Hello friends, Heidi here from Rain Country—God is good all the time. In this video I share three reasons it can be a good idea to put bands back on your jars, whether you’re talking about dry goods you’ve vacuum sealed or jars you’ve pressure canned or water bath canned. I also clear up a big point of confusion: I don’t believe you should just leave bands on straight out of canning. In my opinion, you remove them, clean them well, and let them dry thoroughly first—because sticky residue can make bands rust and seize up so you can hardly get them off later. First, for vacuum-sealed dry goods, I say always put the band on snug. If a lid pops loose in storage and you don’t notice, you can end up with a mess (and extra oxygen exposure), especially with things you really don’t want going rancid like meats, nuts, or anything with fat. Second, for canned goods, I stack jars to save space (yes, properly stacking is acceptable), and I like a band on the bottom-row jars—very loose—so the weight rides more on the band and threads than directly on the lid. Third, bands can help protect your food from rodents; I heard from someone who learned mice and rats can pry lids off jars that don’t have bands on them.