Removing old labels??!!

acecaz123

Hi,

I have just ordered my first wine making kit. I have lots of empty wine bottles, but the labels are really difficult to remove. Does anyone have any good tips for simple removal please?

alex

WD40 is always good. Stick them in the dish washer and whatever is left use WD40 and scrape/wipe off. Alex

HBO_Staff

Not heard of that one Alex, we'll give it a try. The usual way is just a good soak in water, but some will not come off without a lot of scrubbing, white spirit can sometimes remove the sticky residue. If you do use anything to clean the bottles, make sure they are well cleaned, sterilised and rinsed afterwards though 

acecaz123

Thanks, will try that. I have done most of them, but some are really sticky and driving me nuts!!! Thanks for tips.

 

nigel6

I recycle many 500ml bottles for my cider home brew. I peel the labels off with a sharp knife which leaves much of the glue on the bottle. I then use a sharp craft knife to slice much of the glue off the bottle which I collect in a ball. I then roll the glue ball over the remaining glue which comes off fairly easily. it takes me about 15 minutes to do half a dozen 500ml bottles without any chemicals. 

HBO_Staff

Thanks for the great tip, we'll give it a try, it's always good not to use chemicals where possible

sine_nomine

I wouldn't use a dishwasher to wash bottles if I were you as food residue  can enter and stick to the bottles. It's always safer to wash by hand before sterilising. But perhaps your dishwasher is a lot better than ours.         

galvgates

Labels are stuck on with two types of glue, some waterbased and others oil based. If you soak the bottles in a tub of hot soapy water (Fairy liquid) the water based glues will disolve and the labels come off easily, the one that dont come off are oil based glues. What you do then is fill the bottle with boiling water leave for a couple of minutes and you will find that the glue softens and you can easily peel the labels off, the glue can then be removed from the glass by putting some vegetable oil on a rag and wiping it off easily while the hot water in the bottle keeps the glue soft. Be careful though as the water will scald you, keep a towel over the top of the bottle when doing it. Works a treat everytime.

The only down side is that you have to soak all the bottles first to find out which ones have the oil based glues!