Remove Labels From Glass Jars

As I sit down to write this, I am slightly out of breath.

You may be asking yourself:

• Was she carrying lumber to make an outdoor bench?
• Was she moving all of the furniture, including area rugs, in her living room to create the perfect grouping?
• Was she spending three hours sanding a very old table down to the original wood?
• Was she digging a flower bed, and weeding?

Well, I have done all of those things this week... But none of them had me out of breath.

Here's what did have me out of breath:

As I waited for a newly painted table to dry, so that I could apply a second coat of paint, I decided to remove the labels from some old jars, so that I could make vases, or candle holders - I don't know - whatever. Just something to do.

Let me tell you, removing labels from jars is one of life's little pleasures. The feeling of accomplishment when you have your crystal clear jar before you, ready for adornment, is simply second to none.

UNLESS YOU JUST SCRUBBED SO HARD

THE PIGMENT OF YOUR FINGERS CAME OFF 

AND YOU CAN'T CATCH YOUR BREATH  

AND THE GLUE STILL WON'T BUDGE

I'm sorry, I was about ready to lose my ever lovin' mind  a little irritated. This wasn't my first rodeo with labels. But I've caught my breath a little now, and am no longer traumatized.

It started because I decided to find the best method for removing labels, because I DID NOT HAVE ANY GOO-GONE.

There are so many cute glass jar shapes and sizes, but those darn labels. What do they use to adhere them? If we find out, we should let NASA know. That stuff is HARD CORE. Anyway I bravely marched on.

And here are my scientific label and glue removing findings:

First:
I tried giving the glass jars a bubble bath, with super hot water and a little Dawn. I filled the jars and soaked them for about 20 minutes. Afterwards, some of the paper label came off, but none of the glue. I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed.

Second:
I dried the glass, and rubbed the remaining label/glue mess with nail polish remover with a paper towel. (I thought this was a genius move.) Uh, no. That simply didn't work. So I tried letting a paper towel soaked in nail polish remover sit on the glue for a minute, and scrubbed like my life depended on a crystal clear spaghetti sauce jar - no dice.

Third:
The clear winner, but not exactly "the miracle" I was looking for... rubbing alcohol. I poured a generous amount of the alcohol on a paper towel and most of the glue dissolved and came off.

Some stubborn parts required steel wool, and just about all of my elbow grease (read: sanding the table was easier), and eventually came off.

(If you have a foolproof method for removing labels, do tell. I can take it if there's an easy way, and I've wasted hours of scrubbing my fingers to the bone. I promise not to run screaming into traffic.)

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