How DO You Clean A Re-Usable Straw

I love re-usable water bottles and those souvenir cups you get at theme parks.  Heck - I still have a water bottle from the water park we were visiting when we found out that my daughter was waiting for us in China 9 years ago!   


But, for the life of me, I could never figure out:

HOW TO WASH THOSE STURDY STRAWS THE WATER BOTTLES COME WITH! 

I'd run them under blasts of water and then get so mad when the straws wouldn't come clean that I'd throw them out.  Yes, in the grand scheme of things this is trivial, but it drove me crazy!  

SO HERE'S HOW TO CLEAN THOSE STUPID RE-USABLE STRAWS

1.   Fill a lasagna or large, shallow pan with hot soapy water.  Add the dirty straws and, to make sure the straws stay submerged, place a serving spoon on top of the straws.  Let them sit for about 10 minutes.  

2.  Take the straws out of the water and place under running water for a few seconds.

3.  Grab a chenille pipe cleaner (yes, the ones your kids use for crafts) and push it in and out of each straw to get it clean.  Run the straw through hot water again to rinse.

YES, IT'S THAT EASY!

I even bought a small package of pipe cleaners at the Dollar Store and keep them in my kitchen, not only for straws, but for any other cleaning jobs that require scrubbing in tight spaces.  

 

Another of life's little problems solved! If only they were all that easy!

~~~~

Thank you for reading!  Please come back and visit me soon!  

How to Get Mold Out of a Straw

By Mary McNally

eHow Contributor

• 27
•  Share
•  Tweet
•  Share
•  Email

Save

32 Shares & Saves

Image Source/Digital Vision/Getty Images

Cups with a plastic top and straw may prevent messy drink spills; however, the straw interior often becomes clogged with mold, especially in hot weather. Replacing your straw with a disposable one may be a bad idea if the hole in your cup's top is unusually sized. Permanent straws made out of glass can shatter if they are dropped, and metal straws may give your drinks an unpleasant aftertaste. It is fairly easy to get mold out of the plastic straw that comes with your cup using pipe cleaners that you can buy at any crafts or tobacconist store.

Things You'll Need

• Dish soap
• Dish

• Pipe cleaners
• Thin cotton cloth

• Fill your kitchen sink halfway with hot soapy water, and place the moldy straw into the water. Lay a heavy dish on top of the straw if necessary to keep it submerged. Let the straw soak in the soapy water for about 10 minutes to loosen the mold.
  
• Remove the dish and straw from the soapy water. Run clear warm water from the faucet into the straw to push out any larger pieces of mold. Drain the kitchen sink of the soapy water.
  
• Wet a pipe cleaner made out of chenille or terry cloth with warm water. Ensure that the pipe cleaner is as straight as possible, then push it through the straw in and out several times to remove any mold that remains within. Use a larger pipe cleaner or one wrapped in a non-pilling cotton cloth if the first pipe cleaner is too small to clean the straw effectively.
  
• Rinse the straw, pipe cleaner and cloth repeatedly under the sink faucet with warm water, and continue to push the pipe cleaner through the straw until there is no mold remaining inside.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_8162732_mold-out-straw.html