That frustrating sticky residue on glass jars? Your pantry has a surprisingly easy fix

At last, you found the perfect glass jar at a thrift store: wide mouth, sturdy, just the right size for your kitchen counter. You bring it home. You clean it, and then you see it, a price sticker stuck to the glass like it was baked on. Or perhaps it's a pasta sauce label that's been in the dishwasher twice and still won't come off. If you pick at it, it pulls off in a hundred little pieces, leaving a sticky, greasy ghost outline that gathers lint and looks terrible.

The fact is, you don’t need adhesive remover, nail polish remover, or twenty minutes of furious scraping. You need something which you probably already have sitting in your pantry: shortening.

Oil and glue are incompatible
Before you reach for the shortening, it helps to know why this works, because the science is just so satisfying.


Most sticker glue is made of pressure-sensitive polymers, sticky substances that cling to surfaces by molecular attraction. These adhesives are generally nonpolar, and a study published in the journal Polymers found that vegetable oils, which are also nonpolar, lipid-based compounds, are remarkably effective at penetrating and disrupting adhesive bonds. The principle is a classic rule of chemistry: like dissolves like. Nonpolar stuff can break down other nonpolar stuff much more efficiently than either water or soap.

In another study, researchers at Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences published their findings in the journal Materials, stating that unmodified vegetable oils can be directly incorporated into adhesive formulations due to their chemical similarity with adhesive polymers. So the oil doesn’t just sit on top of a sticker; it works its way in and loosens the bond from within.

Shortening, or hydrogenated vegetable oil, is especially good for this job since it’s semi-solid at room temperature. It won’t drip off the curved surface of a jar as you wait for it to work, as olive or canola oil would.

How to actually do it (it takes less than 30 minutes)

First, take a small scoop of shortening and place it on a paper towel or a towel about the size of a quarter. Spread it generously over the sticker or label, making sure to fully saturate the edges, where adhesive tends to grip hardest. Place the jar on a protected surface (shortening, like all oils, will stain fabric and countertops if you are not careful) and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes. That waiting time is important; this isn’t a scrub-now situation.

When the time is up, take a plastic scraper, a credit card will do perfectly, and slide it underneath the loosened label. It should peel away easily, with most of the glue underneath. If there is still some sticky residue, apply another light coat, wait a few more minutes, then go over it again. Finally, give the jar a thorough wash with warm, soapy water to help break down any remaining oily film.

Tools: Forget the razor blades or metal scrapers altogether. Glass scratches more easily than most people think. A scratched jar is harder to clean and looks worse as time goes on.

What to do if you don't have shortening?


Any vegetable-based oil will do, but with some trade-offs. Olive oil, coconut oil, and even peanut butter have all been reported to work in DIY communities on Reddit and Facebook. The problem is that runny oils require more monitoring on rounded glass surfaces. Coconut oil is solid below about 76 degrees Fahrenheit and acts similarly to shortening, so if that’s what you have, it’s a solid alternative.

The bigger picture: why this is important for the thrift & upcycle crowd

If you’re a person who frequently visits estate sales, thrift stores, or Facebook Marketplace for glass jars and storage containers, this trick really changes the math on what’s worth buying. No more will you shy away from a jar with a crusty price sticker or a stubborn label. This is a 5-minute fix.

In the US, about 12 million tonnes of glass are produced annually, but only about 3 million tonnes are recycled. One of the easiest ways to bridge that gap on a household level is to upcycle glass jars into pantry storage, desk organizers, or bathroom canisters, and now, a sticky label is no excuse to leave a good jar behind.