How to Remove Labels

As a lifetime crafter, I am always saving items that I believe can be used later to create. One of those items, to my husband’s dismay, is wine bottles. After moving three boxes of wine bottles twice when we have relocated, Ryan pretty well demanded I “do something with those wine bottles!”  

For some wine bottle creations (such as wine bottle tiki torches), the labels need to be removed.  This is fairly easy to do with the magic removal formula. First, fill the sink with very hot water. Then fill the bottles with very hot water and place in the sink. Once sink is filled with bottles, put in the following:

• 1/4 cup baking powder
• 1 – 2 cups white vinegar 
• 3 Tbs dish soap

Allow the bottles to soak for about 20 minutes. 

After soaking, the labels will peel off fairly easily. I left the bottles still soaking while I peeled one at a time. The labels come off easier while still wet. However, not all labels are created equal. I found that some labels take some scraping. My fingernails worked fine, but scraping was much quicker with this handy dandy Pampered Chef pan scraper. 

Now even with the magic formula and scraping, some wine makers really wanted their labels to stick, so there remains a sticky residue as shown below. 

The BEST way to remove the sticky is to slather it with peanut butter, let it sit for ten minutes, then wash off with dish soap.  I tried rubbing alcohol first, but that and elbow grease wasn’t enough to remove the residue. The peanut butter removed every bit of goo!

So there you have it. The magic formula is enough to remove some labels, but in a sticky situation, apply peanut butter!