How To: 11 Easy DIY Techniques for Opening a Super-Tight Jar

11 Easy DIY Techniques for Opening a Super-Tight Jar

Have a hard-to-open jar? If it's never been opened, the air pressure inside the jar is making it harder to break the seal. If it's been in the fridge, it's possible that the lid shrunk slightly—just enough to be extremely frustrating.

Fortunately, you can use a variety of common household items in your kitchen or garage to help crack open that stubborn jar of spaghetti sauce or wasabi mayonnaise. You can use things like dryer sheets, a hair dryer, thick rubber bands, and even just a metal spoon.

You can also try firmly thumping the bottom of the jar to create air bubbles that will help loosen the jar lid, or running the jar lid under hot water to loosen the seal. Some techniques work better than others, depending on the jar and its contents; if one technique doesn't work, simply try another one.

What's your favorite technique for opening a tight jar lid? Share with us.

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7 Comments

Excellent how to as usual !!!
But I noticed that you switched the sketch of the lighter and of the damp sponge.

Good catch! This has been fixed in the image.

Pierce the lid with a drawing pin.

I use a steak knife and wedge it under the side of the lid and twist it to break the seal

brilliant! it worked (butter knife levered under jar at 45 degrees) and broke the vacuum seal

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