Several readers eager to help get cans open

Dear Annie: You were right when you told “Al in the Midwest” that octogenarians aren’t the only ones having trouble opening pull-tab lids. My 55-year-old daughter taught me to turn the cans upside down and use a regular can opener. It works unless the can has a rounded bottom. As for items sealed in plastic-and-cardboard packaging, the solution to opening them is a Widget, an inexpensive scraper and cutter manufactured by the Gillette Co. — Lee in the East Dear Lee: We were swamped with replies from readers eager to help “Al” open things. Several readers recommended specific brand-name products, and although we are happy to mention them, we have no idea if they work or not, so caveat emptor (buyer beware). Here’s more: From Sun City, Ariz.: Put the can on the counter with the tab toward you. Pry up the tab with a spoon, then insert one of the handles of a metal garlic-crusher and let the end rest against the edge on the other side. Hold the can firmly on the counter and then pull up the lid. Southwest: Tell “Al” to visit a kitchen supply store. It likely has several types of pull-tab openers for sale like the kind airline flight attendants use. Illinois: “Al” should look in the pet food section of his local supermarket. I was trying to save my fingernails when I found a plastic utensil for opening pet food cans for my cat. Binghamton, N.Y.: To open a tab can, look through your kitchen utensil drawer and find a long handle that will go through the hole in the tab and use this as a lever. To open a pickle or jelly jar, poke a tiny hole in the tin cover, carefully, with a pointed knife or an ice pick. When it “pops,” you’re home free. I have no solutions for medicine capsules in plastic packaging. South Carolina: There is a $3.99 item on the market that allows one to hook onto a pull tab and open the can easily. Check the Web site dynamic-living.com and click on “Arthritis.” For jar lids, try Dycem matting, available at most occupational therapy departments and restaurant supply stores. An X-ACTO knife is good for opening plastic-sealed medication. Boston: Before leaving the store, we octogenarians should ask the sales clerk to open the shrink-wrapped products for us. A tough one for me is ink cartridges for my printer. And it’s impossible to get a battery out of the package. A lot of us live alone and can’t simply hand these things to someone and say, “Here. Open this for me.” Center Line, Mich.: “Al” should check at a local Home Healthcare store in his area. They have many products to help people who are having difficulties with simple daily activities. There is a product called the Purrfect Opener by B.A. Maze Inc., that works for opening pill bottles, plastic packaging and lift-tabs on cans. It’s also a pill splitter. If you check the Web site at www.purrfectopener.com (1-800-708-OPEN) (1-800-708-6736), you can probably find a local store that carries it. N. Smithfield, R.I.: I solved the problem by buying a Can Claw for $5.95 from Home Trends (hometrendscatalog.com) at (800) 810-2340. Chicago: After using the screwdriver-and-pliers method, I ended up with tomato soup all over the counter and me, but I still couldn’t get the pull-tab off. I called the 800 number on the can and told them how sad I was that I would no longer be able to use their soup. Maybe if enough of us call and let them know they are losing customers, they’d correct the problem.