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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!
PIN THIS: How to Remove Labels from Jars
One thing I have many years of experience in would be removing labels from jars!
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! p.s find more chemist solutions here! Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter below for special chemist tips each month. And bloglovin for daily posts 🙂
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**Update: Due to this post being one of the most popular posts on chemistry cachet, we have updated it with better photos for you! This has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times over the past year and it has a 100% success rate with readers! 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!!!
How to Remove Labels from Jars:
- Hot Water
- Blue Dawn Dishwashing Liquid ® (Buy it here if it isn’t available where you live)***
- Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda)
- Heavy Duty Scrub Pad (Like This One!)
First, soak your jars in hot soapy water for awhile. I always give it about 15-30 minutes.
This removes most of the label, but there is always residue and leftover paper stuck somewhere.
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.
Related Post: 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 one, to do the job. The bristles are heavy duty enough to scrub, but won’t scratch glass or anything. Plus, the handle on this makes it really easy to use!
Chemist Tips on Removing Labels From Jars
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….the answer is no! Oil is a fat and creates a greasy residue on the jars, so I wouldn’t recommend that. You will end up cleaning it more.
Do you use Pinterest for DIY Solutions?? Make sure you read this important post on avoiding Pinterest Cleaning Myths!
This doesn’t just work on glass!!! It works on metal jars, plastic jars or really anything you want to reuse! UPDATE:: I have had many readers tell me this has worked on the plastic containers they want to save:)
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Have a wonderful day!
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Hi Alexis… Great tip! does this work for only glass bottles and jars or on plastic bottles too? I have some large pill bottles that I would like to de label and reuse.
Hi Laurie! 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!
I fill the pill bottles with water to keep them from floating, then put in a larger jar and fill to level of top of label with 91% alcohol. 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. in these.
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.
Pure genius…..I hater that sticky stuff and get so frustrated when I can’t remove it! Thanks for sharing this!
Me too! It makes you not even want to save the jars sometimes! This method has been saving me frustration for years 🙂
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. Thanks!
Thank you! 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. I hope this can help you out next time you have the itch for a craft 🙂
Thank you I didn’t know all of this, and have copied and saved the information for future use
Thank you Jo-Anne, I hope it can help you sometime in the future!
This is soooo helpful! I’ve been wanting to do this but didn’t know how. 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!
Thanks Jenna! 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 have some sensory bottles to be making, so I’ll definitely be trying this approach. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! I hope it can help you out! It is definitely the best method we used in labs, so I use it often 🙂 Have a great day!
Great tips!
Thanks Charlene!!
Heat tool and lighter fluid (or Undo) ~ FAR easier!
That could work…but in a room full of chemicals, incredibly dangerous! This is how we remove them in a chemical lab 🙂 No special tools required. Heat tools can work wonders though.
Wonder Woman to the rescue! Thanks so much for this, Alexis! Sometimes I have used WD-40, but I like this method better 🙂 Thanks for sharing with Roses of Inspiration. Have a lovely week!
WD-40 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!
Thanks so much Carole! I know, it can really be a pain, this helps so much! Hope you can find a great new craft to do with some clean jars 🙂
In the past I have used rubbing alcohol to remove the leftover goo on some jars. but it doesn’t always work, and I have a real passion for glass,especially colored glass jars and bottles. I hate to throw those away! I’ll be trying this.
Thanks Jan, you will definitely have good luck with this method! It works so well!
Great tip for removing labels off. Thanks.
Thank you!!! Have a great day!
Awesome, can’t wait to try it…
I hope it works well for you Laney!! I just used this again yesterday for some craft projects and it always makes thing easier 🙂 My readers have really enjoyed it too! Have a wonderful weekend!
Hi just found your site when looking for a way to remove the ‘sticky’ from a cutting mat that I use with my electronic cutter. 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 !lol forward. to reciveing my first news letter. Regards Jan Pearson
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: http://amzn.to/29wivuT You can also use another type of dish soap, although it may not work quit as good as dawn. Let me know if you have any questions!! I am happy to help 🙂 The newsletter comes out again in a few days, I hope you enjoy it 🙂
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! These was the method we used in the chemistry lab, so we only had a few household items available, and it worked like a charm for are stuck on labels 🙂 Thanks for commenting and checking out the article, have a great day!
Try making a slightly oily paste (2:1) of vegetable oil and baking soda, put it on the dry label, let it soak through a few hours to overnight. The label comes right off.
Hi Ana! Oil does have some great chemical properties to get that sticky stuff off. I have used it in the past. This is just what we used in our chemistry lab with the items we had available and it works in minutes if you are short on time 🙂 Have a great day!
I stuck mine in the dishwasher and simply take the paper off when it is done. Sometimes there is a tiny spot of glue still on the glass jar, wich I simply rub off with a bit of “Selleys sparkfilla” quick and easy.
Dishwashers do produce some great heat for removal, thanks for sharing 🙂
Hello Alexis! I’m wondering if you have any tips on taking the labels off wine bottles so the labels are still intact? I wanted to make a picture with labels from wine bottles but some are next to impossible? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks & have a great week!
Hi Karen! Typically after I soak my bottles, most of the labels come off in whole pieces. The key would be really hot water, so you can try boiling the jars in a big pot on the stove, take them out and gently pull them off. You might need to scrap some areas under the label where it is stuck. This works for most paper like logos 🙂
A soaking hint:
When I remove labels instead of tying up my sink which I “always” need as soon as it is occupied. I fill my jars with water and place / submerge the jars, bottles, etc inside a Tupperware style pitcher or cereal container with my soaking ingredients. I place them out of the way and eventually get back to them and the labels slip off pretty well. The tall bottles like wine bottles fit great.
Thanks for sharing Maggie! I always do so many large jars at a time, my sink is the only place big enough to fit them. We’ve also done them outside in a large boiling bucket for those really large labeled containers and that worked great! 🙂 Have a wonderful day!
The jars above look like Nescafé jars.I have begun to collect a few for use in my sewing room.I just soak them in hot water with blue dawn detergent and the labels just slip off. Then I just wash the glue off. It is quite easy. Also my dishwasher repairman told me never to put labeled jars in the dishwasher.
That is definitely true! Those labels and glue on jars can really plug up the little filters in a dishwasher. Soaking them is best 🙂
Something that I do that is not even half of the work of this post (with all due respect because I used to do it this way years ago until I learned about WD40 hack) is spray label with WD40 and let the oil soak in well and usually I can pretty much pick the label right up by putting my nail under the corner and peeling back. You can always warm the label a little with hairdryer if particularly stubborn.
Then I wash the ooil with the Blue Dawn or put in dishwasher.
Yes we love WD40! We talked about it in the book. Great chemist invention 🙂 this is the method we used in chemistry labs since you can’t have chemicals like wd40 near all those acids 🙂
With all due respect, your method is more mechanical then chemical.
Soaking in hot water with washing soda (sodium carbonate) works without the mechanical removal (scrubbing) in most cases. Probably a Tbsp in your sink would do the trick. I’d guess 1/2 hour or hour soak.
Another method: soak in cold water with ammonia overnight@ 1 cup per 5 gallons, or about 1/4 cup per gallon. Does the trick without scrubbing too, but it would be best in a covered container to contain the vapors. Hot water will produce more vapors, thus the use of cold water.
Hi Mike! Yes, you’re right! This is a mechanical removal. But as stated, this is what we used in the Chemistry lab all the time 🙂 we didn’t have time to soak overnight and only had certain products available. Just sharing it for readers to enjoy our tips too 🙂 this worked for all of our glassware and labels, so it was a lifesaver! Have a good day!
Help removing paint from old camper plastic windows.
My kids bought an old pop up and there is we think paint on the plastic windows. We are afraid to use solvents as they may make the plastic cloudy. . Any help would be appreciated.
Love your blog
For paint on a plastic window, your best best would be to try some acetone. That is the only thing that might work on something like that. You can also try nail polish remover. Some nail polish remover contains acetone, some doesn’t. Either way, nail polish remover is safe to try and works for most things depending on the type of paint that might be on the window.
If you use windex and let it sit for a few minutes it loosens the paint and take a plastic paint scraper to peel it off. It may take a few times but it should not leave it cloudy. I have used it on mirrors, windows, tile floors, bathtubs. Just don’t scrape to hard with the scraper. But like I said it may take a few tries to remove it all.
I have used a baking soda and olive oil mixture to remove the glue left on glass jars and plastic jars (like from mayo and peanut butter). It does not require a scrub brush just some elbow grease. You will need to wash with soapy water to remove the oil. But it’s easier.
Hi Danielle! This is the method we used in a chemistry lab, so it is all we had available when acetone wasn’t an option. Baking soda and oil can definitely remove sticky residue very common in homemade goo-gone recipes!
oh my goodness! your 100% success rate remains true after scrubbing three of the most stubborn glass bottles i’ve ever seen. thank you so so much for sharing this as well as the chemistry behind it. choosing to reuse and upcycle glass containers will never be a chore again. thank you!
That is great to hear! So happy you enjoyed using it 🙂
Does it have to be the blue dishwashing liquid?
No, any concentrated dish soap works. I prefer blue Dawn, but anything brand is fine
If you use washing soda, instead of baking soda, and allow your jars to soak in the hot water bath, the labels will slide right off! Even without the use of a surfactant (or a soap, or a detergent) it will still work, but it takes longer for the solution to completely penetrate the adhesive layer. Scoring/scratching the label, adding a surfactant, and increasing the water temp are the best ways to speed the reaction.
Side note from one chemist to another: I love your posts! It’s the perfect blend; real-world applications of your lab-lecture understanding. Not many people can see why/how the lab skills relate to the textbooks/lecture, let alone gain a higher understanding from how they interrelate…I can tell that you are one of the few. Your solutions (literal and metaphoric) are practical, simple, and succinct, all the while explaining why you chose each ingredient in terms that help another chemist to better understand how to find and use commercially available chemicals. (For when there is no stock room, molarities are forgotten, and the MSDS is hidden)
Hi Katie! Thanks so much for the tip. I haven’t used washing soda before, but will try that next. And thanks for sharing your chemist point of view too. It is nice to share tips with people, but also share why they work! I think it makes creating homemade solutions better when you know why are you are actually using something 🙂