Tips for Removing labels

[WRATHWILDE]

Just invented a easy way to remove labels...

• Heat a large pot of water to 160 (f)
• Use a funnel to fill the bottles 3/4 full of water (Do not get the labels Wet, this is why you need a funnel)
• Let the bottles sit for 5 minutes, this allows the bottles (and label adhesives) to come up to temperature.
• You may now peel the labels off rather easily.

I'm using this technique right now and it works great! It takes about 5 to 20 seconds to remove each label, really thin paper labels take a little longer to get them off without tearing... 30 to 45 seconds.
I figured that glue becomes more pliable at warmer temperatures, but paper labels become less durable when wet. The Answer came instantaneously, fill the bottles with warm water instead of soaking them in warm water to remove the labels.
You will still need something to remove the adhesive left behind.

Ok, I've now done 72 bottles using this method, of which 4 bottles had labels that refused to peal off from heat alone... 1 from Germany with an ultra thin paper label, 1 that was a custom label from the winery for a wedding, and two low quality paper labels, from the same winery that did the Wedding label, all three labels were probably done on site using a different type of label... cheap paper "permanent" avery labels come to mind. Except for the one German Wine - All the commercial wine labels came off extremely easily.

For removing the adhesive...

• 3oz of Saniclean per 2 gallons of hot water. Use a bucket tall enough that all the adhesive on the bottles will get soaked.

(Do not fill bucket so full that the mouths of the bottles sink below the water line, to keep any adhesive from entering the bottles.)

• Fill bottles with warm to hot water (to provide enough weight that the bottles sink)
• Place bottles in bucket to soak 1-2 minutes.
• Use a sponge soaked in the Saniclean solution from the bucket, the glue will wipe right off with almost no effort!!!

Addendum to removing adhesive - The first 2 dozen bottles wiped right off, after I changed to a 2nd bottle type - that used different glue, the adhesive became much harder to scrub off, despite keeping the temperature of the soaking bucket higher than 140 (f) and several additions of saniclean, you might want to use an adhesive solvent instead.

Cheers,
Wrathwilde

[ucflumberjack]

great advice, ill keep this in mind towards the end of the weel wen i decide wethere or not to bottle some mead...

[Leonora]

So this got me thinking (I know --- SCARY!)

has anyone ever tried using a heat gun? I have used them to take wall paper off and it works really well.

I really hate peeling the damn labels. I love the paper ones that just fall off when wet. But it seems like more and more vineyards are going to some sort of nuclear fusion as their lable sticking process. grr.

I think I will try it this week if I get some time.

Leonora

[Rhianni]

nice wrath thanks for the advice. I soak em in the sink and they rub off easily..... but leave a rather gooey torn mess.

[wayneb]

I've had luck with the Bake and Peel approach - pop the bottles into an oven set at 200F, leave them in there for 30 mins, then take them out and peel away. Those labels leaving residue behind are easy to clean with GooGone; I imagine a similar adhesive solvent containing acetone should do as well. Then a quick scrub with hot water and the outsides are clean and goo-free.

[richard lambert]

There is a great article on wine radio. on removing labels. He use tsp
trisodium phosphate 8 gals h2o to 2 cups of tsp. Anyway listen to it on wine making radio.com episoded 8 Lots of other good stuff on there to!

[Raleigh]

I can guarantee you one of the very best ways to get labels off of anything is to use a product called, (Goof Off) Its a strong solvent in a little tin container, and does what it says, gets the goo off, that keeps the paper attached to the bottle. Since its (the label) is on the outside of the bottle it wont intermingle with the mead as long as you wash everything when your done and are careful. This stuff really works like nothing else!! Buy it at your local hardware store.

[beeboy]

I've been using a large sharp sheath knife and just scrape and cut the lable off when dry. What ever is left comes off with with a scotch bright pad and hot water. It's not easy but there is no lable that will stand in my way with this method It is a bit labor intensive but it works.

[Dmitri]

A buddy told me that he soaks all of his bottles in an oxyclean/water solution for a few minutes then most all labels will come right off.

[nessa]

Originally Posted by Dmitri

A buddy told me that he soaks all of his bottles in an oxyclean/water solution for a few minutes then most all labels will come right off.

yeah thats what i do as well. in the sink or in the bucket depending on what stage i'm at. just mix up your average cleaning solution (or less) with warm water, put in bottles and walk away.

depending on how long they sit, they either peel off or i find some floating, a quick wipe down with a no-scratch sponge just for equipment cleaning and done.
nessa

[Oskaar]

Well, being the consumate lazy-ass when it comes to bottle cleaning and label removing, I take one of my Rubbermaid Roughneck buckets (18 gallon tub) and make up a couple of buckets of scalding hot water and PBW and let them soak for a while. After they cool, I drag the tub outside and flush it with more water every couple of days when I go outside to barbeque something for dinner. After a couple of weeks I grap a big commercial kitchen tray cleaning brush (think of a long handled barbeque grill brush with long nylon bristles) and just run it around in the tub a few times. By this time most of the labels hav either floated off or are just mush.

So I just take a stainless steel scrub pad like a Curley Kate and run it over the bottle and then hit them with the jet washer and pop them in my dishwasher. Then I can sanitize them at my leisure when I'm ready to bottle.

Oskaar

[storm1969]

Originally Posted by Oskaar

After they cool, I drag the tub outside and flush it with more water every couple of days when I go outside to barbeque something for dinner. After a couple of weeks

OK Oskaar, how do you get away with that? My wife/OSO would kill me if I kept a bucket of bottles with water laying around for weeks! I have enough trouble getting them to not complain about my winery having taken over half the basement....

[teljkon]

I generally soak with a little hot water and dish soap for a few hours then use a kitchen knife to scrape. One that’s long and thin like a bread knife but has a straight knife blade for chopping. Seems to work really well for some not so well for others. I just send the ones that don’t come clean to the recycling bin.

[WRATHWILDE]

Originally Posted by storm1969

OK Oskaar, how do you get away with that? My wife/OSO would kill me if I kept a bucket of bottles with water laying around for weeks!

Smart Ass Comment -

Oskaar has found that your wife always assumes the most accommodating position after he decides on where he wants to put something. In fact, I'm willing to bet he hasn't heard a single complaint from her.

Now get your mind out of the gutter, it's got a 99% chance of being an innocent factual statement.

Cheers,
Wrathwilde (motto - let no innocent question or statement go unpunished... if you have a good retort.)

[storm1969]

Originally Posted by Wrathwilde

Oskaar has found that your wife always assumes the most accommodating position after he decides on where he wants to put something. In fact, I'm willing to bet he hasn't heard a single complaint from her.

Now get your mind out of the gutter, it's got a 99% chance of being an innocent factual statement.

She doesn't usually complain about that! (Not if you are at least half-way skilled. )