I despise stinky Sippy cups. Carl started to use a Sippy cup for water at about 8 months. Cleaning the cup just took some soap and water. But then, we introduced milk. Dirty Sippy cups soon became my enemy. I couldn’t believe the smell milk created in a Sippy cup. I told my husband that we were going to have to buy new cups all of the time if I couldn’t get the smell out (which he of course lovingly nodded yes to even though he didn’t have a clue what I was talking about).
I knew the cups were clean and safe for Carl to drink out of, but I couldn’t get over the sour smell left behind. Like every 21st Century Mom, I headed over to Pinterest to search for how to clean sippy cups. I was surprised when I didn’t find a ton of information. Most of the suggestions involved baking soda, which just didn’t work for us.
So finally, after trying multiple ideas, I came upon a simple solution that works every. single. time. It even worked on the sippy cup we left in the car overnight earlier this summer. I thought for sure we were going to have to toss the cup (Elmo has become like a 5th family member to Carl, so this wouldn’t have gone over well). So today I am sharing with you, the ever-so-glamorous, simple and effective way to clean sippy cups (even the extra stinky ones).
Parent Hack: How to Clean Sippy Cups
Materials
- Distilled white vinegar (1/4 – 1/2 cup)
- 1 Large bowl (ours is 2.5 qts)
- Hot water
- Dishwasher (or hand-wash if you don’t have one)
Directions
- Take apart the Sippy cup (and pull out straws if it’s a straw cup – like ours)
- Rinse the Sippy cup and pieces with hot water.
- Fill a large plastic bowl with 1/4 cup of vinegar for 1 semi-smelly stinky cup. Add up to 1/2 a cup for additional cups or super stinky cups.
- Place the Sippy cup and parts inside the bowl.
- Fill the rest of the bowl with very hot water.
- Let it sit for about 24 hours (I leave mine overnight. This is important, I have soaked cups for only a couple of hours and the smell remained).
- Remove the Sippy cup and place any pieces that are dishwasher safe in the dishwasher to be cleaned.
- Rinse off the smaller pieces and clean with soap and water to get rid of the vinegar smell/taste.
- If you have a straw cup – clean inside of the straw pieces with q-tips (our favorite tool) or a handy straw brush like this set or these
- Once the dishwasher is done, you’re done! Your Sippy cups will smell as good as new!
It’s that easy!
Victoria
Friday 11th of July 2014
I have thought about replacing my sons cups recently too. Well, I keep buying new ones every other week. But, I will definitely try out this suggestion. #TurnUpTuesday
Laura Burton
Friday 11th of July 2014
Definitely give it a shot! I actually just used the same trick on my Camelback straw portion because it had gotten gross and it worked, too! Thanks for stopping by!