Posted on February 12, 2010 · 5 Comments
Have you ever accidently left your child’s sippy cup in the blistering hot car or wonder what that odd smell is coming from under the couch, only to 
find your child has hidden their thermos there over a week ago? Have you ever gone to pick up your children from daycare only to see some other runny nosed child drinking out of your child’s sippy cup? I am a stay at home mom that has tackled the never ending battle of trying to disinfect and clean out the curdled milk or molded apple juice from my children’s sippy cup and thermos straws. I tried using toothpicks, pipe cleaners, Qtips, even small paintbrushes… always with minimal success. I never felt confident that it was bacteria free and clean enough to have my children drink through it again. After throwing away TONS of expensive sippy cups because of dirty, clogged straws, I came up with the idea for a mini reusable straw brush cleaner…and voila … the idea for THE SIPPY STRAW CLEANER was born.
Surprisingly, it took only four months to go from an idea to an actual marketable product. During these months I spent many sleepless nights scouring the mommy message boards, online boutiques, and major retail chains for any similar products. Everyone had the same home remedies, yet none of them seemed to be a full proof method for cleaning those pesky straws. More importantly, I saw the reoccurring phrase “I just throw them out and buy another one” and it raised a huge red flag as to the amount of PLASTIC sippy cups that were being thrown in the garbage and what that was doing to our environment. In addition, parents were wasting money purchasing new expensive sippy cups, merely because they couldn’t get the straw clean.
My goal for the Sippy Straw Cleaner was three-fold:
- Save parents money by not having to purchase new sippy cups on a regular basis.
- Better for the environment due to less plastic toss out.
- Healthier for kids by cutting down on straw bacteria build up.
Over the last two years, the media has spent quite a bit of time talking about the dangers of Bisphenol-A (BPA) and how scientists have linked very low doses of BPA exposure to cancers, impaired immune function, early onset of puberty, obesity, diabetes, hyperactivity, as well as neural and behavior problems among children. Being a mother, I only wanted to develop a product that was safe for both me and my children. The Sippy Straw Cleaner 
underwent weeks of laboratory testing in New Jersey for verification of its compound makeup. I am happy to report that the Sippy Straw Cleaner is not only FDA approved, but BPA FREE and meets all the requirements of the US Consumer Product Safety Regulations. The brush has a nylon bristle tip, stainless steel rust free wire stem, and a polypropelene handle to allow for easier holding and scrubbing motion. The design and size of the brush allow for it to universally fit all major brands of sippy, thermos, accordion, and sports bottle straws. It also works fabulously on medicine droppers, jewelry, and keyboards.
The Sippy Straw Cleaner has been on the market for a mere 2 months now…and based on the feedback we’ve received, I’m proud to say we’re meeting our goals. Healthier kids…healthier environment…one sip at a time 🙂
HEALTHFUL HINTS:
What are the benefits for your child by drinking from a straw?
- Drinking from a straw cup helps oral motor strengthening and speech development.
- Straw usage helps to improve lip closure, strength, and control.
- Using a Sippy Cup with a straw allows a child to hold their cup easier and doesn’t require tilting.
- When purchasing bottles and/or Sippy Cups always look on the label to verify that the product is BPA free.
To help ensure your child’s sippy cups and thermos’s are BPA free, there are many websites that are full of “green” recommendations with reviews on products available on the market today.
- The Soft Landing : Store and blog offering over 45 brands of 100% BPA, PVC, and Phthalate free baby and toddler products.
- Safe Mama: BPA free bottle and sippy cup cheat sheet
- Z-Recommends: Searchable database providing information about potentially harmful chemicals in a wide range of baby products based on company reporting.
with all due respect, i’ve always used dr. brown’s cleaners which is pretty much the same as this and the price is cheaper…?
Hi Judy
Thank you so much for your comments as I always welcome feedback on the Sippy Straw Cleaner. I’m so glad that you pointed out the similarity of the Dr Browns bottles. As they are similar, they are not identical by any means.
– the Sippy Straw Cleaner wire guage is thicker for more strength
– I’ve added a polypropelene handle to allow for easy gripping by parents for scrubbing
– the Sippy Straw Cleaner nylon bristles are wider so it easily reaches the walls of ALL brands of Sippy Cups
– It is certified as BPA free
Also, I didn’t even know the Dr Browns brushes existed until I started doing my research and design work. Being a mom of 4, I thought I had been exposed to close to every product out there. Although the Dr Browns brushes are fantastic, they are just not readily available to everyone in a variety stores. I found a lot of moms didn’t even think of using the Dr Browns brushes for the purpose of the Sippy Straw Cleaner… therefore raising that red flag for me to make a separate brush specifically used for cleaning sippy cups available to the market. Soon you will find the Sippy Straw Cleaner major retail and grocery stores all over the US.
Thanks so much for the fantastic questions!!
nice post. thanks.
Where can I buy sippy straw cleaners? My zip code is 95747. Thank you!
The good part is it fits well in different sippy cup straws and very easy to use.