Best means to soak off bottle labels?

[Brooothru]

A few days soak in a tub/tote with (initially warm) water and a powdered (clothes) washing detergent, such as Surf. But pretty much any detergent will do.
Some will float off within a day, most after 2 or 3 days. Those that are stubborn, either toss, or let soak a few more days.

Use a stiff hand brush to remove any remaining film of clinging glue or residue. Use a bottle brush on the inside.

Rinse inside and outside well (e.g., Jet Spray washer on faucet) with hot water. Inspect inside and outside thoroughly.
Then sanitize (Starsan) and they're ready to fill.

I always save my own previously cleaned bottles as much as possible. I know their whereabouts and when rinsed out and/or soaked right after pouring out, it saves time on the next cleaning.

I pretty much do the same thing, alternating between PBW, OxyClean Free, etc., in extended hot water soaks in a laundry sink. I've had good luck using a mix of Oxy, TSP and a squirt of 7th Generation (as a surfactant) that seems to work well. The problem with Oxy can be the white residue that gets left behind after drying.

One very serious issue I ran into recently involved wine bottles that were soaked over night in an Oxy-based solution. The water level had drained a bit leaving the neck and upper barrel of some bottles exposed. Where the water had receded it left a pencil-thin white line around the circumference. I tried rinsing and scrubbing, even resorted to a razor scraper on a few to get rid of this 'ring around the collar', but nothing really worked. It was almost as if it was etched into the glass.

A few days later I was part way through bottling several cases of wine with a compression jaw floor corker when the top third of a bottle blew out while the cork was being inserted. There was a perfectly shaped oval disk blown out of one side of the upper portion of the bottle precisely where the soap line had been. The bottle was otherwise intact. Just a smooth edge hole that looked like it had been removed with a laser. I've never seen anything like this before or since, and I've been using and reusing wine bottles for nearly 50 years. It might have been a one-off event, but why did it fail exactly where the surface ring was left by the detergent, and why is it virtually impossible to remove these rings when they appear, either mechanically or with more washing? This issue has only appeared when bottles are partially exposed to the air when soaking for long periods of time, and not when they remain fully under water. With them the powdery residue will usually wipe off a dried bottle with a towel and limited elbow grease.

I'm much more careful about soaking bottles now.

 

[Deadalus]

I keep a couple of cat litter buckets around for soaking bottles. I have a couple taller ones that work for wine bottles. I mainly have beer bottles but I also collect champagne bottles. I just use some Dawn and a little ammonia. Let them sit for a few days. I bottle brush, then take the labels off with a paint razor. Most times the labels have fallen off but I do find the champagne bottles hold their labels more often. I will scrub the bottles with a brass wire brush to get the residues off then rinse with a bottle washer. If a happen to have homebrew in bottles, after finishing, I quick bottle washer rinse and put it in the bucket to which any new bottles get added. When the bucket is full, repeat.

Beer bottles too resistant to delabeling just get tossed, not worth the work. I really only need them to give away.

 

[JSmetalcraft]

I started out soaking in PBW. Worked ok to great on some labels. But it usually took some time. I had some bottles that the label was resistant to PBW. I threw them in some Alkaline Brewery Wash and they came off in a few minutes. So for now for all my washing needs I have switched to the Alkaline wash.

 

[z-bob]

I started out soaking in PBW. Worked ok to great on some labels. But it usually took some time. I had some bottles that the label was resistant to PBW. I threw them in some Alkaline Brewery Wash and they came off in a few minutes. So for now for all my washing needs I have switched to the Alkaline wash.

I don't know what that costs, but if it's at all expensive try using washing soda. Should work about the same and it is dirt cheap.

 

[ShadesManna]

Thank you for giving some great advice about beer bottles. As a reminder, the OP was talking about wine bottles.

 

[IslandLizard]

[...] try using washing soda . Should work about the same and it is dirt cheap.

+10^
That's been my general Powdered Brewery Cleaner (PBC) since I started.

Washing Soda is OxiClean without the (loosely bound) oxygen.
IOW, what's left after the oxygen has dissipated. Although it looks great on TV, oxygen action is very overrated, and unneeded in most cleaning/soaking duties.

Last time I bought washing soda (~10 years ago) I could only score it in a supermarket located in what's considered a down to earth area. It surely deserves a comeback. For all security I bought six 4# boxes. I just emptied the remainder of the last box in my storage container. Time to go shopping again. And also get a new large box of Surf.

 

[Deadalus]

+10^
That's been my general Powdered Brewery Cleaner (PBC) since I started.

Washing Soda is OxiClean without the (loosely bound) oxygen.
IOW, what's left after the oxygen has dissipated. Although it looks great on TV, oxygen action is very overrated, and unneeded in most cleaning/soaking duties.

Last time I bought washing soda (~10 years ago) I could only score it in a supermarket located in what's considered a down to earth area. It surely deserves a comeback. For all security I bought six 4# boxes. I just emptied the remainder of the last box in my storage container. Time to go shopping again. And also get a new large box of Surf.

Wal-mart usually has it around the oxiclean if you haven't seen it. Or look for the fels-naptha soap which is around there too. People make laundry detergent out of them (soap and the washing soda).

 

[JSmetalcraft]

I don't know what that costs, but if it's at all expensive try using washing soda. Should work about the same and it is dirt cheap.

Thanks for the advice. I found we have a partial box in the laundry room. My wife and daughters get together once in a while and make laundy soap from washing soda and fels-naptha soap.

 

[Raptor99]

I have tried various methods to remove labels, including soaking in hot soapy water and soaking in baking soda. I read one suggestion to use vegetable oil because some labels use a vegetable oil based glue. So I rub the bottles with a small amount of olive oil and let them sit overnight. I rub on more oil a few times. After 2-3 days, some of the labels peel right off with no residue. But others don't come off at all, so they must use a different type of glue. I try to remember which brands come off with a water soak, and which with vegetable oil. If they don't come off with either I just recycle the bottles.