Boiling Bottles

[Cynicide]

Has anyone tried boiling bottles on a stove as a method for removing lables? I did a quick search but couldn't seem to find anything. Does this sound like a good idea or would it weaken the glass?

 

[Keifer]

When i first started out, my mate gave me 30 tooheys red longnecks (yeah i know red is toilet cleaner) and i just soaked em in warm water to get the old labels off..

 

[Adamt]

I soak my bottles in freeking hot water, and then peel the labels off with rubber gloves. Some glues used with labels just don't want to melt, but most labels should come off this way. I usually clean my bottles at the same time, add some no rinse sanitiser to the hot water and she's apples.

 

[dirk]

i soak my bottles in a plastic tub with unsented bleach for a week or two the rinse with a no rinse sanitizer. most of the time the lables fall off th ebottles as i lift them out of the water and if not they come off very easily.

cheers dirk

 

[PhilS]

I fully immerse my bottles in a solution of Napisan & warm water for a few days. Seems to do the trick

 

[Tyred]

I haven't found any labels that don't come off bottles after a week soaking in water. Sometimes there's a little of the glue left bit but I neo-pink the bottles and they come up nice and clean.

 

[Jazman]

why bother with labels i just leave em on as u know whats in em

 

[goatherder]

Hot water and pink stain remover for a couple of hours.

Most labels come off quickly and cleanly but some brands are stubborn.

A quick hit with a stiff brush takes care of them.

 

[Kai]

Boiling your bottles will not weaken the glass, but dropping cold bottles into boiling hot water might crack them due to thermal shock

 

[mika]

A mate uses 60L garbage bins, ~$10 from Bunnings at the mo. Little bit of bleach or napisan, leave them in there for about a week, comes up apples and the labels slip off. Good thing is, he reckons the bins hold just the right amount of bottles for one batch. I just soak mine in tubs on the lawn and I've got a scrubbing brush with a sharp plastic edge and wire and soft bristles, works well on any stubborn glue I come across, but after ~1wk of soaking, not much stays behind....except those #%@@%*& crown labels...I'm over those.

 

[Sammus]

a bit OT but I'm not convinced of this thermal shock business (well I am, because I've witnessed it) But I was once curious how far It could go, so I got a bottle and tried:

(1) boiling it, then dropping it into a tub of iced water - that didnt crack it
(2) filling it with crushed ice and water, sitting in the same tub of iced water (so it was iced from both sides) letting it sit for a while to cool as much as possible, then dropping it into a pot of boiling water. that didnt work either,
(3) sitting in the iced water cooling down, then filled it with boiling water, to expand the inside while the outside was contracted, and no! still no crack!

That myth is busted hahaha... But then again I've rinsed a bottle at room temp with hot water from the tap and had it shatter in my hands.....I guess some are tougher than others

 

[Boozy the clown]

Sammus,

If you didn't get the instant reaction you were chasing you may experience it after you have lovingly bottled your best brew 'ever' to find it has shart itself over your favourite storage area.

They may censor heavily in the pure hills of ******* but they have good knowledge of beer and sorts.

 

[yardy]

i soak my bottles in a plastic tub with unsented bleach for a week or two

cheers dirk

be careful how long you leave them in the solution, i had a batch where i left them in for about 5 or 6 days and even after rinsing they had a 'crystal' type substance that was bloody hard to remove.

imo, you dont need anything other than water, ever seen the bottom of the esky after a party when a few stubbies have been missed ? the labels are always floating in the ice slurry.

cheers

yard

 

[frogman]

I have an old fowlers preserving copper.
Holds 14 bottles.
Boil for 10 mins min.
Pour on weeds for instant kill.
No chemicals to clean = No residue.
Also removes lables.
Never cracked a bottle.

 

[brownie-Who-Took-My-Name?]

I found the best way to remove labels is to smash all your bottles into your recycle bin and get kegs Worked a treat for me.

Only joking. Like has been suggested, warm water and soap for 1/2 an hour and most just fall off.