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bleach bottle tops

(36 Posts)
suey Thu 02-Oct-14 20:36:38

How' do you manage to open those bleach bottle tops whci you have to press in at the sides before trying to turn??? I have found a tool to open most jars but nothing to open bleach bottles

numberplease Thu 02-Oct-14 21:33:30

I usually end up having to wait till I get a strong handed visitor!

janerowena Thu 02-Oct-14 21:45:07

Nutcrackers! I use them for all bottle tops, pretty much. I have ligament problems, so lack grip. Get the cracker points lined up with the flat edges, squeeze and turn.

mollie65 Fri 03-Oct-14 07:23:22

thank you janerowena - never thought of those - have an old-fashioned pair that would do the job - have previously waited for a strong handed male to help.
but how do you move some of the jam/honey jars tops that seem welded on
and how do you easily get a paint pot lid off (and back on again) when they seem similarly too hard to shift (talking metal paint pots here)

Purpledaffodil Fri 03-Oct-14 07:59:15

Dip jam pot lids into very hot water/ hold under hot tap mollie65? This sometimes expands the lid enough to make it shift. DH stabs them to release airlock, but then you have a holey lid which is not ideal. If it is a variety we use a lot, I try to keep an intact lid to substitute.

Gagagran Fri 03-Oct-14 08:16:15

Put a thick rubber band round the edge of a jam/honey jar lid. That often gives sufficient grip to remove the lid. However I have a gadget which you prise under the edge of the lid and that releases the vacuum. Still available from Lakeland!

shabby Fri 03-Oct-14 08:20:17

I use the end of an old fashioned tin opener that has a bottle top opener to release the airlock in jam/honey jars mollie. I use it as though I am going to open a bottle and if you do it fairly gently you won't puncture the lid. I get paint pot lids off by gently easing all around the lid with a flat topped screw driver and tap it back in with the end of the screw driver.

mollie65 Fri 03-Oct-14 08:35:53

thank you for all the suggestions - having a DH must help in solving these problems as I can solve most domestic problems but find a 'male mind' can focus more on practical solutions (sorry to sound sexist)
punctured jam jar lids are useful for wasp traps though

Teetime Fri 03-Oct-14 09:09:38

I have a teal job opening things these day. I have a nice blue floppy thing (not DH) which helps.

Charleygirl Fri 03-Oct-14 09:16:20

Teetime I also have a blue, cheap, floppy thing which opens a multitude but bleach bottle tops have been beyond me so that is helpful re the nut cracker.

annodomini Fri 03-Oct-14 09:47:30

Jars are easy with Lakeland's Jarkey, but I do wish someone would invent a gadget for bleach bottles. Alternatively manufacturers might be persuaded to make them easier to open. Rubber gloves give a better grip than bare hands, but a great deal of bad language goes along with the procedure and usually doesn't help.

Agus Fri 03-Oct-14 09:57:03

What a great idea Anno. I also have the blue floppy rubber square but never thought of rubber gloves smile

janerowena Fri 03-Oct-14 12:04:48

I always assumed that everyone else did the same as I do, and use nutcrackers. However I do have an ancient clamp sort of thing. I reckon it must have belonged to my grandmother. It's closed, when you squeeze the handles it opens out into a circle, you pop it over what you want to open and it grips quite well. But it's not big enough for most jars and not small enough for bleach bottles, so its use is somewhat limited. Ketchup bottles, mainly.

Yes - Lakeland's jarkey to release pressure. They also do a nifty little things that lifts up can rings.

MiniMouse Fri 03-Oct-14 12:52:09

Wilko do a little gadget to open paint tins, so no more bent screwdrivers! It only costs about £1 or so. It works a treat - & you can probably use it on screws too wink grin

squaredog Sat 04-Oct-14 14:37:08

I'm flippin fed of having to navigate bottles like these. And yes, bleach is one of the worst.......

FFS we don't alll HAVE vulnerable bottle snatchers in our midst to warrant all this, surely.

Can't we have a choice?

If I choose to leave my bleach in a pretty cup on the floor once it's been opened, is my business. The fact that it took forever to open in the first place is hardly relevant.

THAT'S how pissed off I am with bleach bottles.

rockgran Sat 04-Oct-14 15:28:38

I must agree Squaredog - I object to childproofing everything. Just keep it out of reach! Anyway they should learn to keep their hands off! The irony is that if you can't open something a child could probably do it for you! I sometimes subscribe to the notion that we should take the "safety" warnings off everything and let nature take its course. Grrr!

yogagran Sat 04-Oct-14 20:35:00

There are two here:

www.livingmadeeasy.org.uk/kitchen%20and%20household/mounted-screw-lid-openers-2285-p/

I have had something similar to this for many years and is proved to be very good

yogagran Sat 04-Oct-14 20:38:20

it has proved not is

My bleach bottles sit on a very high bathroom shelf with the top on but not clicked closed. They're impossible to open otherwise

mrsmopp Thu 09-Oct-14 23:27:57

Most jars and bottles are much easier to open if you put on a pair of kitchen marigold gloves, those yellow rubber ones. It's much easier to get a grip without slipping. Usually works for me.

Iam64 Fri 10-Oct-14 07:59:51

Dunelm Mill and other outlets sell floppy things which make opening any bottle/jar tops easier.
Like others who posted here, once I've opened (or more likely got someone else to open) the bleach bottle, I don't screw the top back on, just keep it out of reach.
Everything seems so over packed these days

janerowena Fri 10-Oct-14 10:51:04

Maybe we should be looking for other lids of the same size that would fit a bleach bottle, rather than fighting with nutcrackers and leaving lids undone.

janerowena Fri 10-Oct-14 10:54:25

I did read of someone decanting bleach into old wine bottles - which later proved to be an extremely bad idea! Fine if you change the label and don't use a white wine bottle though. I gather the lady's OH had a bit of a nasty shock one evening.

Ana Fri 10-Oct-14 11:01:32

You'd think the smell would have been a giveaway!

janerowena Fri 10-Oct-14 11:09:41

I sort of got the impression that he was a bit of a secret swigger. I almost wondered if it was completely accidental.

Ana Fri 10-Oct-14 11:14:54

Well, it does seem rather an odd choice of receptacle for bleach! grin