I Tried 6 Different Methods for Removing Stubborn Adhesive Residue
I love to repurpose items, reduce waste, and conserve resources as much as possible, and there are many opportunities to do this in the kitchen. One thing I like to save is glass jars, which are great for free food storage. If I’m not careful, though, I end up with a huge collection that just takes up space rather than getting used.
But this summer I grew zinnias, which are beautiful and prolific flowers. Knowing I’d need containers for placing them all over the house, I began to amass a small collection of jars. I wasn’t using them, though, because they still had labels on them that were so hard to get rid of. I wanted to change that and pull them out of hiding into rotation.
I decided it was the perfect time to look up how to remove adhesive residue from labels stuck on jars and discovered expert-backed methods to try. Here are the six methods I tested and how they went.
How I Tested the Methods
I used a different jar with a clean label for each method I tested — except the final bonus method I tried (more on that later).
Ratings: I rated the methods on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best possible score. In this case, the rating was based mostly on whether the method worked, although I did take into account how easy each method was to execute and the items needed.
Method 1: Oil and Vinegar
Rating: 1/5
Method: To use oil and vinegar to remove the label from my pasta sauce jar, I poured a bit of vegetable oil into a small bowl. I dipped a small cleaning brush in the bowl and used it to rub the oil all over the label. I let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes so the oil would have time to penetrate. Next, I scrubbed it with the same brush to try to get the label and adhesive residue off and also ran it under hot water while doing the same. I did pour some vinegar on as well.
How it went: I was disappointed in this method because it barely did anything to remove the label or the sticky residue. The vinegar didn’t do much at all because the paper from the label was still on the jar. I did like that the ingredients used in this method were innocuous; I didn’t mind getting the oil or the vinegar on my hands as I was washing the jar.
Method 2: WD-40
Rating: 3/5
Method: Applying the WD-40 to my jar was very straightforward. I didn’t need any additional tools. All I had to do was spray the WD-40 on the label. Again, I let the WD-40 sit on the label for about 5 to 10 minutes and then ran it under warm water, scraping it with a plastic scraper tool.
How it went: This method worked much better than the oil and vinegar. The label peeled away from the jars pretty easily, but the bottom layer of residue was still firmly attached to the jar. Although the WD-40 worked better than the oil and vinegar, I really didn’t like the smell of the product or rinsing it off the jar in my sink. I definitely wouldn’t be comfortable using WD-40 on jars that I was going to reuse for food storage.
Method 3: Goo Gone
Rating: 1/5
Method: Using Goo Gone was super easy. I simply sprayed it on the label and allowed it to sit, like the other methods, for about 5 to 10 minutes to give time for the product to penetrate through the paper. Then I rinsed it under warm water, scraping it with the plastic scraper as I did.
How it went: The Goo Gone barely made a dent in removing the label from the jar. Additionally, similar to the WD-40, I didn’t like handling the product as I rinsed the jar. Again, I wouldn’t want to use Goo Gone on any jar that I was going to use for food storage. Overall, it wasn’t worth it to use Goo Gone at all for the meager results it delivered.
Method 4: Rubbing Alcohol
Rating: 0/5
Method: This method involved applying rubbing alcohol to the label, which I did by pouring it over the label as I held the jar over the sink. I allowed time for the product to seep through the label before attempting to remove the label with my plastic scraper as I ran warm water over the jar.
How it went: This method did virtually nothing to remove the labels from the jars. I appreciated that the alcohol was less offensive to handle than the Goo Gone or the WD-40, but the method simply didn’t work.
Method 5: Oil and Baking Soda
Rating: 2/5
Method: To use this method to remove the label from a jar, I made a paste of vegetable oil and baking soda in a small bowl. I applied the paste on the label with my fingers, spreading it around and working it into the paper. I allowed the paste time to penetrate the paper and then rinsed the jar under warm water.
How it went: This method worked fairly well. It did remove some of the labels, although not as much as the WD-40. However, I like that the ingredients are completely food-safe. I feel like this method, repeated a few times, could work to eventually remove the label and residue.
Method 6: OxiClean and Hot Water
Rating: 4.5/5
Method: I was so disappointed with the results of the above methods, and I was still left with jars whose labels I wanted to remove. So I decided to use my old standby method of soaking jars in hot water and OxiClean solution to remove labels and the adhesive residue that binds them to the jar. I used the bin that fits into my workstation sink, filled it with hot water, and added a scoop and a half of OxiClean. I filled the jars with water so they’d be submerged, and let them soak for about 20 minutes.
How it went: This method works like an absolute charm and requires minimal, if any, hands-on time scraping the paper off the glass. Usually, when I come back to my soaking jars, I see labels floating on top of the water. Although I did a bit of rinsing and some scraping with my fingernails with these jars, the labels slid off for the most part. A couple of jars had a bit of label and some sticky residue left over, but nothing a bit more scrubbing wouldn’t fix.
Conclusion
I know there’s a time and a place for some of the other expert-backed adhesive residue-removal tips. Using Goo Gone to remove residue from stickers kids put on windows comes to mind. And I’m sure I remember using oil and baking soda to successfully remove labels from baby food jars many years ago. But for removing stubborn labels from jars, at least these days, nothing beats the OxiClean and hot water method. It’s nearly completely hands-off and you can remove multiple labels at a time, all while you’re doing something else. I’m glad I explored whether other methods could do the job effectively because I discovered that what I’ve been doing is still the best way.
Further Reading
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