apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I've found that making a sort of "soft scrub" out of dishwashing liquid mixed with baking soda and/or salt has just the right amount of abrasive power to get the gunk of fairly quickly.

The added advantage of the grit is that it dissolves before it can cause any scratches. I use it frequently on pots and pans that are greasy and grimy. Saves me a lot of valuable elbow grease!

razor blades. combined with some form of lubrication. flexible, and won't scratch the glass, believe it or not. will make a pretty nasty sound if you hit it at the wrong angle, though.

I commented with this on the AT post, but thought I would share my findings here, too. Other methods probably work best for different kinds of bottles, but for these Kombucha bottles specifically:

I drink my fair share of 'booch, and have these very same bottles at home. More than I care to admit! Last night I sat down to an exciting evening of sticker-peeling and olive oil-spreading and scrubbing. After one bottle I decided to try the hair dryer trick. IT'S THE BEST. You don't have to use any oil or solvent at all. Before you peel the label, warm it up with the hair dryer for 30 seconds or so. It should peel right off, very easily with no residue at all! If you start to get some tearing, heat it back up again. I peeled labels off about 5 bottles, and they all came off in one piece. This is exciting, because the Kombucha labels have probably the most persistent goo I've ever run into.

Lighter fluid or nail polish remover. Not as green as olive oil, sorry. Works well on books.

the dryer method sounds good, i haven't tried it yet. but I am sure that vinegar is also good for glue.

I've been using the hairdryer trick for years now and it has never let me down. I do want to try the olive oil though on the tougher-to-get-off glues.