Removing Labels

[hawgdawg133]

I'm about to make my first batch of mead and I've gathered several used wine bottles. What is the easiest way to remove the labels from them?

[ks.bee.kpr]

If There the paper style lables you can soak them in warm water with 2 tbsp of straight-A cleaner. The lables will nearly fall of the bottles in about 5 min. Hoever if the bottles are screen printed I dont think they are easy to remove but maybe somebody here can help

[chemistbert]

I saok mine in clorox water. The clorox is basic and helps loosen the glue and it disinfects the insides too.

[Ben Brewcat]

Bleach is great. Ammonia is good too (DON'T USE BOTH). PBW, straight-A, or other brewing cleansers are cool but a little more spendy. Time's your best ally; with bleach I use two ounces per five gallons (a little stiffer if there's a lot of gunk like bottles from a restaurant or bar) and leave it a couple days. Overnight usually does the deed.

Once they've loosened, I just use my nails to scrape off the gum on the glass, "candle" the bottle sideways and through the bottom for any remaining deposits, and store upside down until use.

[ks.bee.kpr]

Ben.. did you make some kinda rig to put them upside down? Im trying to find a good way to drain & air out the bottles

[nursebee]

ks.bee,
Homebrew suppliers sell bottle racks for just that purpose. You could make one, but it would not clean as well as plastic.

[ks.bee.kpr]

I will check there monday Thanks Nursebee!

[ks.bee.kpr]

Ok little off the subject but this straight-A cleaner I'm using leaves a white film on the bottles even after Ive scrubed them with a cloth. whats up with that? :(

[hawgdawg133]

Thanks everyone?

[Ben Brewcat]

The bottle drying racks are great (I have two); some folks use a holesaw to make stands in wood so nothing touches the inside of the bottle. Except for when sanitizing right before use, I store bottles upside down in their cases to prevent dust from falling in. Some folks crumple little squares fo aluminum foil over the tops of the sanitized bottles and store till bottling. I'm a little paranoiod for that.

I've had that same experience with Straight-A; I don't know what it is. Make sure you're not mixing it too strong, but some waters I think interact with the cleanser or the cleanser and the soil to make the deposit. I'm personally a big PBW fan, Star-San too (no-rinse acid sanitizer, SWEET stuff, effective in two minutes but you could drink it). Very earth-friendly, highly effective, and easy to use. It's what many of the pro brewers use for the same reasons; though the McBeer and other super-huge operations boil caustic solution for cleansing :eek: :eek: . No affiliation with Five-Star. Bleach is just too hard on my clothes and on our trout!