I love the little mechanical grinder. I do not love throwing out something that works.What to do....what to do?
I know...I'll take it apart while I watch David Letterman. Speaking of late night TV....isn't that Craig Ferguson funny? I only watch Dave while I wait for Craig. I miss Jay. I do not understand Conan at all.
After twisting and twisting and twisting some more I realized the top was not coming off. So lets be methodical about this. I got out a kitchen knife and pried on it. What? Oh come on.....tell me that isn't what you would do?
Well, the kitchen knife did allow me to slightly see inside the cap/grinder and made me realize that I could remove the cap/grinder if the plastic would give just a wee bit (no, I am not Irish). So I put a bowl of water in the microwave and heated up the water......not boiling but hot. You will only need enough water in the bowl to cover the plastic cap/grinder when the the bottle is placed upside down.
I let the grinder sit in the water for about 5 minutes. Then I pried some more with the knife, moving the knife around the edge prying as I go. Thirty seconds later the cap was off.
Now what? Besides sea salt and peppercorns....what can I put in these bottles?
57 comments:
Thanks for the info. of how to open the grinder. Worked great. I have been wanting to try this for some time decided to google it. And Poof you gave the the how too's to get it done.
Wow! Works like a charm. I didn't have to pry at all, I just pulled hard and the lid popped off! Great idea to microwave the water. I microwaved about 2 cups of water in a cereal bowl for 2 minutes. Great tip!
Thank you so much for this!! I just heated the water up in the microwave for 1 min, heated the black part of the cap in the water for 1 min & POP off came the top!!
I bought a peppergrinder from a store, but we like the size of the peppers that come from the mccormick bottle. This makes me happy to be able to reuse the bottle! Thank you!
No problem....glad I could help.
You are the man! (woman) :) Just what I was looking for. :)
I have been wishing I could r-use these handy little critters.
Thanks for taking the time to post your wonderful solution.
It is selfless individuals like yourself that makes the Web the joy it can be!
This tutorial was Awesome and Hilarious. I'd started hacking at my McCormick Sea Salt Grinder's cap for 8 minutes, with a kitchen knife of all things, before Googling "how to open a McCormick sea salt grinder." This article was the first result. And it's clear to myself and all the others who've used this tutorial why it's number one. Because this tutorial is the perfect solution to: How to open a McCormick sea salt grinder. Many, many thanks.
Thank you everyone...I'm blushing.
I'll be putting whole cloves in mine this time, whole allspice next, might try flax seeds too.... thanks so much for the tutorial. I'm happy to be able to recycle this thing!
Thanks for the post. I ended up opening mine the way we used to open pop bottles before there were twist offs. Place the bottle up against a square edge of a counter top. Pull down with the lid on the very edge of the counter. Came off on the second try.
I was trying to use the grinder for Italian seasoning for making bread. Took to long.
I ended up finding my solution on ebay search for a spice grinder. Several entries were Krups or a small coffee grinder. I had one in my pantry from when I used to drink coffee. Sure enough it turned the seasoning into a fine powder in about 30 seconds. It should do a great job on the flax seed. I will have to try it on caraway seeds the next time I make bread. The seeds and whole dry spice cause problems for some of my older friends.
Thanks for the info.
I used the 2 min hot H2O tip, worked like a charm. I just put a damp rag around the plastic lid, and I popped it right off. Now I can grind the whole Cumin easier. Thanks for the tip.nlaiid 138
God bless you. Works perfectly, probably saved me from stabbing myself and the subsequent emergency room visit.
Can't decipher the characters on the "prove you're not a robot" so am getting pretty damn stabby anyway.
Thanks for the kudos.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions on what to put into these little bottles.
Isn't it great to reuse something so useful. No way could I afford grinders for all your suggestions.
Thanks again.
I have to add my thanks...this worked like a charm.
I was kind of skeptical about this but OMG!!! WORKED LIKE A CHARM!!! Thanks SO MUCH!! I wish I knew about this earlier (6 bottles later!)!!! I didn't want to go out and invest in some fancy grinder either!
It worked!!!! Thank you
I needed to combine two partially full bottles. So I wet a Paper towel folded it then wrapped it around the lid and microwaved it for one minute and it popped right off
Thanks so much. I've had my empty bottle for nearly a year, couldn't open it. You're a genius!!!
Amazing! I too worked at getting the top off for about 5 minutes and gave up. Then I thought, "I know, I'll Google it!" Thank you for being more patient than I and for your kindness to post this solution before I broke a nail! :0)
AMAZING!! Your how to is THE best! I googled how to open and watched the Youtube first and no go! My hands still hurt from the effort of just trying to pull this grinder apart. That guy made it LOOK easy. The hot water method is the way to go!! I thank you for a useful and economical solution! A :)
Yay! Finally! For once, and for ever more, I get to KEEP one of the lovely (but expensive) McCormick Sea Salt Grinders! So glad I found your site. I almost destroyed it trying to separate the plastic from the glass (in order to recycle it at the curb), but now I get to recycle it in the truest manner. Use it MYSELF! w00t! Thanks again! GTO
How I took the top off was using the drawer runner (along side the kitchen drawer, the one the drawer is attached to), hook the bottom edge of the cap on the thin edge of the runner and pulled down with constant pressure until the lid popped off. Took about three seconds. Refilled with Sea Salt and then pushed the top back on.
I struggled with it for a few minutes and I told my wife, as I do frequently, I'll bet the internet knows. And sure enough, there you were. Nuked 1/2 a cereal bowl of water for 1 1/2 min., set the grinder in it upside down for 15-20 seconds. Took it out, put a towel over the lid & popped it right off.
Many many thanks; Les
Worked like a charm. I microwaved a half bowl of water as previously suggested for 1&1/2 minutes and then let the cap rest in it for about 30 seconds, no additional microwaving needed. After a good pry (I used a tissue to help it dry), it popped off, no additional tools necessary.
Thanks for the tip! The comments section also gave great insight.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I'm glad I searched and found this post! Came right off - I will be refilling it with iodized sea salt (the salt that comes with it isn't iodized). Just wanted you to know you were helpful to another person. :)
Good tip! You kick ass! Thanks!
(Craig is the best.)
Just run hot water over it for a minute or so and it pops right off
Hurray. Great tip here. As some said, I heated it to 100'C for like one minute and pulled by hand only - Bob's your uncle!
Many thanks.
This is AMAZING! I will never throw my mccormick grinders ever again...thanks a lot for sharing this. This saves us some money too :)
I just pulled and it came right off with a bit of effort, you all are experiencing a placebo effect hahaha. I tried the hot water and it is no easier either way :P
same method, different "non refillable bottle"...Swiffer Wet Jet Floor Cleaner Solvent. Heat water then pull off!! You can fill the bottle with your favorite floor cleaner and skip paying $6 for swiffer cleaner that last for 2 cleanings.
Thanks Megan for the heads up on Swiffer cleaner.
Thank you thank you THANK YOU
Great idea! Thanks!
Awesome idea! Thanks. It worked great! ��
Better yet, don't buy the McCormicks brand. King Soopers/Kroger Private Selection brand Peppercorn and Sea Salt disposable grinder bottles have screw off caps.
HEATING THE CAP REALLY WORKS. THANKS!!!
worked!
you are a genius! i really liked the grinder itself and had trashed 2 in the past for the simple reason that i couldn't figure out how to open them! thank you for sharing,
Lourdes
Just let hot water run on the top for about 30 seconds and it twists right off. No tools or whatever needed.
Even faster, especially since you'll be washing it anyway...just swish it in dishwater for a few seconds, then wrap it in a dishtowel to hold and pull it apart. The dish soap helps the lid slip right off.
Actually, just pop it off after it's been sitting in the dishwater for scraping off the label.
Put doritos dust in it
I knew somebody had come up with a solution for this. Excellent! I used a blow dryer to heat the cap and keep contents dry. I put red peppers that come with Pizzas in mine. Thanks Jan you rock!
The hot water tip for How to Refill a "disposable" McCormick Spice Grinder works perfectly!
Placed a small bowl of water in the microwave for 3 minutes (water was very hot but not boiling).
Placed the empty grinder bottle upside down in the water for just a minute or so. Then, grabbed the bottle in one hand, the top in the other...and pulled it right off.
No fuss, no muss. Perfect! Thanks!
I wanted to add my thanks to everyone else's. Your solution was straightforward and easy as can be. Nuked water for 2 minutes, soaked the top for 75 secs, held the bottle in one hand and the top wrapped in a towel in the other and the top popped right off. Couldn't be easier. Thank you so much for such a sensible solution to a ridiculous design.
Awesome trick.
My son walked in while I was reading your post. ...he smiled and popped the lid off of the grinder and
I just pulled it off no water ..maybe mine was faulty lol
Hot water trick works again! Excellent
uhm how come no one gives instructions on reassembly. Mine will not stay together no matter what I do.
I was trying to put the cap on upside down. That is why it would not stay on. I had a long day at work, sorry.
Excellent info. Thanks
Dumb me!! Didn't think to use coffee grinder for seasonings! Thanks!
Thanks so much! I see this post has been helping people for years, onward we go, thank you! Searched “mccormick sea salt grinder refill?” and up popped this article—bravo! (Sally G., New Jersey)
Oh yes!!! Nine years later and it's still working! You have made me a very happy salt bottle re-user, thank you!
Here I am in 2019!! I use the grinder for Italian seasoning to grind over garlic toast and homemade pizza!I ran my grinder under ultra-hot water and it popped right off. One thing to keep in mind, the grinder is plastic. I bought a grinder (not McCormick) once and the plastic had degraded and was breaking off into the ground pepper. So inspect the McCormick grinders periodically for wear.
AmeN !☺
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