Hydro Flask bottles are great at keeping drinks cold all day long and they are built strong and durable do they don't break or leak. However, their strength comes with a downside.
Sometimes smoothies, juices, coffee, milk and carbonated drinks can produce gases and build up so much pressure inside the bottle that the lid gets completely stuck on.
Drinks drying and getting sticky around the rim of your Hydro Flask can also add to the problem making the lid hard to open. My kids often have problems with the lid but sometimes they get so stuck even an adult can't open them no matter how hard you try to twist.
If your Hydro Flask lid is stuck there are a bunch of different things you can do to try to get it unstuck. Some may work for you, some may not but at least one item in this list (or a combination of items) should get your Hydro Flask lid undone and open.
See the latest price of Hydro Flask bottles at HydroFlask.com
(or compare to the price of Hydro Flask bottles at Amazon)
Why Is My Hydro Flask Lid Stuck?
Hydro Flask bottles are designed to be completely water tight and air tight so they don't leak. You obviously don't want your Hydro Flask to leak when it's being bumped around in your bag or when you drop it or it gets knocked over.
However, this means that when there is a build up of pressure inside your Hydro Flask that pressure can't escape. Instead the pressure pushes on the lid creating a lot of friction on the lid threads making it hard to open.
Carbonated and fizzy beverages like soda and beer can build up pressure from the carbon dioxide, but usually not enough to make your lid completely stuck. They just make it a bit hard to open.
However, drinks like smoothies, fruit juices and anything with milk in it that is left in your Hydro Flask for longer than expected can begin to break down, ferment and create gases that eventually build up a lot of pressure.
This upward pressure creates a lot of friction where the thread of the lid connects with the thread of the main body of the bottle and this friction is what makes the lid hard to open.
Standard Hydro Flask bottles also have their thread on the inside of the bottle. This means when you drink anything other than water the thread fills up with your drink. Stick substances like soda or juice can cause the lid to become sticky as they dry making it even harder to open.
So there are a couple of main reasons why your Hydro Flask lid may have gotten stuck. But more importantly how can you get a Hydro Flask lid unstuck?
1. Push It Down HARD Then Twist
This is one of the easiest strategies and you can do it by yourself and it needs nothing other than your strength.
The basic premise behind this method is that the pressure in the bottle creates an upwards force on the lid and friction as a result.
By pushing down hard on the lid then trying to twist as you're applying that downward pressure you can counteract some of the upward pressure, relieving the friction and making the lid easier to twist open.
Definitely worth a try before attempting anything else as it may be all you need.
2. Use a Stick or Bar as a Lever
Most Hydro Flask lids have a loop handle that can fit 2-4 fingers in them or they have a hard plastic finger loop on the side.
These loops are large enough that you can fit a stick or bar or some kind of long object through there in order to create a level that you can push or pull on to open the lid.
The lever allows you to apply more torque (rotational force) which helps you open the lid.
The longer your lever the less effort you need to put in to open the lid.
This is how most people with REALLY stuck Hydro Flask lids manage to get them open.
You do need to be careful though as the loops are made from a softer plastic than the lid and too much force applied too quickly can damage or completely break the loop.
You also need to be careful as when there is a lot of pressure the lid could come flying off. The avoid this happening simply turn the lid slowly, just a little bit at a time. Eventually you will break the air tight seal with the lid still in place, the pressure can escape and you can safely remove the lid.
3. Drill a Hole In The Lid (And Buy a New One)
This method is pretty extreme as it obviously breaks your lid completely but if you can't get your lid off using any other method at least it saves you bottle and you can always buy a new lid.
Use a drill to drill a hole through the top of your plastic lid all the way through. The drill doesn't have to be big, just a large enough hole for the air to escape.
Doing this will allow all the air pressure to escape out of the hole and then you should be able to easily unscrew the lid.
However, after doing this you'll need to buy a new lid. They cost as little as $10 or you can even get generic ones for cheaper. See the full range of the best Hydro Flask lid options.
This may be the excuse you need to update to that straw lid you've always wanted.
See the latest price of the Hydro Flask Straw Lid at HydroFlask.com
(or compare price of Hydro Flask Straw Lid at Amazon)
4. Run It Under Hot Water
Running a stuck lid under hot water can work for everything from Hydro Flask lids to jam jars. They use the same premise.
Metal conducts heat and expands quicker than glass or plastic. Metal also expands and becomes more malleable when hot giving the lid more room to unscrew and come off.
In the case of jam jars the lid is usually made of metal and expands allowing you to get it off.
With Hydro Flask standard bottles the bottle itself is metal while the lid is plastic.
So as the metal bottle gets hot the bottle expands out a little bit loosening up the friction on the lid allowing you to open it more easily.
You'll want to focus the hot (or boiling water) around the rim of the bottle trying not to pour much boiling water on the lid itself.
Wide Mouth Hydro Flasks however have the thread on the outside of the bottle so while this technique is still worth trying it may not work as well.
This may not solve your problem or get your Hydro Flask lid unstuck by itself, but this method combined with other methods on this list can be more effective that when used alone.
5. Tap It Around The Lid (To Loosen Up Sticky Substances)
If you've been drinking juice or coffee or soda or something other than water in your Hydro Flask your drink may have dried in the thread of your lid and gotten sticky.
Banging the lid of your Hydro Flask up against the kitchen bench or some other hard surface can help to unstick some of this material making the lid easier to open.
You'll want to make sure you don't bang too hard as the plastic lid (and the bottle itself) can get dented if you aren't careful.
You'll also likely want to combine this technique with other options in this list.
6. Tighten Then Untighten
Don't ask me exactly why this is effective but it is and sometimes it really does work.
Instead of just trying to untighten your lid sometimes you can try tightening it a little bit first then trying to untighten it.
You might only need to do this once or you may need to go back and forth a few times before your lid comes completely undone.
This tighening and untightening wiggles the lid back and forth ever so slightly and maybe it builds up heat or works in some other way but it can lead to your lid being just loose enough to get completely undone.
7. Dish Soap Around The Lid
Detergent is designed to break down grease, oil and grime and it also works well to make things slippery. That's why putting detergent on the kid's backyard water slide can make it much more fun.
Rubbing some around the lip of your Hydro Flask where the lid connect to the bottles means that some of that dish soap might be able to get into the cracks of your bottle just enough to lubricate the lid and help you get it unstuck.
8. Put It In The Fridge/Freezer or Ice Bath
Gases can turn into liquids when they are cooled down and this can help to release some of the pressure inside your bottle which in turn makes your lid easier to open.
The different cooling rates of the stainless steel bottle and plastic lid may also help to make taking the lid off easier. Basically the opposite of the (run it under hot water) trick mentioned above.
It is important to realise that Hydro Flask bottles are vacuum insulated. This means they aren't great a heat transfer and it'll take time to cool down the inside of the bottle.
It might take a day or two in the fridge or maybe 6-12 hours in the freezer to have an effect.
Another thing you can try if you're just looking to cool down the bottle and the lid is to throw your bottle in an ice bath.
Fill up a bucket with cold water and ice and then put your Hydro Flask in it to sit for 5-10 minutes and get ice cold. Then take it out and try to open the lid.
9. Turn It Upside Down and Tap It
If you still have a bit of liquid left in your Hydro Flask bottle or tumbler then turning it upside down and giving it a tap or a shake can slosh around the drink inside and help you break the seal.
10. Get Someone To Help You
Two heads are better than one and sometimes opening a Hydro Flask bottle where the lid has gotten stuck requires some help.
Get a friend of family member to help you. Standing opposite each other one of you holds the lid while the other holds the bottle.
Each of you rotate in opposite directions so you're combining your efforts and applying more torque to the lid than you could do on your own.
Alternatively, place the bottle standing on a table or the ground and one person holds the bottle steady while the other uses two hands (or maybe a stick/bar) in order to twist the lid open.
You can also combine the back and forth strategy mentioned above with your friend alternative back and forth to get the lid unstuck.
11. Use a Towel
Grab a towel or a small cloth and place it over the lid and then try to open it.
This can give you more grip, be easier on your hands and also it gives you a wider lid to apply force to.
This works kind of like the lever. The wider the lid the more force you can apply to the threads to get them unstuck.
12. Use a Hammer (Yes a Hammer)
Sometimes your lid needs a large amount of force but in a short time frame.
Instead of just trying to twist harder with your hands you can get a hammer and hit the other of your Hydro Flask lid where the handle meets the lid. Make sure to hit in the direction you want to open the bottle.
Don't hit it too hard as you might break the lid or dent it but hard enough that it moves the lid a little bit.
Putting a towel over the top of it can reduce the chances of you denting or damaging your lid.
For EXTRA force use the stick bar method and then hit the bar with your hammer. Again you need to be careful not to break the carry handle but this should almost definitely get your stuck Hydro Flask lid open.
If You've Tried Everything You May Need To Buy a New Bottle
Chances are one of the methods mentioned above should work to get your Hydro Flask lid unstuck.
If they haven't work then try a couple or a few methods in combination. Heat it up, tap it and use the lever to open it (with the help of a friend).
But if you find that there is absolutely no way to get your lid unstuck and there is nothing more you can try then what should you do?
Firstly, you can try contacting Hydro Flask directly. Their bottles are covered by a lifetime warranty and under special circumstances (and if you get a really nice customer support person) they may actually replace the bottle for you.
Otherwise you may just need to bite the bullet and realise it's time to buy yourself a new Hydro Flask.
Hydro Flask have a range of bottles and sizes and they are constantly releasing new colors. Maybe this is the perfect excuse to get the color and size you have always wanted.
See the latest price of Hydro Flask bottles at HydroFlask.com
(or compare to the price of Hydro Flask bottles at Amazon)
