If you’re like me, you save jars for multiple uses around the house. I don’t like leaving the labels on the jars because quite honestly, they’re ugly. I’d like to either have them label-free or use my own pretty labels. I discovered an easy way to remove jar labels that takes little to no time at all.
All it takes is 2 ingredients. No, that’s not a typo. Two simple ingredients: Dawn dish soap and baking soda. That’s it. Here’s a step-by-step guide to this easy process.
Step #1. Fill the jars.
Fill the jars with hot water (to help heat up the jar and it helps to start loosening the glue on the other side).
Step #2. Soak the jars.
I soak the jars in warm water while I’m getting the dawn/soda mixture ready. This also helps to soften up the labels. I’ve tried this process without soaking and it’s a little tough to get them off, especially on jars that have thicker labels. The key is to soften what you can so the glue and residual paper can be easily removed.
Step #3. Prepare the mixture.
I do not measure the ingredients. Simply make a paste using the baking soda and Dawn soap. You want it to be a bit thick so it doesn’t run off the jars and onto the counter.
Step #4. Slather the jars.
Take the mixture and smear it all over the labels and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes. I honestly tend to forget about it and move on to other things. By the time I remember it’s been 30 minutes. But, that’s just me and my crazy life.
Step #5. Wipe & rinse.
Using a wet cloth, wipe off the label and rinse the jar. The label should come right off in pieces.
I’ve had a few labels that are still a bit persnickety so I let it sit a bit longer or I’ll remove what I can and re-apply the mixture and let it sit again. This is especially true for a wine bottle I was cleaning that had a double-layer of labels. It took me several tries to remove all the paper but that really was due to the 2 labels.
99% of the time this works.
Try it and let me know how this easy way to remove jar labels works for you!