BS: Getting labels off jamjars

Subject: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: greg stephens
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 07:06 AM

How do you get the labels of jamjars? The glue seems to be stickier these days. How can I give people attractive presents of damson and apple jelly if the jar says Sainsbury's Basic Honey? Or you scrape and rub in hot water and washing up liquid, and you end up with a rectangle of unshiftable glue residue on the jar. Any tips?

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 07:21 AM

Try rubbing with white vinegar on a tissue or j-cloth.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Will Fly
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 07:22 AM

Very hot water - for quite a long time - will eventually do it. It might be worth trying some boiling vinegar in the water at the risk of then having to get the vinegar scent off...

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 07:37 AM

Soak in water for some time... pull label off......whatever is left comes off easily with turpentine.....

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: bobad
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 07:43 AM

Lighter fluid works on most stubborn glue residues.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: gnu
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 07:54 AM

Soak overnight in water. Oil... vegetable, canola...

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 09:35 AM

If none of these inexpensive methods work, you can buy products such as 'Goo Gone' which specialize in dissolving modern adhesives.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Penny S.
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 09:35 AM

I use a product called Sticky Stuff Remover. From the smell, it might be worth trying citrus peel. Also soaking, and scrubbing with the sort of wire wool that doesn't scratch.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 09:38 AM

An angle grinder works for me.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: BrooklynJay
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 09:58 AM

As a theatrical makeup artist (and teacher of same), I've found that a product called Spirit Gum Remover can remove most any label adhesive. The strength of the product will sometimes vary according to how much solvent the individual manufacturers use in their formulations, but on the whole, the stuff works.

Peel amd scrape off as much of the paper label as you can, apply the remover with cotton wool, then thoroughly rise with soap and water to remove any residue that may remain.

Jay

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Neil D
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 10:06 AM

I soak the adhesive with hand sanitizer, let it sit in for a few mins. and the goo usually scrapes right off. Sometimes, for REAL stubborn adhesive it takes 2 applications.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 10:08 AM

White spirit. No problem.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: GUEST,999
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 10:30 AM

Greg, after you have soaked the label off to the extent it will, use oil (corn oil, olive oil, etc) to rub on the glue areas and the glue will come off. Then wash off the oil and boom, Bob's yer uncle. Clean jars.

I expect you are aware that lids cannot be reused because there are real danghers of contamination.

Best to you.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Marje
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 10:34 AM

If all else fails, WD40 will usually do the trick.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 10:48 AM

White Spirit.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 10:58 AM

Isopropanol.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: GUEST,999
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 11:16 AM

Strike anywhere match. (That approach gets the glass off the label. Don't do this at home, or anywhere else for that matter.)

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 11:19 AM

The match to be used in combination with white spirit or isopropanol, etc.?

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 03:47 PM

Rule of thumb: Any sticky stuff that won't dissolve in soapy water will probably dissolve in oil.

Any kind of oil will do; use whatever is cheap and convenient, such as cooking oil.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 04:40 PM

damson and apple jelly

And Pip is making plum and apple jam and plum jelly atm. To go with damson cheese, plum chutney and greengage jam. I think that's about it...

Except to say, I believe that much of the UK has had bumper stone fruit crops this year so I guess there will be a fair amount of plum jam, etc. around.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 05:06 PM

Guest 999 has the method we use.

As an aside, the jars used for Tostitos salsa sold here in Canada have a nice shape for jams, etc. And th salsa is pretty good.
Classico sauces use Mason Jars, so re-use is easy, but they are too large for jams and jellies, but I give away jars of nuts at Christmas and they are good for that, as well as my oregano harvest.

I get unsalted nuts when they go on sale, and salt-spice my own.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 05:12 PM

We tend to hold onto what we have in the way of Kilner (which I believe are similar to Mason) and Le Parfait jars.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 05:16 PM

I have not met a glue that does not come off in the end with a stainless steel scrubber - the one I use on cast iron frying pan when I boo-boo. I think once I had to use Dr. Bronners soap also. NO dangerous solvents and NO matches!

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 09:55 PM

why do tops get contaminated? Surely they could be boiled...or do you mean they don't keep a good seal perhaps? mg

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Crowhugger
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 11:08 PM

mg, it isn't that the tops themselves cannot be sterilized--they can--but rather that the soft sealing circle (same function as the reddish rubber circle on mason jar canning lids) is designed for single use, and may not seal properly when used a second time. The same rule applies for mason jar lids, for that matter, that seal is also single use, if you want to be sure to keep sterile inside and septic outside the jar.

For jams and jellies you can seal with wax first, and the re-used lid doesn't have to be sterile since it just keeps the wax from getting knocked loose.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Gurney
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 11:48 PM

For sticky rubber solution glues, oil, paraffin, kerosine, or turpentine, followed by some kind of alcohol to remove the smell.

You may have to scratch the label to let the solvent penetrate.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: GUEST,crazy little woman
Date: 30 Aug 11 - 11:04 AM

Taking the old labels off sounds like too much work. Worse, it's messy, wet, icky work.

Why don't you get yourself a warm glue gun (at the hardware or hobby store) and some pretty paper. Print labels, cut them to the right width and glue them right over the existing labels. Much more fun.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: s&r
Date: 30 Aug 11 - 12:13 PM

I have a number of jars where the label has been attached with glue over the original label. Anyone know how to remove the labels?

Stu

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 30 Aug 11 - 01:48 PM

We buy Ginger Preserve from Sainsbury's and Dulce de Leche from Argentina - never did like home made jam.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 30 Aug 11 - 01:49 PM

My mother would spend hours making mince pies at Christmas - why bother when Mr Kipling makes exeedingly good cakes!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Aug 11 - 02:54 PM

After -- gasp -- 45 years of making jam every summer, I'm a big fan of the Mason jar. I haven't used Paro-Wax since the mid-80s, and advise it only for those who know their product will be used within the year and never leave the house. (Every time the jar is tipped, the seal is at risk.) Even then, I would check wax-sealed jars for mould every couple of months.

And yes, quality has improved. However horrible my storage areas, I haven't had a mould outbreak since converting to Mason jars and snap lids.

However, removing labels from Mason jars is a pain in the neck. I use nail-polish remover.

Subject: Prevention of problems getting labels off jamjars
From: Crowhugger
Date: 31 Aug 11 - 02:39 PM

For use at home I've taken to paper labels attached at 2 sides with tape including a small turned-under tab on the tape (3M magic tape) for easiest removal. For gifts, which will have a decorative square of cloth over the lid, the "pretty" label is a tag dangling from coloured elastic.

I include a "refrigerate after opening" caution in red directly on the mason lid, usually also the product name on this purely functional lid-label, made with a small address label or similar.

Also for gifts, sometimes I use decorative paper labels attached from the back with little rolls of tape. As long as the tape goes onto a cool jar, there is no residue problem whatsoever. And the label choices are as wide as the available paper.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting labels off jamjars
From: Penny S.
Date: 01 Sep 11 - 04:46 AM

I use waxed circles topped by cellophane held on with a rubber band. Then, when in use, I re-use a Tiptree jam lid.

Penny