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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Products that need a rehaul of their packaging, to make them easier to use?

247 replies

JMSA · 19/10/2023 10:10

Metanium. A thick yellow cream for baby's bum. I have been using a little for menopausal itches. But the packaging is a disaster! A flimsy metallic tube that splits at the sides, so that you have cream coming out everywhere. I don't want to waste the cream, so have put the tube in a little plastic bag. It's still incredibly messy to use though. When this finishes, I'll go back to a sturdy tub of Sudocrem, which is frankly the superior product anyway.

Superglue (any brand of) - the glue dribbles out and the lid ends up being stuck on. Again, messy and wasteful to use. And because I'm dyspraxic, I've stuck my fingers together more than once BlushBlushBlush

Is it just me?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
10
Wolfcub · 19/10/2023 20:10

Those fizzy vitamins in the tube. Doesn't matter whether branded or not but they all have stupid lids that are impossible to remove and replace

PencilsInSpace · 19/10/2023 21:28

Marmite jars. Once opened and used a few times, the lids stick fast if fully screwed down. It's no hassle to just loosely twist the lid on but sooner or later someone forgets and screws it on properly. I can't remember the old metal lids having this problem but it was the 70's and I was a kid so my Mum probably opened it for me. Perhaps it's just the nature of marmite to glue the threads shut.

I just googled 'Marmite metal lid' and got a whole first page of ads for sterling silver marmite lids. Is that a thing?

PencilsInSpace · 19/10/2023 21:30

I'm very pleased to learn I'm not the only one to dismantle mitchum deodorants.

KimberleyClark · 19/10/2023 21:30

PencilsInSpace · 19/10/2023 21:28

Marmite jars. Once opened and used a few times, the lids stick fast if fully screwed down. It's no hassle to just loosely twist the lid on but sooner or later someone forgets and screws it on properly. I can't remember the old metal lids having this problem but it was the 70's and I was a kid so my Mum probably opened it for me. Perhaps it's just the nature of marmite to glue the threads shut.

I just googled 'Marmite metal lid' and got a whole first page of ads for sterling silver marmite lids. Is that a thing?

Bovril is the same. Also the jars get very sticky.

NerdyBird · 19/10/2023 21:50

You can buy silicon jar scrapers to get the last bits of things out.
My bugbear with packaging is that loads of it is recyclable - but you need to clean it first and they make it impossible to do! Can get water in through tiny shake holes or get the lid off. It's either Lea and Perrins or a soy sauce brand who are bad for this.

swirlingabyss · 19/10/2023 21:54

yes x100 to the cucumber packaging. completely pointless, bad for environment and bloody annoying to remove.

and while we're on veg, let's not forget the bags of chopped Kale that come from the supermarket which is basically a bag of unusable hard stem that needs separating from the leaves before using wasting extra time and product. (I realise this is product more than packaging, still....)

swirlingabyss · 19/10/2023 21:56

takealettermsjones · 19/10/2023 13:00

It's not really a complaint about the existing packaging, but I don't understand why more things can't come with those little taps that boxes of wine have. Milk, squash, olive oil, passata...

wouldn't that mean loads more plastic? or are they made some other way?

SawX · 19/10/2023 22:24

swirlingabyss · 19/10/2023 21:54

yes x100 to the cucumber packaging. completely pointless, bad for environment and bloody annoying to remove.

and while we're on veg, let's not forget the bags of chopped Kale that come from the supermarket which is basically a bag of unusable hard stem that needs separating from the leaves before using wasting extra time and product. (I realise this is product more than packaging, still....)

What are you using it in? I just eat the lot!

PocketFluff · 19/10/2023 22:47

I use super glue quite a bit and two good tips to make it easier are:

Wait a few minutes before you put the lid back on - then the lid won't glue itself to the bottle!

As soon as you're done (and possibly during if you spill it) do jazz hands for a few minutes. It stops your fingers sticking together!

UnNiddeRides · 19/10/2023 22:54

Why do some tins come in odd shapes & need a key? I don’t eat corned beef often & when I do I just use a tin-opener at each end, but it’s puzzling me why they’re made that way.

bubbletubble · 19/10/2023 22:59

LisaVanderpump1 · 19/10/2023 10:32

Products that come in tins that screw and unscrew (can't really explain it very well!). I adore my Body Shop cleanser, but it comes in this really annoying tin, and if you don't line up the lid and the tin perfectly, the lid doesn't screw on properly. Takes me ages to get in and out of some days.

Is the body shop camomile cleanser? If so I have the same issue! I found pressing down hard on the lid pops it into alignment then I can unscrew it easily Grin

Ifonlyiweretaller · 19/10/2023 23:12

The plastic film on ready meals where it says "peel back half way through cooking, stir & re-cover"...except it's impossible to actually peel back in one piece and you burn your fingers trying to do so.Confused
Maybe line lip crayons which take ages to get into due to tight plastic sleeve, then there is a security tag underneath which leaves a revolting sticky mess when you remove it.
I also hate the lids being attached to plastic bottles - I'm convinced my large tonic water goes flat more quickly as the seal somehow isn't as secure.
Okay, that's enough for this evening 🤣

PencilsInSpace · 19/10/2023 23:53

swirlingabyss · 19/10/2023 21:54

yes x100 to the cucumber packaging. completely pointless, bad for environment and bloody annoying to remove.

and while we're on veg, let's not forget the bags of chopped Kale that come from the supermarket which is basically a bag of unusable hard stem that needs separating from the leaves before using wasting extra time and product. (I realise this is product more than packaging, still....)

I remember when Morrisons tried unwrapped cucumbers. They were bendy and rubbery and really not nice.

I agree about kale though, I wish whole leaf was more widely available. I can't be doing with the woody stems.

ErrolTheDragon · 20/10/2023 00:33

UnNiddeRides · 19/10/2023 22:54

Why do some tins come in odd shapes & need a key? I don’t eat corned beef often & when I do I just use a tin-opener at each end, but it’s puzzling me why they’re made that way.

I always assumed it's because corned beef traditionally was shipped all the way from Argentina, they'd be able to pack more roughly rectangular tins into a given space than cylindrical ones. Don't know if that's why though!

ErrolTheDragon · 20/10/2023 00:37

I agree about kale though, I wish whole leaf was more widely available. I can't be doing with the woody stems.

Yeah, I get cavalero Nero, slicing out the ribs before chopping is quite satisfying.

Easier to inspect for pests too if it's whole leaf. It only takes finding one caterpillar to make you careful for the rest of your life! Grin

Lollylemon · 20/10/2023 02:45

Floradix liquid iron supplement bottle I find impossible to pour into the measuring cup without it spilling a load and making everything sticky. Such a waste as it's expensive.

I really struggle with child safe caps. I was given metacam syringe and after an hour of swearing at it I had to abandon it & ring vet to ask if I could give the dog some paracetamol instead. Usually I give these things to someone else and they manage to open it but was on my own.

Microwave meal film that either won't pull off so need a knife or tears into bits, though some have a bit partially open when get to the mid - stir and then get to worry If did that putting in or if it didn't seal at the factory and possibly not so safe to eat as maybe packed in some preserving atmosphere. I know UPF are current food evil but am disabled and can't prep/cook a meal so it's usually these or toast.

meatbaseddessert · 20/10/2023 05:16

swirlingabyss · 19/10/2023 21:54

yes x100 to the cucumber packaging. completely pointless, bad for environment and bloody annoying to remove.

and while we're on veg, let's not forget the bags of chopped Kale that come from the supermarket which is basically a bag of unusable hard stem that needs separating from the leaves before using wasting extra time and product. (I realise this is product more than packaging, still....)

Nope. The plastic wrapping makes cucumbers last several weeks longer than they would without.
The plastic wrapping is significantly less environmentally impactful than the food waste created if not used.

Brefugee · 20/10/2023 07:43

PencilsInSpace · 19/10/2023 23:53

I remember when Morrisons tried unwrapped cucumbers. They were bendy and rubbery and really not nice.

I agree about kale though, I wish whole leaf was more widely available. I can't be doing with the woody stems.

Show quote history

(not in UK)
the supermarkets i use don't plaastic pack their cucumbers. No issues here.

To get a screw top lid back on - turn it the wrong way until it suddenly seems level, then turn it the right way

ChristmasFluff · 20/10/2023 07:59

I really want child-dangerous lids for things like mouthwash (ESPECIALLY Tesco mouthwash) and bleach.

I have arthritis in my hands, and I literally cannot open the ones you have to press in on a particular spot, especially where they are combined with a seal you have to break. I have gadgets to help, but bleach bottles and these mouthwash ones are still beyond me, although I do get there using pliers and lots of swearing.

I dream of just being able to unscrew them. I live alone. Please let me have dangerous lids.

KingsleyBorder · 20/10/2023 08:04

ChristmasFluff · 20/10/2023 07:59

I really want child-dangerous lids for things like mouthwash (ESPECIALLY Tesco mouthwash) and bleach.

I have arthritis in my hands, and I literally cannot open the ones you have to press in on a particular spot, especially where they are combined with a seal you have to break. I have gadgets to help, but bleach bottles and these mouthwash ones are still beyond me, although I do get there using pliers and lots of swearing.

I dream of just being able to unscrew them. I live alone. Please let me have dangerous lids.

Sorry to hear that. Once you have opened the bottles once, do you decant them into easier-to-open bottles?

takealettermsjones · 20/10/2023 08:11

swirlingabyss · 19/10/2023 21:56

wouldn't that mean loads more plastic? or are they made some other way?

Show quote history

If they were in plastic pouches inside a cardboard box, then it's less plastic than a hard plastic bottle, I think.

RenoDakota · 20/10/2023 08:41

ChristmasFluff · 20/10/2023 07:59

I really want child-dangerous lids for things like mouthwash (ESPECIALLY Tesco mouthwash) and bleach.

I have arthritis in my hands, and I literally cannot open the ones you have to press in on a particular spot, especially where they are combined with a seal you have to break. I have gadgets to help, but bleach bottles and these mouthwash ones are still beyond me, although I do get there using pliers and lots of swearing.

I dream of just being able to unscrew them. I live alone. Please let me have dangerous lids.

Me too, although I don't have arthritis. Those bleach bottles are impossible to open. I do it with nutcrackers (not the same ones I use to crack nuts).

alltoomuchrightnow · 20/10/2023 09:15

tampons, the plastic wrapping changed some years ago... very hard to twist open with even slightly damp hands
Rheal.. the 'superfood' blend powder stuff.. maybe I was just unlucky but when I opened mine tons of powder was on the outside of the sealed inner foil ! And it goes EVERYWHERE each time I spoon some out..

KimberleyClark · 20/10/2023 09:22

alltoomuchrightnow · 20/10/2023 09:15

tampons, the plastic wrapping changed some years ago... very hard to twist open with even slightly damp hands
Rheal.. the 'superfood' blend powder stuff.. maybe I was just unlucky but when I opened mine tons of powder was on the outside of the sealed inner foil ! And it goes EVERYWHERE each time I spoon some out..

Just like Bastard icing sugar.