Used wine bottles

[Cynewulf]

Sorry if this is answered elsewhere but how much OxiClean/water do y’all use for removing labels?

 

[mainshipfred]

Sorry if this is answered elsewhere but how much OxiClean/water do y’all use for removing labels?

I don't measure, just dump in what I thing is the right amount at the time.

 

[distancerunner]

The instructions say one (included) scoop for four gallons. Doesn't seem soapy enough. For two containers at eight gallons we added three scoops to one and four to the other. No discernable difference. Probably cut back the next time.

If labels weren't an issue we would follow the instruction. If the bottles were rinsed after consuming the wine the solution would be just fine.

I think. Maybe. Last Chem course was in '76. Thank goodness my girlfriend majored in Chemical Engineering.

 

[DizzyIzzy]

sounds like a good delabeling process. I wasn’t advocating using PBW to delabel just answering your question. PBW is an excellent solvent of organic residue but it is expensive. Too expensive to use removing labels IMO.

Thankyou Jim for your response.................knowledge is power......................................................................DizzyIzzy

 

[JoeM]

i use WD40 to removed label glue after boiling bottles to sterilize.

 

[Caroline_Hundley]

Do you use the magic eraser while it’s still wet?

 

[Snafflebit]

Do you use the magic eraser while it’s still wet?

Yes, I do

...and also, I may go back to soaking in PBW to remove labels. I left some bottles soaking in Oxy Clean for a month and I found crystals of some kind growing on the surface. I could not see any on the inside of the bottle, but it makes me wonder. The crystals did rinse off with a bit of rubbing.

 

[winemaker81]

I left some bottles soaking in Oxy Clean for a month

A month? I'd be concerned if any water is left stagnant for a month. I don't know that the OxyClean is the real problem here.

I've had a few bottles that soaking them for a year might not make a difference. I've only had one that Goo Gone didn't clean.

 

[Jovimaple]

Do you use the magic eraser while it’s still wet?

Yes, it works well when wet. I soak the bottles for several hours in Dawn (the blue kind) and hot water, then peel as much of the label as I can, scrape as much as I can with a hard plastic scraper, then use a wet magic eraser to get the remainder of the glue off.

I have had a couple where the glue just destroys the magic eraser - I now recycle those bottles.

 

[jgmann67]

I do the oxygreen, scraper, goo gone method. But, eventually I came to the conclusion that getting labels off of commercial wine bottles was a back-breaking experience and not worth the effort. I used to do them 3-4 cases at a time (I had a restaurant owner friend who let me have the empties after busy weekends).

But, over time, I purchased enough new bottles that I haven’t had to seek out commercial bottles in about 2 years. My own labels come off much easier and I don’t need 2 Aleve and a nap afterwards.

So - my advice: save your back. Spend a little money. Buy new and reuse.

 

[BigDaveK]

I do a lot of canning but usually have enough jars that have been passed back and forth in my family they don't have labels on them. We always label on the disposable flat lid. I used the goo gone on some, was careful to not get it inside the bottle but I worried I might get a little in there.

I can also. Last year after a batch I would fill the bottles with hot water (so they don't float, of course) and throw them in the canner. Why waste the hot water? Scoring seems to help. Many will float or peel easily. Others have that super alien adhesive that needs extra work.

 

[Rocky]

I guess a lot of us will be using "experienced" bottles going forward with the scarcity and price of new bottles. I have used both, new and used and I have a lot of experience in removing labels. My method is:

1. Remove the foil if present, using chef's knife.
2. Inspect each bottle for cracks, stubborn sediment or other issues and rinse the bottles with hot water. Some bottles are discarded at this point, for example, if they are too dark or have really miserable sediment.
3. Soak the bottles in hot water with Dawn dishwashing liquid for about a half hour. Some labels will peel right off at this point and need only a quick scrub with an SOS pad to remove any residual glue. Some labels will release their top layer and leave a thinner layer of material which I scrape with a chef's knife. Some labels (for some reason Australians are a major culprit) are unaffected by the hot water, except for being softened and require major scraping, again with the chef's knife.
4. Inspect each bottle for residual glue and remove using first the SOS pad or, as a last resort, Goo Gone.
5. Final rinse, dry the outside with a dish towel and hang on rack to drain the inside. Bottles are then placed upside down in boxes and stored until needed.
6. On bottling day, quick rinse with hot water and a hit on the Vinator then onto the draining rack.

It works for me!

Tools:

 

[joeswine]

Hottest water you can produce, oxiclean. Let soak until water cools off. Many labels will float right off others get the Labelnator, sometimes need goo gone to remove incredibly sticky glue, but not often.

Easiest way

 

[Snafflebit]

Yes, I do

...and also, I may go back to soaking in PBW to remove labels. I left some bottles soaking in Oxy Clean for a month and I found crystals of some kind growing on the surface. I could not see any on the inside of the bottle, but it makes me wonder. The crystals did rinse off with a bit of rubbing.

A month? I'd be concerned if any water is left stagnant for a month. I don't know that the OxyClean is the real problem here.

I've had a few bottles that soaking them for a year might not make a difference. I've only had one that Goo Gone didn't clean.

I was traveling and forgot about the bucket of bottles. I looked at the ingredients of OxyClean and it contains sodium carbonate a.k.a. washing soda. I guess that the water became very cold in the garage and crystals dropped out of solution on the bottles.

 

[Arne]

Cold would probably do it, know for sure using too much of it will wind up with crystals inside that are absolutely the devil to get out. Arne.

 

[wtt03]

I do the very hot water soak and scrape with a metal scraper to get the label itself off. Then for the residual adhesive I use "Fast Orange" citrus based hand cleaner and slather it over where the adhesive is. Let is set for, oh I don't know, maybe 5 or 10 minutes max, then use an SOS pad and it comes clean as a whistle. Been doing it for quite awhile like this and haven't come across one yet that it hasn't worked on. Just my .02

 

[joeswine]

Are there’s a will there’s a way

 

[user 32114]

I do the very hot water soak and scrape with a metal scraper to get the label itself off. Then for the residual adhesive I use "Fast Orange" citrus based hand cleaner and slather it over where the adhesive is. Let is set for, oh I don't know, maybe 5 or 10 minutes max, then use an SOS pad and it comes clean as a whistle. Been doing it for quite awhile like this and haven't come across one yet that it hasn't worked on. Just my .02

that is almost step for step what i do, instead of orange i use goo gone,
Richard

 

[Scooter68]

I do the very hot water soak and scrape with a metal scraper to get the label itself off. Then for the residual adhesive I use "Fast Orange" citrus based hand cleaner and slather it over where the adhesive is. Let is set for, oh I don't know, maybe 5 or 10 minutes max, then use an SOS pad and it comes clean as a whistle. Been doing it for quite awhile like this and haven't come across one yet that it hasn't worked on. Just my .02

The citric based solvent products are pretty good stuff. I've seen a few calling themselves Citrus based but actually had petroleum products in there, those I avoid. When I worked at Lowe's we used a "Forbidden" product that was actually sold as an "Air Freshener" in as pump spray can about the sized of a Medium Sharpee pen. It was pure Orange/Lemon/Grapefruit oils, smelled great and took labels off of shelves without taking the paint off. (we were forbidden because corporate didn't want us to use anything THEY didn't provide.) Hey, we sold it in the store so.... The citrus smell gave it away if you were within 40 feet and it became the running game of not using it when certain managers were on duty or might "Catch Wind" of what you were doing.

AH FOUND IT ON Lowes.com I Might need to order some from someplace if Lowes' doesn't stock it.



Also saw this one and I might try it. Much prefer those natural oils over anything petroleum based. Soap and water tend to clean these off easily vs petroleum based solvents. And it looks like this one is in stock.