This post may contain affiliate links. These help support this website. Are you a fan of reusing all those glass jars that seems to sit around the house for months? I love reusing them for cute crafts or storage, but I hate those labels! Look no further because I have the perfect chemist solution for you! How to remove labels from jars the easiest way possible with simple house hold ingredients you probably keep on hand!
I spent hours in a chemistry lab doing experiments which always involved labeling glass jars, then cleaning and removing labels. Commercial grade acetone was obviously the best way to go when it came to removing labels, but it was expensive and not always available.
Find more fun mind-blowing Chemistry Hacks I learned in the chemistry lab here. So, this method saved me time and again! Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter below for special chemist tips each month. Due to this post being one of the most popular posts on chemistry cachet, we have updated it with better photos for you! Many have suggested to me store bought products they use, but this is a simple concoction we used in a chemistry lab.
This free from harsh chemicals and no special ingredients are required!!! First, soak your jars in hot soapy water for awhile. I always give it about minutes. Next, mix equal parts blue dawn and baking soda until it is a paste.
Then, rub it all over the jars where the residue is left. The BEST homemade bathroom cleaner! Let that sit for a few minutes, then take the scrub brush and scrub the mixture. It should start coming off very easy. After that, rinse them under hot water. Now, that will be perfectly shiny and clean! If you really have some stubborn labels, try using a heavy duty brush, like this oneto do the job.
Plus, the handle on this makes it really easy to use! Why does this method work so well? Chemically, sodium bicarbonate works as an abrasive. It helps scrub off left over labels that may still be on the jar. The use of dishwashing liquid or dish soap is to act as a surfactant. Surfactants were designed to lower the surface tension between a liquid and a solid, which is why dishwashing liquid is used to clean grease or food off dishes.
The dishwashing liquid in this pushes off the sticky residue completely. Many people have suggested other methods to us. This is the method we used in our chemistry lab to remove labels. It was the safest with all the alcohols and acids we had around!
Many readers have asked if they can use oil in place of dishwashing liquid…. You will end up cleaning it more. It works on metal jars, plastic jars or really anything you want to reuse! I have had many readers tell me this has worked on the plastic containers they want to save: Join me on snapchat alexisroch or instagram for more daily inspiration! Linking with Met Monday and these link parties!
Hi Alexis… Great tip! I have some large pill bottles that I would like to de label and reuse. This can work for plastic bottles too. I have found that plastic bottles usually do well with just a hot, soapy soak.
That is a great idea to reuse those bottles. I bet you could find a fun use for them. Have a great day! Leave overnight, and the label will be floating in the outer jar, and all residue is gone. I store all my nuts, bolts, small craft items, etc. Pill bottles are usually pretty easy if you do this first. Do not get outer bottle wet — fill with water to level of label you want to remove and microwave for 30 seconds.
Learned this from my FIL. If you have a hot water dispenser that is hot enough to do this too. This has not worked on bottle of liquid prescriptions unless you watch it like a hawk in the microwave. They take about 10 seconds… or they decide to melt and go to pill bottle heaven. Thanks for sharing this! It makes you not even want to save the jars sometimes! Alexis, This is fantastic! I reuse a lot of jars but the ones with harder to get off labels end up getting used for grease, etc and then tossed.
But I feel like now if I really like the shape of one and it has a sticky sticker I can still use it for something fun. I know, I hate when you want to do a project with a jar, but just cannot get rid of the label. The usually just go in the trash. This is soooo helpful! I have a really cool glass bottle from a margarita mix that I want to use for something else. Now I can finally remove the label! I love to craft with old jars so this helps me all the time.
I hope it will help you too! This looks like a great trick, and so easy! I hope it can help you out! That could work…but in a room full of chemicals, incredibly dangerous! Heat tools can work wonders though. Wonder Woman to the rescue!
Thanks so much for this, Alexis! Have a lovely week! WD is definitely a wonder chemical too! I hope you can try this next time you need to work with some jars!
You are so sweet Stephanie, have a great day! Excellent tip — I will have to try that. Trying to remove those labels is a pain and I like to recycle and reuse. Thanks so much Carole! I know, it can really be a pain, this helps so much! In the past I have used rubbing alcohol to remove the leftover goo on some jars. I hate to throw those away!
I hope it works well for you Laney!! Have a wonderful weekend! I would like to try your recommendation. However I live in Spain and have no idea what blue dawn soap is. Could you please enlighten me. I have just subscribed to your site and! Hi Jan, I am so glad you found my website! Blue dawn is just a brand of dish soap, it has a unique formula that seems to work great on sticky residue.
Here is what it looks like: Let me know if you have any questions!! Orange oil and natural orange spray also work on labels, very quickly, no soaking needed. The label will literally slide ride off and then you wash with hot soapy water to remove the orange residue.
Simply coat the entire label with oil or spray, wait a minute or do, then peel the label right off. Orange definitely has some awesome chemical properties for sticky removal! Try making a slightly oily paste 2: The label comes right off.
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