Cleaning & De-Labeling scrounged bottles

MisterZ · Apr 21, 2013

Thought I'd pass on this tip
Went to my local recycling center today and came home with about a hundred Summit empties.
I soaked them in Star San thinking if they sat long enough the labels would come off easily.
Nope. Still needed a -lot- of scraping and scrubbing.
Tried PBW at minimal concentration and after a good soak the labels & adhesive melted right off.
Huge time / effort saver.

kh54s10 · Apr 21, 2013

PBW, or cheaper - Oxyclean! Many fall off some leave a little glue that comes off easily with a scrub pad.

acidrain · Apr 21, 2013

It's amazing how many people think that Star San is a cleaner.

Revvy · Apr 21, 2013

Why would you think starsan would do it? It's a sanitizer NOT a cleanser.....That's why there's millions of threads on here about cleaning and delabling bottles with OXYCLEAN or PBW....NOT starsan.

The trick is the bubbles.

Revvy · Apr 21, 2013

Did you maybe mis interpret the fact that starsan DOES sometimes work for removing SILKSCREENED or painted on labels for bottles like the ones stone uses?

MisterZ · Apr 21, 2013

Revvy said:
Why would you think starsan would do it? It's a sanitizer NOT a cleanser.....That's why there's millions of threads on here about cleaning and delabling bottles with OXYCLEAN or PBW....NOT starsan.

The trick is the bubbles.

Hell, Idunno, guess I assumed the glue would be water soluble. Newbie bumpin' along learning on the fly here.

masskrug · Apr 22, 2013

After soaking, I use a wire brush for the stubborn ones.

unionrdr · Apr 22, 2013

I mix PBW in the ratio of 1.5ozs to 1 gallon of water. Great for making the labels float right off,& softening the glue or dissolving it. A dobie & bottle brush complete the job. Rinse & onto the bottle tree to dry before storage.

Malty_Dog · Apr 22, 2013

Yup, I soak in a plastic tub of hot water and PBW or Oxyclean for a few hours or overnight even. Labels are floating at that point. Have never had to work to get one off. Just rinse each bottle completely with warm water to remove any cleanser film. After that, its StarSan at bottling time.

Cleaning & De-Labeling scrounged bottles

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

MisterZ

Well-Known Member

kh54s10

Supporting Member

acidrain

Well-Known Member

Revvy

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

Revvy

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

MisterZ

Well-Known Member

masskrug

Well-Known Member

unionrdr

Homebrewer, author & air gun collector

Malty_Dog

Well-Known Member

Similar threads

Latest posts

Cleaning & De-Labeling scrounged bottles

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

Well-Known Member

Supporting Member

Well-Known Member

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Homebrewer, author & air gun collector

Well-Known Member

Similar threads

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!