I've been saving all my jars to use to store dried edibles, but, how the heck do you get the labels off them? I usually just soak them in water, but the labels never come all the way off. A sticky residue remains. I like a smooth, clean glass jar. I would prefer to avoid purchasing any special "product."

Thanks.

-- Lurker (Sticky@jars.glas), June 06, 1999

Answers

Smear it with mayonaise and let it set an hour or two and then wash it all off. But if you have lots of jars, it may be cheaper to by a bottle of stuff that removes them....look in WalMart. Its called Goo Gone and is for removing tape, labels, etc.

Taz

-- Taz (Tassie @aol.com), June 06, 1999.

As long as you take proper precautions, acetone does the job.

READ THE CAUTION LABEL if you are unfamiliar with it. It is also used as a fingernail polish remover, although the manufacturers of that product put other substances in it nowadays. Vitamins and such.

USE IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA. NO SMOKING, OPEN FLAMES OR SPARKS. Acetone is extremely flammable. Needless to say, KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN!

If you can accept these caveats, you will find it to be a very good all-purpose cleaner for stubborn jobs. My local WalMart sells it in the paint section in one gallon cans for $3.

I use it for removing labels from jars, sticky strips from the wall when I take down a poster or ???, removing the last vestiges of window stickers from the glass, cleaning the rosin residue from a circuit board after soldering, and for removing the resizing lube from resized cartridge cases before further processing.

It also does a fair job at removing fingernail polish.

-- LP (soldog@hotmail.com), June 06, 1999.

Use a paper towel to dampen them with vegetable oil, and let it sit awhile.

-- A. Hambley (a.hambley@usa.net), June 06, 1999.

I used peanut butter once -- it works!

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), June 06, 1999.

Avon's Skin So Soft is great for removing labels.

-- Homeschooling Grandma (mlaymon@glenn-co.k12.ca.us), June 06, 1999.

a lubricant in a spray can called WD 40 works well on most pricing labels.

-- TED POWELL (tpowell107@aol.com), June 07, 1999.

Thanks Lurker & everyone else,

Lot of good tips.

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), June 07, 1999.

Thank you all! (Peanut butter!! Who would have thought it?)

-- Lurker (Sticky@jars.glas), June 07, 1999.