Removing Labels from Old Bottles

Well, I soak mine in very hot soapy water for 10-15 minutes or longer. Sometimes, the good labels slide off very nicely, others take more work (soak, scrape off what you can and resoak, scrape again). For the tougher ones, I soak and scrape off as much as I can and then I use goo-be-gone, and then scrape off what's left. There are a few, which you have to break the bottle in order to get the label off...sorry for the bottle humor. There are some which are very, very hard to get the label off - I have thrown one or two bottles away. Good-luck. Darlene Wisconsin

Used to soak them in soapy water in a big plastic tub, sometimes for a week till I got back to them, still hadda scrub, scrape & just generally spend alot of time screwing around with some of them. I found the best way to deal with them is to give them to somebody that wants them, then go buy new bottles. Open the box, sterilize them, fill 'em, cork 'em, have a nice day. It's worth it, to me, whatever I'm paying for them at the time. Good luck.

Found with some just filling the bottle with very hot water and letting it sit for a few minutes softens the glue enough the label can be slowly peeled off. try this first I found once they got wet this didn't work.

Rick

Really hot water,usually a mix of 20 litres boiling water and enough hot tap water to fill my laundry tub and 6 tablespoons oxiclean. Most labels will fall off after an hour and the rest seem to come off with just a thumb nail scraping. Except for the super glue used by Alice White. That grey junk requires a razor scraper. Pick a cheapo from the dollar store and just power through the label and junk after soaking.

Thanks for all the tips. The family is saving their wine bottles for me, and hopefully I will have enough collected by Summer to bottle my 2004 batches.

Some of the plastic labels are more easily removed with a hair dryer and then something to cut the remaining glue.

The best I found was really hot water with a little goo-be-gone squirted into the water. After 5 minutes or so, either they peeled off or I could get them with a vegetable peeler. But after a few years of lost hours (and hours), more than a few tossed bottles, and a really sore back, feet, and hands every time, I finally decided to just buy clean bottles like Pater, and recycle all the old bottles, so that I could buy them new again later.

Rob

Before delabeling, discard bottles that have non standard cork sizes.

I use a 5 gallon or so bucket, water filled bottles in bucket until just over tops, then about a 1/2 or a cup of plain bleach. A few days then scrape with table knife, a final scrub with a pot scrubber pad and then rinse.

John H.

As like Dar and others I soak my bottles in hot water with a little bleach added. But my wife bless here heart found a remarkable solution for the stubborn lables and sticky label residue. - Dawn Power Dissolver!

For the bad labels I just score and spray and a few minutes later its done. The ones with gunk left from the label same thing. NO off odors or oily film like Goo Gone either.

I go to the local glass recycling center and take out bottles from Gallo, Robt Mondavi, or Glen Ellen. These all use a water soluble glue. Everything else has a petroleum based adhesive that will only come off with a lot of WD40.

This is a brilliant idea!!!! I'll have to try it!!!!! THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!