People bitch and moan about straws. But this thought occurred to me recently, why don’t they offer reusable ones instead and just wash it with other tableware?
People bitch and moan about straws. But this thought occurred to me recently, why don’t they offer reusable ones instead and just wash it with other tableware?
I own some metal straws, they are pretty great to use. The main issue is cleaning them. You cannot just throw them in a dishwasher, you have to use a pipe cleaner. That’s a level of manual effort that restaurants probably don’t want to take on.
I wonder if there could be a solution where there’s an insert with built in pipe cleaner thingies for the dishwasher, and when you load them up and turn the dishwasher on, it goes WOOSH WOOSH and then it’s clean.
This was the way I was thinking too. A bore brush on a longish stick. Cram the straws on the stick and send 'em. Any serious chunckage should get pushed out.
How would you prevent it from being flung off or it just spinning with the brush? That’s the big challenge.
Just shove it down past the bristles. Maybe give it some twists on the way. It ain’t goin’ nowhere. The bristles are arranged in a spiral with a slighly wider diameter than the tube.
That’s what I’m saying though, if you shove onto the bristles with it being slightly wider the entire straw would rotate with the brush and if you push it past the bristles then hows it going to clean and sanitize them? The best way to see what I’m saying if to grab a straw shove the brush in and rotate quickly between your hands.
As a former dishwasher that cleaned thousands of dishes a night the last thing I want is thousands of metal straws I have to shove a Lil brush in. Also theft, we had Lil metal ramekins at one place that lasted about 2 months before most were stolen or thrown away by lazy servers who just dumped whatever was left on the plate into the trash including the ramekins so I garuntee metal straws would not last in the restaurant industry. If you can’t deal with the disposable straws bring your own straw, or learn to drink out a cup like a big kid.
I have a couple and I absolutely hate the metal taste they give. Maybe it’s the cold of the bewerage or the material (cheap straws?).
Maybe try silicone straws?
I use silicone straws. Easier to clean than metal ones too.
I have some glass ones I found in my local dollar store, they’re wonderful
Great, until some kid managed to bite and shatter one in their mouths. Even if the law suit doesn’t have teeth, you know it would be tried.
You can bite the glass you drink from too, no?
Given how much some children gnaw on plastic or paper straws, I could easily see it happening. They are less prone to chewing on the cup/glass, though it’s not unknown. However, a drinking glass is generally a lot thicker than a glass straw. It’s also harder for a kid to put between their molars, without their parents noticing.
I just throw them in the dishwasher. Been fine so far.
If you have any straight straws, you might want to hold them up to the light. They get pretty grody on the inside.
seems fine. I only really use it for soda and water so that might be one reason it works for me. Honestly im not sure what other folks are drinking with their straws at home.
I know someone with a fat one they use for smoothies and shakes.
How long do you wait to clean them? A restaurant is going to be cleaning them frequently and their washers are higher pressure than a home model.
I would suggest not doing this and instead throwing them away. No need to give them nightmares, I haven’t used non-plastic straws in years due to the horror I’ve seen