DID YOU KNOW: The USA uses 500 million plastic straws DAILY…that means over 8.3 billion straws pollute the worlds beaches. Its time to take action to stop this and one way we can do it is switch to Reusable Straws!
We’ve made the switch from disposable to reusable straws some time ago and I do think we get value for money from them, as well as the fact that we’re taking a step in the right direction towards reducing our carbon footprint.
First let’s talk about metal straws, which I’d advise for adult’s cold drinks.
I bought this set of eight reusable straws from Flow Barware, and as well as looking pretty funky in your glass they’re high quality and easy to clean! They came in a handy storage pouch along with a cleaning brush, and in a selection of sizes and shapes.
Pros and Cons…
What are the benefits of reusable straws? Well the main one is that they cut down on single-use plastic! They also reduce the risk of being contaminated with BPAs and other nasties.
However, I would NOT advise the use of metal straws for small children, as they can cause injury both if the child bites on the straw, or falls over with the straw in their mouth – this could cause serious injury.
I also wouldn’t advise the use of them for hot drinks – as you remember from science 101 metal conducts heat! Depending on the type of metal the stew is make of there’s a risk of scalding.
Similarly, for the same reasons, I would only give glass straws to adults for cold drinks!
For kids I heartily recommend silicone straws! They’re soft, flexible and come in fun colours, and won’t cause any harm if a child slips with one in their mouth.
Silicone straws are also handy for hot drinks. Think it’s crazy drinking a hot drink through a straw? It’s not as unusual as you might think!
It’s a much safer way to drink tea or coffee when you’re travelling in a vehicle. It can also reduce staining to your teeth, particularly if you’ve had them whitened.
Two of my favourites are this pretty pastel set from Reuzable, and these bright and fun straws from Joie. For kids you simply cant beat the great value silicon straw pack in primary colours from Basicform
What to watch out for…
Some reusable straws are a false economy however. Bamboo and hard plastic are materials that you must be careful with when buying. They may not be sustainably manufactured, and the plastic ones may have nasty additives.
Be diligent with cleaning, as it’s easy for bacteria to build up! Most sets of straws come with a brush, or these are inexpensive and easy to find online.
That’s one of the benefit of stainless Steel straws – they’re dishwasher safe and can be washed at high temperatures!
But whichever option you choose, you’ll be preventing the build up of plastics in our landfills and oceans!
If you want to ditch straws all together then look at the Hydro flasks or the Multi Use Water Bottles.
See below for links to the reusable straws I’ve mentioned:
How to clean reusable straws properly
- One of the most asked questions to our site is ‘how to clean reusable straws properly?. Let’s be honest the idea of the reusable straws is to have a long life from it and that means it must be cleaned every time properly to avoid mold and nasty bugs lurking in it!
Well the good news is its easier to keep your straws clean if you buy the decent ones with the pipe cleaner bristle brush included. So make sure to look for a cleaning brush when buying Resusable Straws. If you havent got a brush use dental floss or even an actual pipe cleaner to get into the straw!
So here is how to properly clean a reusable straw in three easy steps:
- Put a small amount of washing up liquid and water into the straw or submerge the straw in soapy water.
- Take the tiny straw brush (pipe cleaner like thing) or dental floss (or other string) and put it through the straw and keep tight and rub the straw back and forth while rotating it around.
- Rinse out the straw with clean tap water.
