Reuse Plastic Vendor Bottles for DIY - How to remove labels

[Zetaphor]

A pro-tip for removing plastic labels from vendor bottles for re-use, Tea Tree Oil!
How to Remove Labels


I've already reclaimed 5 VapeDudes bottles I will not be using for DIY mixes.

 

[adeline]

A pro-tip for removing plastic labels from vendor bottles for re-use, Tea Tree Oil!
How to Remove Labels


I've already reclaimed 5 VapeDudes bottles I will not be using for DIY mixes.

Awesome. I was about to repurpose vendor bottles tonight... Thanks for sharing.

 

[bobbybilly]

Once I get the label off by letting it soak for a while, then to remove the gummy residue that held the label on I spray the bottle with Goo Gone and lightly rub it clean with paper towels. The pros to using the Goo Gone is that it has a nice citrus smell. The con of using Goo Gone is that it's an oily substance that leaves a slippery residue. However, rinsing the bottle in hot water and then drying with paper towel easily removes the Goo Gone residue.

Goo Gone is a very common product that most department stores carry. At my local Walmart it's located very close to the paint section. I just looked at the warning portion of the label and it's a very vague generic one which leads me to believe it's nothing real dangerous as long as you don't drink it which we're all smart enough not to do even though is smells good. I'm not familiar with the Tea Tree Oil the OPs source uses, but personally I'd avoid it just because I feel Goo Gone is pretty safe and and I know it's effective so why mess with something that has more potential dangers if I can avoid it. That's just my take on it though.

 

[yzer]

I don't soak the labels first. The labels on my old 30 ml plastic drip bottles were the paper self-adhesive kind. The easiest and cleanest way I used is to gently pull up one corner then peel off the entire label. Comes off in one piece with all of the adhesive. If some gum remains on the bottle it can be pulled off clean with scotch tape.

It can be difficult to dry the child-proof caps after washing. Best way to do this is to lay a clean dishtowel on a counter top and whack the cap base down flat on the towel ten times or so. When the piece inside the cap rattles freely I know most of water has been knocked out and the rest will air dry in 24 hours or less.

I've washed and re-used plastic drip bottles many times.

 

[Trick]

Lighter fluid. I put that sh** on everything.

 

[Zetaphor]

I'm not familiar with the Tea Tree Oil the OPs source uses, but personally I'd avoid it just because I feel Goo Gone is pretty safe and and I know it's effective so why mess with something that has more potential dangers if I can avoid it. That's just my take on it though.

Umm...yeah. Have a look at the ingredients list for Goo Gone:
Household Products Database - Health and Safety Information on Household Products

Now take a look at what the primary ingredient for Goo Gone is commonly used in:
Solvent naphtha, petroleum, heavy aliphatic: wadding polish, silicone sealer, carpet adhesive, wasp & hornet killer, insect foggers.

The other primary ingredient is a citrus oil, to give it that nice scent you mentioned.

Now take a look at the ingredients in Tea Trea Oil:
Tea Tree Oil.

That's right, Tea Tree Oil is a natural extract from the leaves of the tea tree. There are no harsh synthetic chemicals. You could make your own if you have a tea tree.

Pretty sure if I'm going to be cleaning bottles that I want to be sanitary, I'd rather be using something natural than something that contains substances used in gluing carpets and killing hornets.

 

[Iffy]

Pretty sure if I'm going to be cleaning bottles that I want to be sanitary, I'd rather be using something natural than something that contains substances used in gluing carpets and killing hornets.

Thanx for da TTO hint. Actually, I don't care what I use for label removal, assuming no destruction, in that I put my joose inside the bottle.

 

[Sdh]

An overnight soak in warm water with a little dish soap should work. Rinse and clean.

 

[pkj]

I overnight soak, remove what I can, hit the outside of bottle with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. Takes the sticky stuff off. Then rewash and air dry. Good to go.

 

[sanman969]

Don't use/re-use plastic bottles. buy some glass bottles! The nic, and some flavorings, will begin to breakdown the plastic and leech into the juice.

Just my two cents.

 

[Zetaphor]

Don't use/re-use plastic bottles. Buy some glass bottles! The nic, and some flavorings, will begin to breakdown the plastic and leech into the juice.

Just my two cents.

This is a good point, and something I learned after creating this thread. The plastic bottles we receive from vendors (and even the DIY outlets I could find info on) are Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which has been shown to break down and leech phthalates and antimony (bad stuff).

So I guess I have to retract my previous recommendation of reusing bottles. While there are certainly more immediate risks to developing health issues from common materials used in manufacturing and consumables preservation, you probably don't want to stack more onto the pile.

 

[mainevaper]

Why remove the label? I just put a piece of white or blue packing tape around the old label, and write whatever I want in it

 

[crxess]

Don't use/re-use plastic bottles. Buy some glass bottles! The nic, and some flavorings, will begin to breakdown the plastic and leech into the juice.

Just my two cents.

Sorry but I disagree. Leeching etc. comes from e-liquid sitting in bottle. Clean dry bottles are just that. Any leeching would be stopped at the point of cleaning. Bottles can be used several times if emptied frequently. i.e. smaller sizes.

And don't forget - Plastic is such a generic word - PET, LDPE, etc. Some are easily melted while others are designed to hold solvents.

ETA - On topic - I lift one end and gently pull out and away, not across, to remove my labels while dry. Any moisture before removing causes issues.

 

[Thomasis]

This had been a big concern for me too. I was wondering about the leeching issue so I purchased glass bottles for reuse. I have been throwing the plastics away after use just to be safe. Does anyone have verified info on this?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[sanman969]

But why risk it and store anything in plastic for any amount of time? I don't know, specifically, what each bottle from each vendor is made of. #20 glass bottles are inexpensive and there is little risk of reaction.

As soon as I get juice in a plastic bottle I immediately transfer to glass and label. All my DIY products, flavorings and finished products are in glass as well. Also, try to get bottles with polyseal cone caps.

Here is a good discussion:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...scussion/296537-plastic-bottles-e-liquid.html

Sorry but I disagree. Leeching etc. comes from e-liquid sitting in bottle. Clean dry bottles are just that. Any leeching would be stopped at the point of cleaning. Bottles can be used several times if emptied frequently. i.e. smaller sizes.

And don't forget - Plastic is such a generic word - PET, LDPE, etc. Some are easily melted while others are designed to hold solvents.

ETA - On topic - I lift one end and gently pull out and away, not across, to remove my labels while dry. Any moisture before removing causes issues.

 

[crxess]

But why risk it and store anything in plastic for any amount of time? I don't know, specifically, what each bottle from each vendor is made of. #20 glass bottles are inexpensive and there is little risk of reaction.

As soon as I get juice in a plastic bottle I immediately transfer to glass and label. All my DIY products, flavorings and finished products are in glass as well. Also, try to get bottles with polyseal cone caps.

Here is a good discussion:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...scussion/296537-plastic-bottles-e-liquid.html

Sorry, found no documented reason to stress or any of it. May or may not be a problem but facts are not there to support at this time.

ETA - Should you choose Glass, please Recycle Plastics. Mother Earth has enough problems.

 

[Thomasis]

Crxess, you have a great point there, I said "throw away" but in my neck of the woods, all is recycled. It's funny how "throw away" takes on a new meaning in this day and age, I did mean recycled though but if we look at how many bottles we do collect as a whole, there are tons of these things out there.