Are you ready to have your socks rocked off? I am not even kidding. I have the magic ingredients on How to Easily Remove Labels from jars and plastic containers without leaving that annoying adhesive residue behind or without ruining the plastic!! Hands down this is the best way to remove labels and I have tried them all!
There are many different reasons to want to remove labels from jars or containers. It simply may be an adhesive label or price tag that was placed in an inconvenient spot!
You may want to reuse food jars or plastic containers. Spraypaint the lid and you now have a budget-friendly container for your craft room, kitchen, or bath.
Many times the paper part of a label will remove but the adhesives used on the label will remain on the jar.
Well, not any more my friends!!
Different Methods to Remove Labels
There are many different methods to remove labels from food storage jars and containers. Here are ones I have tried with limited success or just not quite as good as my all-time favorite method!
Many of these methods will only work for glass jars, not plastic as the solvents or scraping will ruin the plastic.
- Soak the jars in hot water with dish soap in the sink and then scrub the labels with a rag or sponge.
- Use a solvent to dissolve the glue such as rubbing alcohol, acetone, white vinegar, vodka, wd-40, goo gone, or nail polish remover.
- Use essential oils such as lemon or orange to remove the glue residue. This will only work on glass and essential oils are on the expensive side for this type of use.
- Use a knife, flat blade, or razor blade for scraping the sticky residue off.
- Some have good luck using a hair dryer to heat up the glue and remove the sticker but I find if it is a paper label then you still have to remove sticker residue.
- Some labels can be removed in the dishwasher but be sure to clean out the trap afterwards so you don’t clog the drain in your dishwasher.
Supplies for the Best Way to Remove Labels
- Baking Soda
- Cooking Oil
That’s it!! Mix equal parts of each ingredient to form a runny paste. I started with a tablespoon of each because it spreads nicely.
Once I remove the paper part of the label, I mixed up my magic paste. I apply a thick layer of it to the jar and smear it all over the gluey sticky part.
I let it sit on there about 10 minutes or so. That number is not exact. I slapped it on the jar and then got distracted a few times with the kids and remembered to come back to it as I passed by.
I took a paper towel and then wiped away the paste from the jar. All the adhesive that was left on the jar was now wiping away with my paste mixture!
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I gave the jar a good wash with hot soapy water to get rid of the vegetable oil and I was left with this crystal clear jar that are perfect storage containers in my craft room!
Hands down this is the best way to remove labels that I have found using no harmful chemicals.
You can also use other oil-based agents that are chemical-free, environmentally friendly, and probably already in your pantry.
These alternatives are peanut butter, canola oil, coconut oil, and even mayonnaise.
Projects to Use Upcycled Jars & Containers
I am going to start using this method to easily remove labels every time I need to remove labels for my Decorated Soap Dispensers and if I ever need to make a chalkbaord labeled bottle or any more of my wine bottle luminaries I will remove labels with ease! I wish I had this back when I was still using vinegar to get the gunk off! This method doesn’t make my house smell like we are dying Easter Eggs :)
You can also use this method to remove labels from mason jars and make a set of my DIY Mason Jar Straw Lids or if you needed the Jars to upcycle into fun Manicure in a Jar Gift or Pedicure in a Jar Gift ideas!
I have many other fantastic tips and tricks that will make your life easier! Sign up for my FREE emails below to get new tips and tricks delivered to your inbox for free! Don’t worry I never share your information because I am greedy and I want you all to myself, lol! :)
Comments & Reviews
Carol says
Wow, my husband has bees so we give away honey. I have a ton of jars but they look so tacky cause the labels won’t come completely off PLUS I never thought of spray painting the lid, thank you!
Cheryl Spangenberg says
You are so welcome Carol! Thanks for stopping over!
Rosemary says
I love this, but do you have any tips for removing those clear plastic labels that seem to be glued on with cement! They’re even hard to peel off. The paper ones are easy, just soak them in water and they peel easily, but these plastic labels don’t budge from soaking. Any ideas?
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Rosemary, try using a hair dryer for the clear plastic labels. Those are a huge pain! Be patient and peel back slowly while the blow dryer is heating it up. That worked pretty well once for me and I just had a bit of residual goo to clean up at the very end that the label came off!
Naomi says
Thanks! Now a tip on an easy way to remove the paper label, please!!!!
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Naomi, I just get them wet and they peel right off.
Sherry White says
Newsletter??
Bill S. says
Just put hot water in the jar. If you are real careful use water from a kettle or put in the microwave for a minute and that softens up the glue making it easier to come off and not needing goo to remove glue. Hot water works great on removing unwanted decals from car dealers too. Hot water is better than a hair dryer because the temperature is constant and causes less breakage especially for removing decals. Doesn’t need to be boiling hot. pour it on slowly and remove.
Gayle says
Yes Bill, I try this method first, it works most times & helps clean the inside of the jar at the same time.
Marty Hamilton says
My hubby told me to use WD40 on them one day when I was aggravated and wala …it worked taking glue off right away. No residue left and no way time just wipe time. :-)
Debbie says
Great info. I’m trying it this very minute. But I have a doubt. Last summer I bought a new kitchen stove with a great big label stuck on the door. I was able to remove part of it but not all, finally a while ago I decided it was time to remove it once and for all. I’ve been trying with hot water, glass cleaning liquid and haven’t been very successful. In the end I remembered this trick and I’m trying it right now but don’t really know if it’ll work with it. If not, do you have another recipe which can save me please??? Thanks a lot
Kim says
I’ve always just used a metal scrubbie (steel or copper ‘wool’) and soap; just a few strokes and it’s clean, no waiting. I’ll try this if I get something really stuck on though!
Linda D. says
Mr. Clean’s Magic Eraser will also get the sticky residue off of things.
Anna L B says
I use clear lamp oil on a paper towel. Just a small dab and it cleaned the glue off in seconds also removes wax from old candle holders too. I have not tried it on crayon yet. Wash with soap after your done.
Nana says
Will try that. Anyone know how to get the smell out of the lid for a pickle jar or salsa jar? I’ve tried baking soda and newspaper, but no go. I like to be able to reuse jars for food storage but if the lid smells it ruins the food inside.
Kel D says
I’ve always used a mixture of bicarbonate of soda (not sure what that is called in the US?) and bottled lemon juice. make a paste and rub it on the lid, leave it overnight. Once it’s washed off it smells of not a lot, although perhaps faintly lemony but that does go quite quickly.
Ross says
Kel, in the good ole USA Bicarbonate of Soda is called by the same title. Is one of the few places there isn’t a language barrier (like with Russians?)! LOL Bicarb of Soda = Bicarb of Soda! ((o;
ALSO, a tip for you… if there are folks of varying ages around the neighborhood, and coupons in Sunday’s paper, swap what you DON’T use for what you DO use! LOL RecipeRoss
Chris says
You can also let the jars sit overnight in a sink with any laundry soap that has Oxiclean in it. No need to pull the paper off. The next morning the labels will be off.
Helena (microbio) says
Many, many thanks for this tutorial! How can we recycle if a lot of brands still give us a hard time to remove labels after we consume their products ? A “we care for our environment-remove our label easily after finishing our product” label should be created and added to those who care, to all others we now have your tutorial :)
mary Pruitt says
Do u think baking powder would work?
dave says
The last time I looked the difference between Baking Soda and Baking Powder was that the “Cream of Tartar” had been added to the soda to make the powder. Since Cream of Tartar is an acid, it should work even better. Let us know what you find out when you try it.
dave says
Cream of Tartar is what you use to clean the scorch marks (carbon) off pots and pans, especially copper ones.
Mikaela says
Eucalyptus oil also works wonders!
Kelly Lambdin says
I use my own method:
Hand sanitizer it’s easy, no mixing, doesn’t stain & it’s cheap plus it has an awesome smell. Can be used in hair for gum, in carpets to get gum out, windows to get the sticky off and you can add it to a cloth to clean a table with it dries fast!! But most of all it works Great in jars & other containers. Just squirt on then rub into & up & down to get into the label, wait a couple of minutes go and rub it off or use a bone folder & it peels right up
kiwigirl says
Cool idea! I love reusing jars! I use a hair dryer to remove the labels….put in on high…blow on the label…heats up the glue a bit and the sticker comes clean off and doesn’t leave any residue!
Diane J says
Haven’t tried this but I just spray WD40 on all my labels I need to take off & let sit for a little while…..works great for me.
KayDee H. says
Another option to helping to remove the glue from jars are SOS pads & there’s no time limit to waiting for it to work or the added double wash of cleaning the baking soda oil paste….even better it cost less than a buck & you can used them more than once.