I can't open my glass jar of spaghetti sauce from Trader Joe's

[Anonymous]

I literally had to pick a different meal to eat because I couldn't open the jar. I have lived on my own for 18 years and this has never happened to me.

Things I already tried:
1. using a ponytail holder (no rubber bands in the house)
2. Tapping it with a spoon (I read online that sometimes works)
3. Running it under hot water

I seriously considered knocking on a stranger's door in my apartment building to see if someone could open it for me, but didn't have the guts to do it.

[Anonymous]

Tapping with a spoon?

Better bet is to turn jar upside down and tap an edge of the lid against a hard surface. Hard enough to make a difference but not hard enough to break the jar!

You need a rubber jar opener thing that you sometimes get in freebie bags at events. Or I guess you could buy one somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Do you have rubber gloves? These can be cut down into rubber bands. I'd try for a really good rubber grip first.

[Anonymous]

Tap the side of the lid on the countertop. Gently

[Anonymous]

Pry a spoon under the lid until it pops. I can’t explain but it works. But I’ve given up on a few water bottles recently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tap the side of the lid on the countertop. Gently

+1 you need to dent the side of the lid to break the vacuum seal. You can tap it on the edge of the counter or hit it with the side of a knife

Oddly. I thought this was common knowledge

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have rubber gloves? These can be cut down into rubber bands. I'd try for a really good rubber grip first.

Nope. I turned in a circle in my house trying to think of what I could use before I took my ponytail holder out of my hair and tried that. No rubber gloves.

[Anonymous]

I tap it hard enough with the handle end of the knife to make a small dent. If you dent the lid a bit, it's enough to break the vacuum under the lid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tap the side of the lid on the countertop. Gently

I forgot - I tried that first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tap it hard enough with the handle end of the knife to make a small dent. If you dent the lid a bit, it's enough to break the vacuum under the lid.

PP here.. this usually works for me, and I'm a very petite asian female. Not much muscle on my arms

[Anonymous]

Slide a butter knife tip under the side of the lid and break the seal. Works every time.

[Anonymous]

Definitely the tap on the countertop. I tap it pretty hard and have never broken it.

[Anonymous]

You just have to break the seal. The edge of a spoon, knife, pretty much anything works. You can even use those things that puncture a hole completely through the lid, it breaks the seal. Obviously you can't reuse the lid though.

[Anonymous]

Run the lid under warm water for 60 seconds

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You just have to break the seal. The edge of a spoon, knife, pretty much anything works. You can even use those things that puncture a hole completely through the lid, it breaks the seal. Obviously you can't reuse the lid though.

This is true. It's a last resort -- if you puncture the lid, you can open it, but then the lid isn't useful anymore.

Be careful.