Question for home brewers: what is the best way to wash recycled bottles?

[Effendi R]

I use recycled beer bottles (still with label and part of the alu foil seal) and immerse them overnight in cold water. The next morning I add hot water, wait an hour or so and then go to work: scrap off the stubborn labels and the tin foil with a knife, rub them down with steel wool and finally ‘polish’ them with a regular household detergent. Any tips on how this work can be done in a more efficient way; what attacks/dissolves the glue under the foil coated labels? Thanks for any tips!er... I talk about the outside of the bottle... the inside is no problem once I am finished with the outside, usually they are pretty clean. Sterilising is the last step of my operations before drying and filling.thanks, yes, I have tried immersing them in near boiling water, leave them until the water is tepid and then wash... still the bloody stickers won't come off easily. They are foil covered and prevent the water from reaching the glue!

 

[LEIGH-ANN D]

What I usually do is rince the bottle out with hot water and salt, it also helps sterilise th bottle and gets rid of all the smells.

 

[Irishgal]

Have you tried immersing them in HOT water with washing up liquid in them, leave to soak over night. Also you can buy cans of spray for removing sticky labels. Any DIY, Stationary store should have them.

 

[gazzarang]

I save labels from the different beer I try so I remember (and wife unit can tell) which beer never to buy again, or buy for a particular meal, etc. Some labels come off easy and some like you've found are tough. I use a razor designed for scraping stickers/paint off windows after soaking a couple days in water with a drop or two of dish soap. It still can be stubborn.I would recommend not wasting your time peeling labels, especially with the tough labels. Life's too short. The label won't affect the taste of any home brew you may be bottling. Keep those for yourself, and your nice clean bottle for sharing.