I recently purchased spaghetti sauce in nice jars. (Thanks to a tip from a coupon site they were inexpensive!).
I then decided to recycle the jars and fill them with homemade bath salts. The problem was ~ how to get the labels off the jars!
A quick internet search yielded Arm and Hammer Washing soap. Two problems. #1. I didn't have any and this would require me to run to the store to get some. #2. It apparently needs to be handled with care and I didn't feel like dealing with it. (Hmmmm, I'm starting to sound lazy.)
I found another solution via an internet search. A simple solution. And I'm all about simple!
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| Soaking in oil and baking soda |
Oil {as in vegetable, canola, etc. any cooking kind} and baking soda.
Now this I had at home! I took the jars, put them in a dishpan (the oil does make a greasy mess) and added the baking soda and hot water.
I let the jars sit for a few minutes and came back. The labels peeled off easily. I then let them sit for a little longer. The total time was about 30 minutes. I took a cloth and scrubbed the labels off. (It did not take much effort, but I wanted them to be clean.) And it worked!
Incidentally, I had forgotten one jar. I had it soaking and it was then put in the dishwasher. I figured the label would come right off since it had been soaking for quite a while. However, to my dismay it did not. It may have been re-glued on with the heat of the dishwasher. I had to resoak it again! It then came off easily.
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| After just few minutes you can see the label peeled off easily. |
