20 minutes. Worked very well except like has been said before, some of that glue refused to give up it's ground. Good tips!

 

[Scooter68]

I cleaned some bottles last night using the hot water inside and outside letting them soak for 15-20 minutes. Worked very well except like has been said before, some of that glue refused to give up it's ground. Good tips!

Yeah Been there. I've had some where the front label pealed off very nicely with hot water inside only but the back label resisted even after soaking. I use the scotch-brite pads and sometimes that works and the orange hand cleaner Go Jo or similar product work OK with some adhesives. Since it's a water based cleaner it tends to clean up well with no odors left in the sink or on the bottles.

 

[tjgaul]

I use both acetone and mineral spirits to remove the really gummy labels and have had no problem with subsequent clean up. Both agents evaporate almost completely on their own. Acetone is not quite as effective, but disappears rapidly. Mineral spirits take a little longer (leaves a bit of an oily residue), but I'm usually doing the de-labeling as an entirely separate step apart from final wash, sanitize and refill. After a day or two in storage whatever is left comes right off with a soft dry cloth.

 

[Chuck E]

Yeah Been there. I've had some where the front label pealed off very nicely with hot water inside only but the back label resisted even after soaking. I use the scotch-brite pads and sometimes that works and the orange hand cleaner Go Jo or similar product work OK with some adhesives. Since it's a water based cleaner it tends to clean up well with no odors left in the sink or on the bottles.

GOJO, I'll have to try that! Thanks for the tip.

 

[Scooter68]

Update / Correction - It's actually Orange Goop hand cleaner. Probably both the same basically. I get the stuff at harbor Freight. The 1 gallon container stuff contains pumice which might scratch the glass ?? not sure. the smaller containers 16 oz do not or at least the old one I had did not.
Key is that it is water soluble where as some citrus cleaners are much harder to get off - too much oil in them.

 

[jvbutter]

ive had some good luck with hot soapy water and a scrubby... if they dont come off easily, i have recently just trashed them. Too much effort, and I get too many bottles passed to me.

 

[jgmann67]

Last weekend, I processed 6 cases of wine bottles in a few hours.

After making wine for 4 years, I now have a sufficient stockpile of recycled bottles that only have my labels on them (commercial labels can be a huge pain).

I soak in a 30 gallon brute bin with hot water and oxy-clean for about an hour. Usually the label falls off in the bin. If not, it comes off with nominal effort. I empty about a 1/3 of the oxy/water from the bottle, shake the hell out of it (think shake weight workout), drain, rinse until there’s no visible soapy residue and then spritz with KMeta solution.

I let the bottles dry in the rack, then store them in bins under my work table. The night before it’s time to bottle a wine, I reinspect the bottles, spritz with kmeta again and let them dry. Ready to go.

Anymore, I’m picky about recycling commercial bottles. If the label doesn’t come off fairly easily using a similar method (soak and peel, with a little scraping), it’s just not worth the hassle.

 

[Scooter68]

Yup jgmann67 - too many bottles in those bins to hassle with the ugly labels.

 

[opus345]

What jgmann said, verbatim.

 

[Larsen Cottrell]

Have close to 800 bottles, 90% are recycled. Its extra work removing old labels, but still worth it versus buying new all the time. I use oxy to soak/clean, if the labels dont fall off, or leave a gummy residue, don't worry too much about it until after bottling/corking, when the bottles have to be upright for about 5 days, soak them in cold oxy to remove any labels and use adhesive remover on the stubborn stuff. Have started to use weatherproof labels for longevity now, more expensive up front, but less work to reuse the bottles.

 

[Simon Gibbens]

Going back to the cleaning discussion, I have had residue right at the bottom of the bottle around the punt that I couldn’t get with a brush. Not sure if you can get these stateside, but in the UK we have something called ‘magic balls’. When you’ve all stopped chuckling, they’re small copper bb’s, drop them in the bottle and swirl with a splash of water and the residue disappears. This works even with light staining that a brush won’t touch.

 

[bshef]

Where do you get those magic balls?

 

[Simon Gibbens]

Probably only in the UK. Here you can get them anywhere that sells ‘fine’ glassware.

5D2B91EE-0C91-456A-9D41-80A357B13578

• Simon Gibbens
• Nov 14, 2019

Magic balls

 

[Sage]

I've used plain old air rifle BB's for years. Dry well after use.

 

[bshef]

I’m coming to the U.K. in March but I may try the BBs in the meantime.

 

[Simon Gibbens]

If you’re in the UK, a store like John Lewis or other department store will do them. I think they’re copper because of coppers ‘anti-just about anything’ properties.

 

[Johnd]

I use these to clean my decanters, work like a charm, available in lots of places. Food grade and corrosion resistant. Here’s a convenient link:

https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Cle...t=&hvlocphy=9025219&hvtargid=pla-828568680360