You're Not Alone If You Think Costco's Milk Is Ridiculously Hard To Open

While Costco is well known and loved for providing cheaper alternatives to big name brand products, it doesn't get it right every time. The seal on its Kirkland Signature brand of milk is one of those things it's not great at, and customers have openly expressed their frustration on social media.

There's already one design quirk that wards shoppers away from Costco's milk. The shape of the jug is more square than competitors, making it harder to pour without spilling — which is one reason it ranked so low on Daily Meal's ranking of the best milk brands. But, before you can even pour the milk, you have to get past the seal underneath the screwed-on lid, which just refuses to budge. A user shared on Facebook that the manufacturing process for the containers has reduced the number of spirals for the lid to close tightly, so the seal is obviously there to prevent leakage. The problem, though, is that it's on there so well that the easy pull tab rips off when customers try to remove it.

On social media, some people are more frustrated with this hard-to-remove seal than with the extra care necessary to avoid spilling milk because of the jug shape. One Facebook user posted a video of the seal not budging upon trying to pull from the tab and commented: "How do you open Costco milk? It has a seal on it that says 'lift here' that WILL NOT LIFT. Every new milk jug contains a loud demand to the sky of 'WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?!'" Some camaraderie and humor have been thrown into the mix of frustration, with a commenter on a different Facebook post saying: "You aren't alone! I feel like it's a competition between Costco and milk buyers. Costco is winning."

Although the milk is one of the Kirkland Dairy products customers recommend avoiding at Costco because of its poor designs for the spout and pull-tab seal, many have offered smart (and humorous) solutions for both. For instance, one person on Reddit recommended peeling up a section of the seal's edge before using the tab to pull off the rest. Another shared that they puncture the seal with a knife and use the utensil to pop it up. Then, other users chimed in with their technique of using the prongs on a fork or the handle of a spoon.

On Facebook, one user said that they just use a knife to slice into the seal so that they can put their finger inside and get a good enough grip to pull it off. In a different Facebook post, a commenter said that they "keep pliers in the kitchen" just for removing the seal. Another jokingly said: "Once you get the flappy thing secured btwn thumb and index finger, pull 1 end up like a pull tab. Then I get the paring knife out and stab it a few more times than necessary."

As for avoiding spillage while pouring, a commenter on the aforementioned Reddit post suggested to "hold the cup in your other hand, tilt it toward the jug, and put it right underneath the opening." However, Jake "KS BBQ GUY" demonstrated on YouTube how he kills both issues with one simple trick. He uses a pairing knife and his fingers cut and pull off a small portion of the seal. Then, he pokes a hole opposite of the opening. "Now, it will pour correctly without spilling," he states while easily pouring the milk without issue.