12 Simple Ways To Open a Stuck Yeti Lid (That Actually Work)

Yeti bottles are great at keeping drinks cold and they are built so well they are extremely unlikely to break or leak. However, they do have a downside.

Sometimes carbonated drinks or smoothies/juice can produce gases and build up so much pressure inside your Yeti bottle that the lid gets completely stuck on.

Drinks getting sticky around the rim of your bottle can also add to problem making it hard to open. Sometimes they get so stuck that you can't open it no matter how hard you try to twist.

So if your Yeti lid is stuck here are a bunch of different strategies you can use to try and get it unstuck. Some may work for you, some may not but at least one of them should get the job done.

Why Is My Yeti Lid Stuck?

Yeti bottles are designed to be water tight and air tight so they don't leak. We obviously want this especially when our bottle is being jostled around in our bag or rolling around the floor of the car.

However, this means that when there is a build up of pressure inside the bottle it can push on the lid and create a lot of friction making it difficult to open.

Carbonated beverages like soda and beer can build up pressure over time, but usually not enough to make your lid completely stuck unless left for a longer period of time.

Drinks like smoothies and fruit juices that are left it your bottle longer than expected can begin to break down, ferment and create gases that ultimately build up a lot of pressure.

Yeti bottles also have their thread on the inside of the bottle, meaning when you drink the thread fills up with your drink. Sticky substances like soda or juice can then cause the lid to stick to the bottle and make it hard to open.

So there are a few reasons your Yeti lid may have gotten stuck. But more importantly how can you get your Yeti lid unstuck?

1. Push It Down HARD Then Twist

This is one of the simplest strategies to use if you're by yourself. It doesn't require any extra tools or any helping hands.

The idea behind this is that the pressure built up in the bottle creates an upwards force on the lid. This creates friction between the threads of the lid and the threading of the bottle.

By pushing down and then twist you can relieve some of this friction and it can make your bottle easier to open.

Definitely worth trying first before attempting anything else.

2. Use a Stick or Bar as a Lever

Most Yeti lids (with the exception of the HotShot and MagDock caps) are designed with a three finger loop on the lid that is made of hard plastic.

This 3 finger loop is large enough and strong enough that you can fit a stick or bar or some kind of long object through there in order to create a lever that you can push/pull on to provide more torque to open the lid.

The longer out your stick or bar goes the less effort you need to put in to open the lid.

This is how most people with REALLY stuck Yeti lids manage to get them open. This also works if you want to open a stuck Hydro Flask lid.

You do need to be careful though as if there is a lot of pressure built up your cap can come flying off. To avoid this simply turn the lid a little at a time and soon you will break the air tight seal and hear the gas escaping while the lid is still on.

Wait until the gas has all released and then proceed to open the lid fully.

3. Drill a Hole In The Lid (And Buy a New One)

This method is pretty extreme as it obviously completely damages your lid but you can use a drill to drill a hole through the top of the plastic lid.

The air pressure will all escape out the hole and you should then be able to open the lid more easily.

However, you would need to buy a new lid after doing this but it saves you buying an entirely new bottle.

The lids are only $10-$15 so they aren't too expensive and it also means you could upgrade from a standard lid to something like a Chug Cap lid or a straw lid. See the different lid options for Yeti bottles

4. Run It Under Hot Water

Running stuck lids under hot water can work for everything from jam jars to Yeti lids and it works on a basic premise.

Metal conducts heat energy faster than glass or plastic. Metal also expands when it becomes hot giving the lid more room to come off.

In the case of jam jars the lid is usually metal and that expands allowing you to get the lid off.

In the case of Yeti bottle the bottle itself is metal and the lid is plastic. But the thread of the lid is on the inside of the metal.

So as the metal bottle gets hot the bottle expands out a little bit loosening up the lid and allowing you to open it more easily.

You'll want to focus the hot water around the rim of the bottle where it connects to the lid. Don't worry about the rest of the bottle as the vacuum insulation will stop most heat transfer anyway.

This might not solve your problem 100% but combining this with the stick/bar or other methods mentioned is this post could unstick you lid when used in combination.

5. Tap It Around The Lid (To Loosen Up Sticky Substances)

If you've have soda, or juice or a smoothy then some of it may have gotten stuck and dried in the thread of your lid and that might be causing it to stick.

By banging the lid of your Yeti against the kitchen bench or some other surface you can loosen up some of this stuck material and it can made the lid easier to open.

You want to be careful you don't bang too hard and damage your Yeti bottle or damage the lid and you you'll likely want to combine this strategy with other ideas mentioned here.

6. Tighten Then Untighten

Don't ask me why this works but sometimes it really does.

Instead of just trying to untighten your lid you can try tightening it first then trying to untighten it.

You might only need to do this in one go or maybe you can try going back and forth between tightening and untightening. This wiggles the lid back and forth ever so slightly and might ease it up just enough that you can get it undone.

7. Dish Soap Around The Lid

Dish soap is designed to break down grease and grime and it also makes things pretty slipperly.

Rubbing some around the lip where the lid connects to the bottle means some of that dish soap might be able to get in the cracks and lubricate the lid just enough so you can open it.

8. Put It In The Fridge/Freezer or Ice Bath

Gases can turn into liquids as they cool down and this can help to release some of the pressure inside your bottle making the lid easier to come off.

Cooling down the stainless steel bottle and the plastic lid may also help with making the lid easier to take off. Again this is one where I don't understand exactly why but some people swear by it saying that it works.

You do need to note that Yeti bottles and cups are vacuum insulated and are great at stopping heat transfer. This means it'll take a fair amount of time for the coldness of your fridge/freezer to transfer into your bottle.

It might take a day or two in order to work. Be careful if you're putting a Yeti in the freezer as if there are contents inside that can freeze and expand it can damage your Yeti bottle.

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 Yeti bottle 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 some liquid in your Yeti bottle or cup then turning it upside down and giving it a tap or even shaking the bottle can sometimes be enough to slosh the liquid around and help you to break the seal.

10. Get Someone To Help You

Sometimes opening a Yeti lid on your own is going to be too difficult and you'll need help.

Get a friend or family member to help you and one of you hold the bottle while the other holds the lid.

Each of you rotate in the opposite direction so you're combining your forces and applying more torque to open the lid than one person can do on their own.

Placing the bottle standing up on a table to you can a solid stable surface to work on can be extremely helpful to make this process easier.

You can also combine this with the back and forth tightening and untightening we mentioned above to try and really get that lid unstuck.

11. Use a Towel

Place a towel or tea towel over the lid and then try to open it.

This does two things. First it works similar to the stick/bar giving you a wider area to work will allowing you to apply more force to the lid.

Secondly the towel makes it more comfortable to apply a lot of pressure without hurting your hand. So you can apply more force without hurting yourself.

12. Use a Hammer (Yes a Hammer)

Sometimes what your lid needs is a lot of force in a short amount of time.

Rather than just trying to twist harder with your hands you can get a hammer and hit the outside part of the Yeti handle in the direction you want to open the bottle.

You don't want to hit too hard as you don't want to break the handle, but you want to hit hard enough that it can move the lid a little bit.

The short sharp burst of power provided by the hammer can move the lid tiny increments at a time, even under extreme pressure.

A few hits with the hammer can be enough to open the lid a little bit either allowing the pressure to escape or just getting it to the point where it's easier for you to open it with your hands.

For extra EXTRA force use the stick/bar method mentioned above and then hit the bar with the hammer. You can hit this a lot harder and the length of the bar increases the force on the lid. This should definitely help you to get it open and is almost guaranteed to work.

If You've Tried Everything You May Need To Buy a New Bottle

Chances are one of the above methods should work and you should be able to get your Yeti lid unstuck and open.

But if you're in a worst case scenario and there is nothing you can do then there are a couple of things you can try.

Firstly, try contacting Yeti directly. Their bottles are covered by a 5-year warranty and in special circumstances they may inspect and replace your bottle for you.

Otherwise, maybe you'll just need to bite the bullet and buy a new bottle.

Yeti has a wide range of bottles in different sizes and they are constantly releasing limited edition colors.

See the latest range of Yeti Bottles at Yeti.com
(or compare to price of Yeti Bottles at Amazon)