How to Open a Cremation Urn

Urns are a lovely way to honour the memory of our departed loved ones. While you may have picked out your favourite urn, there may come a time when you need to open or reopen your urn for various different reasons. The urn you have may also be sealed to ensure the contents were kept safe, but how are you supposed to open them now for a scattering ceremony? Eternal Urns has you covered with this article where we will talk about easy methods to open different types of urns.

Opening an unsealed urn

To open an unsealed urn, for most urns it will be as simple as unscrewing the lid. Most urns in the market are made from Aluminium and are designed to open and close easily using a threaded lip pattern for their lids. If there are no glues or epoxies holding them shut tight, then this will be a simple process. Other urns may have a different design and method to open them. With other urn materials such as ceramic or stone, you'll want to check and see if the lid doesn't also simply screw off as it does with Aluminium urns. Some stone urns can have a felt top that covers the opening which you will have to remove in order to access it. You can remove the felt by using a small knife carefully to slice through the fabric. Wooden urns can have screws that can be accessed by removing the bottom panel. This panel can slide or come undone by pulling. Make sure not to use excessive force when figuring out how to remove this panel as you don't want to damage the urn. Once you have removed the panel, you can start to remove the screws using either a phillips head or a flathead screwdriver depending on what screws are used in your urn. If you have an urn that is unique and you are unsure of how to open it, you can always try to contact the retailer or funeral home from where you purchased your urn. They will more than likely be happy and able to help.

How to open a sealed cremation urn

Opening a sealed cremation urn can be tricky as you may not be sure what exactly is holding it in place. If your urn does not unscrew after applying a moderate amount of force, then you may have some sort of adhesive holding the lid in place. Adhesives such as wax or silicone are normally used to seal shut the contents of the urn. To remove this adhesive you can use acetone or an epoxy solvent depending on what the adhesive is to break it down and make the lid easy to open. To do this, simply take a cotton swab and dab an appropriate amount of your solvent or acetone then wipe it along the edges of the lid where it can penetrate the adhesive. You may need to repeat this multiple times until the adhesive weakens enough to the point that it can be opened with ease. You can also try and get the crematorium or funeral home to open it for you, in case you are worried about damaging your urn. 

How to open the plastic cremation container you receive from the crematorium?

The plastic container you receive from the crematorium can be quite confusing to open. Opening The Plastic Cremation Container is a fairly simple process once you understand and is something we have already covered in one of our previous articles. If you still struggle to open it, you can always try to contact the funeral home or crematorium for advice or help. 

Opening an urn can be difficult but it doesn't have to be. Even a sealed urn can be opened easily with a little know how, which we hope this article has provided you. It is always a good idea to contact your urn provider as they will have the most current and up to date product information for their urns, and will be able to help you with any issues you may have. As Australia's largest urn store, Eternal Urns has an extensive range of the best quality urns available, so check out our range today.