Super Soaker
We get quite a few emails asking for a little tutorial on taking the labels off of wine and Pellegrino bottles, which we first did for our wedding back in 2007 to create little water, lemonade and sweet tea carafes for every table (we even recruited a local wine store to save bottles from their wine tastings for us so we could collect them en masse for free).
When it came to stripping the labels, we experimented with a few different ways but in the end nothing worked better than a little hour-long soaking session in hot water followed by a good scrubbing with a textured sponge (or even my fingernails- ever so lightly). After a good soak, everything slips right off.
Then a bit of Goo Gone (or de-gunking alternatives like olive oil, nail polish remover, or citrus juice) can be introduced if there’s still some residue, but usually the ol’ soak & scrub approach does the trick on its own. And that method isn’t an ancient memory because two years later we’re still saving pretty bottles and removing their labels to create an ever-growing collection of free glass vases that we like to group on a tray in the sunroom…
… or even use to add a few pops of green color to the floating shelves in the living room:
So there you have it. A little fast and easy label-removing tutorial that may just help you repurpose some of the things that could already be in your recycling bin at this very moment. Long live free decor- especially when it’s so easy to strip down!
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Comments
NICE BLOG! :)
I am really enjoying reading your page, since I have my own place now, eventhough no decoration yet :( I am still looking for some advised. LOL! :)
i got this tip from my cousin, if need to remove the label from a glass or bottle, just soak the bottle (label) on vinegar instead of water overnight and in the morning the label will be remove easily. I already tried this trick and it worked! :))
Hi Sherry- Just thought I’d let you know that I did some decorating with old Pellegrino and Perrier bottles and your hot water soak trick worked great. I totally copied your bottle display in the sunroom, it’s here if you want to take a look :-) http://hiphousegirl.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/tis-not-really-the-season/
Hey Amanda,
So glad to hear it worked like a charm! Gorgeous! Thanks so much for the link.
xo,
s
Dear Young House Love,
I like you’re website and I’m only nine.And I like Burger’s blog too. I have a question about hanging stuff on my room’s wall. Is there a way besides tape or a hook to hang things on you’re wall? I want to hang ocean things on my wall.(My room is ocean themed.) If there is anoter way please tell me.
P.S. Good luck with you’re baby.
From, Sarah:)
Hi Sarah,
We’re so excited to hear that you like our blog (and we’ll pass that info along to Burger as well)! As for hanging things on your wall, you can try these things called 3M hooks. They’re completely removable and won’t hurt your wall after you take them down so they’re great to display your ocean things (plus your mom won’t worry that they will leave a bunch of holes in the wall). You can find them at Target and Home Depot and places like that. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Sherry/John,
Thanks to my sister-in-law, who sent me a link to your blog, I’m now an addict. She and I are both young and in love with our own 50’s ranchers that we have been slowly overhauling and re-redecorating with our husbands.
I love the bottle display and have hunted around your blog until YAY I finally found the tip to getting the labels off…though I wish it were easier! My next project: convincing my husband that it’s acceptable to hang photos with white mats in white frames (he insists on black). Advice and/or support for either frame color is welcome and appreciated.
I have been inspired by many of your unique and budget friendly diy ideas. Thank you and keep it coming!
Jill
Of course we clearly love white frames with white mats because they’re in every room of our house! Our advice for getting your husband to come around would be to show him images of rooms with white frames and white mats (men are visual creatures so sometimes they need to see something to get it). Here’s a post with a few more husband convincing tips: http://www.younghouselove.com/2009/03/email-answer-have-husband-will-decorate/
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
If you or anyone else ever needs to de-label bottles again, the trick is ammonia. Mix a cup or so of it (it comes in gallon bottles in the cleaning aisle for a dollar or so) with a gallon of water and soak your bottles over night. The labels will fall right off.