How To Open A Stuck Jar Lid: 11 Tricks That Work

Use a rubber glove, a can opener, a wooden spoon, or a kitchen towel to open a stuck jar lid.

Learning how to open stuck jars is a handy skill, especially for us empty nesters who no longer have strong young adults at home to do it for us! I don’t contend with stuck jar lids very often, but when I do, I find it quite annoying when I have to drop what I’m doing to go find help.

But I’ve picked up a few tricks that enable me to open a jar with a tight lid on my own, and I’ll be sharing those with you here in this post! You probably won’t need to try all 11 different ways to open jar lids, but it’s always good to have a few options you can try if your first couple of attempts don’t get it to budge!

11 Ways To Open A Stuck Jar Lid

Open a Stuck Jar Lid is easy if you wear a rubber glove for a better grip.

1. Rubber Glove

Pull on a pair of rubber gloves, then hold the jar firmly in one gloved hand and twist the lid of the jar with the other. The gloves will give you a better grip on both the jar and the stuck lid, making it easier to twist off.

A kitchen towel might give you enough traction to open a stuck jar lid.

2. Towel

You can unscrew a tight lid using a towel for added grip. Just put the towel over the stubborn lid and twist. (If a dry towel doesn’t work, try a damp cloth!)

Silicone hot pads are great for opening tight jar lids.

3. Silicone Hot Pad

If you have a silicone hot pad or oven mitt, you can use it to open stubborn jar lids. Silicone is very effective when you need a good grip around the rim of the jar lid.

Loosen a tight jar lid using a rubber band around the lid for traction.

4. Rubber Band

There are so many great uses for rubber bands around the house, including as jar openers! I keep a large rubber band in my kitchen drawer just for this purpose. Place the rubber band around the lid you’re trying to open, then grip the lid and twist.

You can even use a mouse pad to unscrew a tight lid.

5. Mousepad

One of the most unexpected ways to open a jar is with the aid of a computer mousepad. Just place the bottom of the mousepad against the lid of the jar, then grip it with your hand and twist.

6. Duct Tape

To open a tough jar with a piece of duct tape, place a piece of duct tape around the edge of the lid, leaving one end of the tape loose to use as a handle. Pull on the loose edge in a counterclockwise direction and the lid should twist off with minimal effort.

Running hot water over the lid will often loosen it up so you can open a tight jar.

7. Hot Water

To loosen a jar lid with hot water, turn on your kitchen faucet and try running the lid under hot water for 30 seconds or so. The heat will cause the lid to expand slightly, loosening the seal and making it easier to open the jar. Just be careful not to burn yourself!

Smack a stuck jar lid with a wooden spoon to get it to come off.

8. Tap The Lid

If the lid of a jar of food just won’t come unstuck, try tapping it with a spoon or the handle of a butter knife. Sometimes food gets trapped near the lid and makes it hard to unscrew. Tapping the lid helps dislodge the food, which could solve the problem!

Turn the jar upside down and smack the bottom of it with your hand - this often loosens stuck jar lids.

9. Tap The Bottom Of The Jar

Another easy trick that people swear by for removing glass jar lids is to flip the jar upside down and smack the bottom of the jar with your hand. This may disrupt the seal enough that the lid will twist right off.

Using a can opener to loosen a tight jar lid.

10. Break The Seal

As a last resort, you can use a bottle opener to either pry the lid off the jar or pierce the lid and break the seal. You won’t be able to use the lid anymore, but at least you’ll get it off! (Be sure to use a bottle opener for this, not a knife — you don’t want to end up in the emergency room!)

Using a jar opening tool to unscrew a tight jar lid.

11. Use A Gadget

If you frequently struggle to unscrew jar lids, consider investing in a jar-opening gadget! They can accommodate several different lid sizes and aren’t terribly expensive. Just slide the gadget over the lid, grip, and twist!

How do you deal with stuck lids?