Re: Is there a 'magic' solution for dissolving labels on glassware?

[Danny D]

On Thu, 09 May 2013 17:32:01 +0000, Danny D wrote:

EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS:

I am soaking the tough jobs in the suggested solutions,
as we speak ... (Note: the gasoline & WD40 are omitted
due to the fact that we want to re-use the jars!).

Here are the three experiments + one control:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/12891481/img/12891481.jpg

I poured alcohol on the top left; dish detergent at top right;
and olive oil in the foreground; with water in the circular
tub to the right as the experimental control.

Then I filled each container with water and let sit:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/12891546/img/12891546.jpg

Note that everything I've tried in the past has failed
on these plastic vitamin and peanut butter jars; so it
will be interesting to see what happens in a day or two.

[zxcvbob]

Peanut butter jars? Why didn't you say so! (those are my favorite jars
for reuse -- I store bullets in them for reloading) I thought you were
talking about glass jars.

Fill the jar with hot water, let it sit for a minute so the heat can
loosen the glue, then carefully peel off the label. Most of the glue
will come off with the label. You can then use "Bug and Tar Remover" or
"Goo Gone" to clean off the residue. Orange-based cleaner or turpentine
would probably work too.

--
HTH, Bob

[S Viemeister]

On 5/9/2013 4:24 PM, zxcvbob wrote:

> Fill the jar with hot water, let it sit for a minute so the heat can
> loosen the glue, then carefully peel off the label. Most of the glue
> will come off with the label. You can then use "Bug and Tar Remover" or
> "Goo Gone" to clean off the residue. Orange-based cleaner or turpentine
> would probably work too.
>

+1

[Nunya Bidnits]

Sometimes you don't even have to do the water thing. What looks like a
daunting label, for instance on Nature Made Vitamins, will actually peel off
as you described, almost completely if not perfectly. All you need is to get
a grip on one good clean edge of the label.

Goo Gone is a lot more expensive than the household chemicals mentioned, but
I like the product, especially the Painter's Pal, which it truly is. If that
fails, then my little tin can of Goof Off is my last resort.

MartyB

[Oren]

On Thu, 09 May 2013 15:24:46 -0500, zxcvbob <zxc...@charter.net>
wrote:

> turpentine
>would probably work too.

+ 1

[The Daring Dufas]

On 5/9/2013 3:24 PM, zxcvbob wrote:
> Danny D wrote:
>> On Thu, 09 May 2013 17:32:01 +0000, Danny D wrote:
>>
>> EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS:
>>
>> I am soaking the tough jobs in the suggested solutions, as we speak
>> ... (Note: the gasoline & WD40 are omitted
>> due to the fact that we want to re-use the jars!).
>>
>> Here are the three experiments + one control:
>> http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/12891481/img/12891481.jpg
>>
>> I poured alcohol on the top left; dish detergent at top right;
>> and olive oil in the foreground; with water in the circular
>> tub to the right as the experimental control.
>>
>> Then I filled each container with water and let sit:
>> http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/12891546/img/12891546.jpg
>>
>> Note that everything I've tried in the past has failed
>> on these plastic vitamin and peanut butter jars; so it
>> will be interesting to see what happens in a day or two.
>>
>
>
> Peanut butter jars? Why didn't you say so! (those are my favorite jars
> for reuse -- I store bullets in them for reloading) I thought you were
> talking about glass jars.
>

I believe the OP is writing about glass jars but I like the plastic
unbreakable peanut butter jars for hardware because they can get dropped
and tossed around the van without glass and parts flying. ^_^

TDD

[Nancy2]

On May 9, 2:53 pm, Danny D <Dan...@example.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 09 May 2013 17:32:01 +0000, Danny D wrote:
>
> EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS:
>
> I am soaking the tough jobs in the suggested solutions,
> as we speak ... (Note: the gasoline & WD40 are omitted
> due to the fact that we want to re-use the jars!).
>
> Here are the three experiments + one control:
>  http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/12891481/img/12891481.jpg
>
> I poured alcohol on the top left; dish detergent at top right;
> and olive oil in the foreground; with water in the circular
> tub to the right as the experimental control.
>
> Then I filled each container with water and let sit:
>  http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/12891546/img/12891546.jpg
>
> Note that everything I've tried in the past has failed
> on these plastic vitamin and peanut butter jars; so it
> will be interesting to see what happens in a day or two.

You could do what smart people do ... Go to your local hardware store
and get some of that stuff they sell to remove sticky label residue.
But I suppose that is too logical.

N.

[Danny D]

On Thu, 09 May 2013 19:35:51 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote:

> I believe the OP is writing about glass jars but I like the plastic
> unbreakable peanut butter jars for hardware because they can get dropped
> and tossed around the van without glass and parts flying. ^_^

Actually, my mistake for changing jars in the middle of the thread!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12893328/img/12893328.jpg

I started with glass, but they were so easy to remove the labels
I then moved on to the muuuuch-harder-to-remove plastics vitamin
jars with paper glued on labels.

The plastic vitamin jars have been soaking in the recommended
solutions for the past five or six hours or so:
1. Oil (doesn't look good so far)
2. Soap (looks pretty good)
3. Alcohol (seems the same as the control)
4. Water (the control)

Also I have a peanut-butter jar soaking in water, but, it
appears to have a plastic label, and not paper like
the vitamin jars - so - it's an anomaly.

I'll report back tomorrow ...

[Polly Esther]

"zxcvbob" <> Peanut butter jars? Why didn't you say so! (those are my

favorite jars
> for reuse -- I store bullets in them for reloading) I thought you were
> talking about glass jars.
>
> Fill the jar with hot water, let it sit for a minute so the heat can
> loosen the glue, then carefully peel off the label. Most of the glue will
> come off with the label. You can then use "Bug and Tar Remover" or "Goo
> Gone" to clean off the residue. Orange-based cleaner or turpentine would
> probably work too.

Storing bullets? I had no idea. I'll give one to Mr. Esther. Peanut
butter jars are also fun for a toddler just learning how to open things. A
ping-pong ball ( or a frog) inside a peanut butter jar makes learning to
twist a lid big fun.

[The Real Bev]

On 05/09/2013 08:23 PM, Polly Esther wrote:

> Storing bullets? I had no idea. I'll give one to Mr. Esther. Peanut
> butter jars are also fun for a toddler just learning how to open things. A
> ping-pong ball ( or a frog) inside a peanut butter jar makes learning to
> twist a lid big fun.

As an aside, octopi have learned to open screw-top jars.

--
Cheers, Bev
----------------------------------------------
"Luge strategy? Lie flat and try not to die."
-- Carmen Boyle
Olympic Luge Gold Medal winner - 1996

[Robert]

On May 10, 2:12 am, The Real Bev <bashley...@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> As an aside, octopi have learned to open screw-top jars.
>
> --
> Cheers, Bev

Yes, but the ping pong balls float to the
top of the ocean, and they become sad.....

[Danny D]

On Sun, 12 May 2013 04:58:58 +0000, PeterD wrote:

> Cooking oil will help. Don't actually cook the glass,tho.

Personally, I gave up on the oil idea as I didn't find the
vegetable oil anywhere nearly as effective as the petroleum
distillates (gasoline was the best) in instantly dissolving
the gummy deposits on the plastic gummy vitamin jars.

Here's my latest experiment, concluded this morning:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/12914926/img/12914926.jpg

These are my steps for those plastic vitamin bottle labels:
1. Soak 24 hours in soapy water
2. Scrape paper labels off
3. Rinse in gasoline solvent
4. Dip in the soapy water
5. Rinse with garden hose
6. Air dry in the sun

[Oren]

On Sun, 12 May 2013 16:44:24 +0000 (UTC), Danny D <Dan...@example.com>
wrote:

> I gave up on the oil idea as I didn't find the
>vegetable oil anywhere nearly as effective as the petroleum
>distillates (gasoline was the best) in instantly dissolving
>the gummy deposits on the plastic gummy vitamin jars.

Rub the area with Vaseline, another petroleum product.

[John Weiss]

Danny D wrote:

>> Cooking oil will help. Don't actually cook the glass,tho.
>
> Personally, I gave up on the oil idea as I didn't find the
> vegetable oil anywhere nearly as effective as the petroleum
> distillates (gasoline was the best) in instantly dissolving
> the gummy deposits on the plastic gummy vitamin jars.

Try Goo Gone or Goof Off or similar product made especially for
dissolving gummy things.

[Danny D]

On Sun, 12 May 2013 20:29:07 +0000, Me wrote:

> Chemicals ! vapors galore.
> Better wash the glassware a lot to remove the stench.

True. But outside, I don't smell anything.
Plus, I rinsed them off pretty well.

http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/12918692/img/12918692.jpg

[Danny D]

On Sun, 12 May 2013 21:42:24 +0000, John Weiss wrote:

> Try Goo Gone or Goof Off or similar product made especially
> for dissolving gummy things.

We looked up the main ingredient in the Goo dissolvers; they
appear to be 95% petroleum distillates.

We tested a few petroleum distillates, such as carb cleaner,
MAF cleaner, paint thinner, engine degreaser, etc., but what
worked fastest and easiest was plain old California gasoline.

In fact, I tried a new technique today, which was to put the
plastic jars inside a mixed-nuts container from Costco, and
shook it for about 10 seconds; then washed it off.
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/12918691/img/12918691.jpg

Worked like a charm!

[Danny D]

On Sun, 12 May 2013 13:20:16 -0700, Oren wrote:

> Rub the area with Vaseline, another petroleum product.

I think I'm finally out of gummi vitamin bottles!

But the kids are almost finished with the next one ...

So it will get the Vaseline treatment to see how well that fares
in comparison to the gasoline.

[Nunya Bidnits]

Sounds great if you're going to store fasteners and such. But once you've
washed it with gasoline, it's no longer a food grade container.

Just sayin'.

MartyB

[Danny D.]

On Mon, 13 May 2013 09:54:10 -0500, Nunya Bidnits wrote:

> once you've washed it with gasoline, it's no longer a
> food grade container.

Maybe. Maybe not. It would be nice if a chemist is in
the group as I can see reasons why and why not myself.

For example, most often recommended goo-be-gone stuff
is simply 95% petroleum distillates themselves:
http://googone.com/GooGone-MSDS

So, I'm not positive that one petroleum distillate is that
much worse than another (although I am not a chemist).

Firstly, the labels are on the OUTSIDE of the plastic container
and the caps were on the entire time; so one could argue that
the insides are wholly uncontaminated.

Secondly, I did wash with a surfactant after dissolving the
label glue with the petroleum distillate, so, one could argue
it's as clean as you get your oily pots and pans.

Lastly, my petroleum distillate was relatively volatile, so,
while trace amounts might incorporate themselves into the
plastic, most simply vaporized outside in the hot sun.

Given that, I'm not convinced it's not food grade; however
someone with more chemistry background and experience would
know more than I do about this.

[Nunya Bidnits]

I'm no chemist but I wonder if you can find any food safety authority
(meaning academically accredited or legally authoritative) which condones
putting food in plastic containers which were cleaned in a non-industrial
setting with gasoline. If you don't find your (food science) chemist here,
go out and try to validate what you want to believe because there is
abundant scientifically based food safety information out there on federal,
state, local, and university research websites. I've burnt out on
researching authoritative food safety resources whenever someone posts
something like this, but it's easy to find.

On another note, taste and smell sensitivity among people varies widely, but
in my case, I doubt you can soak a plastic peanut butter container in
gasoline and then clean it so perfectly that I can't detect it. The point
being that just because you can't detect it doesn't mean others can't, and
if you've recently handled gas you may not be able to detect a trace amount.
I don't know how much you separated yourself in time and space from the gas
soaking experiment, but it's food for thought.

MartyB

[Danny D]

On Mon, 13 May 2013 12:41:56 -0500, Nunya Bidnits wrote:

> I doubt you can soak a plastic peanut butter container in
> gasoline and then clean it so perfectly that I can't detect it.

This may be very true as my wife can smell the essence of
what I've been doing even days afterward!
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/12898702/img/12898702.jpg

In fact, she had arrived home *after* my experiment had concluded:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/12893328/img/12893328.jpg

But, she still knew *something* was up by the odd essence of
distillate she caught, even though all the windows were open.

She inquired as to whether I was "up to something" again in
"her" kitchen! Little did she know that prior, her sink had:

MAF cleaner:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/12899731/img/12899731.jpg

Brake cleaner:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/12899695/img/12899695.jpg

Engine degreaser: <=== this, I think, is what she smelled!
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/12899744/img/12899744.jpg

Paint thinner:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/12899756/img/12899756.jpg

WD-40:
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/12899764/img/12899764.jpg

Acetone:
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/12899769/img/12899769.jpg

TSP:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/12899780/img/12899780.jpg

Isopropyl alcohol:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/12899750/img/12899750.jpg

Good thing she didn't see this in her sink!
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/12899794/img/12899794.jpg

But, I think it was this that she smelled, in the end:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/12899805/img/12899805.jpg

Luckily, I learned my lesson and did the gasoline and 28%
muriatic acid experiments OUTSIDE!
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/12898627/img/12898627.jpg

[Nunya Bidnits]

You did all that in your kitchen sink? And your wife is a "Super Sniffer"?

I'd say you're lucky if you sleep in your own bed tonight!

You need to get one of those solvent sink contraptions that auto mechanics
use to clean up dirty parts. And BTW, don't install it in your kitchen. ;-)

MartyB

[Danny D]

On Mon, 13 May 2013 15:15:21 -0500, Nunya Bidnits wrote:

> You did all that in your kitchen sink?

Well, actually, I was experimenting in 'her' kitchen sink.

> you're lucky if you sleep in your own bed tonight

I've always been a little insensitive to pain and irritants ...

[Jim Elbrecht]

Danny D <Dan...@example.com> wrote:
-snip-

>
>She inquired as to whether I was "up to something" again in
>"her" kitchen! Little did she know that prior, her sink had:

Uh, Danny-- You don't need help with cleaning labels, trimming
bushes or building pool poles.

this is the most valuable advice you'll ever get on Usenet-
"Quit using the kitchen sink [that your wife views as *hers*] for
science experiments!"

Put one of these in the basement or garage--
http://www.idealtruevalue.com/servlet/the-6762/Detail

A $30 slop sink can save your marriage-- or your life!

Plumbing it will make it better-- but a bucket or two will make it
functional.

Jim

[Danny D]

On Tue, 14 May 2013 07:01:47 -0400, Jim Elbrecht wrote:

> A $30 slop sink can save your marriage-- or your life!

Well, there *is* that type of slop sink, in "her" laundry room!

:)

[Nunya Bidnits]

Be wise and avoid that too. Git yer own sink!

[The Real Bev]

As long as there's a remnant of the glue the jar remains sticky and
unusable, and that sure looks like glue on the mixed-nuts container.
There's a limit to how much effort and chemical I'm willing to expend
just to remove a label.

--
Cheers, Bev
===================================================
Salesmen welcome -- dog food is expensive

[Danny D.]

On Tue, 14 May 2013 19:19:19 -0700, The Real Bev wrote:

> There's a limit to how much effort and chemical I'm willing
> to expend just to remove a label.

Understood.

That's why I was looking for the easiest "magic" solution.

[Danny D]

On Sun, 12 May 2013 13:20:16 -0700, Oren wrote:

> Rub the area with Vaseline, another petroleum product.

Yeah, but I have so much extra gasoline lying around than vaseline!
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/12925619/img/12925619.jpg

[The Real Bev]

I was at the 99-Cents-Only Store this morning and picked up a 2-ounce
bottle of Goo Gone. Amazingly enough, it worked really well on one of
the Costco plastic candy/nut/whatever containers. Spread a little bit
over the sticky with your fingers, look for a knife to use to scrape it
off, find out that it doesn't scrape, grab paper towel, wipe vigorously
and VOILA! Washed it with liquid detergent. Bravo. I didn't expect it
to work (Shoe Goo is worthless), but it really did.

I also bought one of those Topsy Turvy things for growing tomatoes
upside down ("As seen on TV"). I think they were $10 or so originally.
I have some MiracleGro dirt and some 4" cherry tomato plants so I'll
give it a try. Again, not much hope -- why would they be available at
the 99-Cent Store if they worked?

OTOH, there's the Goo Gone...

--
Cheers, Bev
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
SAVE GAS, FART IN A JAR

[Danny D]

The kids used up another plastic gummy vitamins jar today:
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/13127024/img/13127024.jpg

But, this Costco vitamin jar was taller than the Costco
mixed-nuts jar that I had used before (still had gas):
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/13127025/img/13127025.jpg

So, used a taller Costco red-capped peanut jar, with the
result that the label came clean off:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/13127028/img/13127028.jpg

The label peeled off like peeling the skin off an orange after
only a few minutes in the gasoline:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/13127027/img/13127027.jpg

Unless there's some negative effect, I'd say gasoline is close
to a magic solution for removing stubborn labels from jars:
a) It's cheap
b) It's readily available
c) It works in seconds
d) It's easily washed off
e) It's so volatile, it doesn't even have to be washed off
f) It's not any more or less toxic than the recommended goo stuff

[Nunya Bidnits]

"Danny D" <Dan...@example.com> wrote in message
news:knhl2g$f7$1...@speranza.aioe.org...

I'd like to see authoritative cites supporting d, e, and f.
>
>

[Danny D]

On Wed, 22 May 2013 11:12:59 -0500, Nunya Bidnits wrote:

>> d) It's easily washed off
>> e) It's so volatile, it doesn't even have to be washed off
>> f) It's not any more or less toxic than the recommended goo stuff
>
> I'd like to see authoritative cites supporting d, e, and f.

Let's take f, the reputed toxicity factor:

Googling for gasoline toxicity, I find this from NIH:
Acute toxicity of gasoline and some additives.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1520023/
And this, from the CDC:
Medical Management Guidelines for Gasoline
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mmg/mmg.asp?id=465&tid=83
And this from the Canadian OSHA:
What are the potential health effects of gasoline?
http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/gasoline.html

They all say gasoline is not all that dangerous, even taken internally!

In fact, even if you drank the stuff straight out of the gas can, they
all say the major danger is aspiration into your lungs with pneumonia
being the largest danger from drinking the stuff.

They all end with a similar sentence as this by NIH verbatim below:
"No acute toxic health effects would occur during the normal course
of using automotive fuels."

BTW, those of you who think petroleum distillates horrid, think about
what Vaseline is made up of. Or laxatives. Or many skin lotions. Or,
more apropos, Goo Gone, which is advertised for removing the labels
on bottles used in the kitchen. Read the MSDS (hint: It's 95% petroleum
distillates).

If you don't think you use petroleum distillates every day, then
think again.

NOTE: I'm not saying gasoline has no effects ... there are possible
carcinogenic and irritant effects - but we're not talking anywhere
near orders of magnitudes of the levels and time frames for that to
occur from peeling the external labels off of closed vitamin jars.

[Danny D]

On Wed, 22 May 2013 20:45:41 +0000, ktos wrote:

> Yes.

The answer turns out to be:

Q: Is there?
A: Yes.

Q: What?
A: Petroleum distillates.

[Gary]

Danny D wrote:
>
> They all say gasoline is not all that dangerous, even taken internally!
>
> In fact, even if you drank the stuff straight out of the gas can, they
> all say the major danger is aspiration into your lungs with pneumonia
> being the largest danger from drinking the stuff.

You first, dumbass. You drink a glass of gasoline, I seriously doubt you'll
have to worry about getting pneumonia.

G.

[k...@attt.bizz]

On Thu, 23 May 2013 09:27:56 +0000 (UTC), Danny D <Dan...@example.com>
wrote:

>On Wed, 22 May 2013 11:12:59 -0500, Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>
>>> d) It's easily washed off
>>> e) It's so volatile, it doesn't even have to be washed off
>>> f) It's not any more or less toxic than the recommended goo stuff
>>
>> I'd like to see authoritative cites supporting d, e, and f.
>
>Let's take f, the reputed toxicity factor:
>
>Googling for gasoline toxicity, I find this from NIH:
> Acute toxicity of gasoline and some additives.
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1520023/
>And this, from the CDC:
> Medical Management Guidelines for Gasoline
> http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mmg/mmg.asp?id=465&tid=83
>And this from the Canadian OSHA:
> What are the potential health effects of gasoline?
> http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/gasoline.html
>
>They all say gasoline is not all that dangerous, even taken internally!
>
>In fact, even if you drank the stuff straight out of the gas can, they
>all say the major danger is aspiration into your lungs with pneumonia
>being the largest danger from drinking the stuff.
>
>They all end with a similar sentence as this by NIH verbatim below:
> "No acute toxic health effects would occur during the normal course
> of using automotive fuels."

In "the normal course of using automotive fuels", I don't drink them.
Perhaps you do?

>BTW, those of you who think petroleum distillates horrid, think about
>what Vaseline is made up of. Or laxatives. Or many skin lotions. Or,
>more apropos, Goo Gone, which is advertised for removing the labels
>on bottles used in the kitchen. Read the MSDS (hint: It's 95% petroleum
>distillates).

Not all petroleum distillates are created equally. You drink Benzene.
BTW, the LD50 numbers for gasoline seem to be in the 2-5g/kg range.
Not terrible but I'll let your drink the stuff.

>If you don't think you use petroleum distillates every day, then
>think again.

So what? You ingest the most dangerous chemical on the planet every
day, too. That statement alone is meaningless.

>NOTE: I'm not saying gasoline has no effects ... there are possible
>carcinogenic and irritant effects - but we're not talking anywhere
>near orders of magnitudes of the levels and time frames for that to
>occur from peeling the external labels off of closed vitamin jars.

Your logic is amazing.

[Nunya Bidnits]

Danny D <Dan...@example.com> wrote:

clipall

FYI, the crossposts you see here were deleted..My further responses to your
posts are on RFC only so the many who filter out crossposts can see the
thread.

[Bill]

Yes...

Some labels easily peel off. If not...

BBQ Lighter fluid.

Or Rubbing alcohol.

Or WD-40.