Thermo bottle is a great thing whenever we go on a hiking trip or simply set off for a long winter walk around the city. However, those of you who use such bottles regularly might notice that these flasks have a bad habit: their lids tend to get stuck.
What shall you do if the lid of your thermo flask got stuck, but the bottle itself is still working? Don’t worry, you will not have to buy a new one! There are many ways you can cope with such a problem (that is not a problem at all).
How to Open a Flask If Its Lid Is Stuck?
Your hydro flask lid can get stuck for many reasons that we will discuss a bit later. However, when you need to open it, most of us get, well, stuck because we usually try some simple methods like unscrewing it.
Nevertheless, there are multiple ways of opening that stuck bottle lid without causing any harm to the tank. You can go for any of them, from giving your thermos a cold bath to harsher methods like drilling a hole in the lid.
So how to open a thermos that is stuck by yourself?
Check out several handy and rather simple approaches we prepared for you:
- If you have troubles and can’t open the lid, push it down and then turn
- Using a stick or a bar as a lever can also help
- Another way is to drill a hole right in a lid
- Run the stuck lid under hot water (works great for both hydro flasks and jam jars)
- Applying some dish soap around the lid will make it slippery and way simpler to open
- Try to tighten the lid a bit more first, and then untighten it
- Giving your stuck lid ice bath can help to ease the greses and thus unscrew the lid faster
- If there is still some liquid inside the flask, try to turn the tank upside down and tap it. It can help to loose the lid that is stuck
- The simplest method is to wrap a towel around the stubborn lid and try to unscrew it. However, that may not work well all the time
- Using a hammer is also a solution. However, be careful and hit it where the handle meets the lid in the direction you need to open the flask
Why Does Hydro Flask Cap Get Stuck?
And, How to open a flask if you can’t open the lid: push it down and turn. Or apply soap around the lid, try to tighten and untighten the lid. Wrap a towel around the lid and unscrew it. Or drill a hole in a lid. These are basic tips on how to open a flask.
Since we figured out what methods you can make use of to try to open the flask with the stuck lid, there is another question that needs an answer.
Why does it happen at all? Why can’t we sometimes simply open a thermo bottle of water?
Well, the reason is a stuck bottle cap. But what makes it get stuck? See, such tanks are made so that the liquid can’t get out or leak meaning they are completely air tight and watertight. It helps them to keep the content inside of a bottle safe.
However, it also means that if there is any build-up or pressure inside such a flask, it will not be able to escape! Instead, this pressure will be pushing on the lid causing a lot of friction on its threads, which will result in it getting stuck and hard to unscrew.
For this reason, it is not recommended to keep carbonated drinks (for instance, beer or soda water), as well as milk and other fatty beverages in such bottles. It will allow you to avoid developing greasy build-up and extra pressure.
Smoothies also belong to threat factors, by the way. If we keep them enclosed in a Thermo bottle too long, they will begin to ferment. Since fermentation releases lots of gases, well, you know what that means to your bottle’s cap!
Now you are aware of what makes your Thermo flask lid get stuck, and what you shall do to solve this issue. Remember to keep only the allowed liquids in your thermos, and you will never have a problem opening such a flask again!
[wp-faq-schema title=”Frequently Asked Questions”]
How to open a plastic bottle that won’t open? I tried to use a towel on the cap and unscrew it, but it’s too tight (or too stuck), so it didn’t work. Does anyone know any other methods?
Well, if you can’t open a water bottle, I can suggest you use pliers. Works every time for me!
But if you need to open a hydro flask, this method will not work since you can damage the lid or the bottle. For that one, better opt for safer methods like putting a flask under hot water, applying dish soap around the lid, etc.
My stainless steel bottle lid got stuck! I tried all the remedies I know from putting it in hot water to trying to unscrew that damn lid with a towel! Nothing works! Are there any other ways of unscrewing the flask?
That happened because of a lot of air pressure inside, I suppose. I’d recommend you hit the lid of a bottle with a hammer. You need not hit too hard, of course, just do it hard enough to make the lid move, and hit in the direction it must be opened.
I need your help, folks. What’s the best hydro flask? I need specifically the one whose lid won’t get stuck. Thanks in advance for your help!
Hmm, is that possible at all to find such a bottle? I mean, the lid of any Thermo flask will get stuck if you keep carbonated drinks or fatty liquids like milk in it. It does not depend on the quality of the bottle, it’s just life, dude!
Ok, so I had a bottle that was stuck, we tried the boiling water method and after only about 10-12 seconds it exploded, I was less than three feet away and ended up getting burns I’m okay I guess the method worked and luckily no one was seriously injured, my bottle broke though. I just wanted to write this comment to insure that people know that this can happen and I’m advising everyone to be careful.
Hello! We’re sorry to hear that you went through this, and we’re glad you’re fine! Thanks for your comment, it can really help other people should they face similar situation. It’s common for thermos bottles to get damaged when they’re treated with boiling water, but it mostly happens to low-quality items. Anyway, glad that you’re fine! Thank you, and take care!