How to Clean a Tumbler, Lid and Straw: Stop Smells and Mold 🧽🍳

You pop the lid off your daily tumbler and get a sour, musty whiff. The cup looks clean, so the smell is hiding somewhere you never scrub.

Below: a daily, weekly and deep-clean schedule for the cup, lid, gasket, straw and add-ons, plus what stays out of the dishwasher.

The recipe card

• Dish: Fresh-Tasting Tumbler, smell removed.
• Serves: one cup, one lid, one straw.
• Prep time: about two minutes a day.
• Difficulty: easy. The gasket fights back once.

Headnote. Stale coffee and old smoothie live in the lid, not the cup. Clean the hidden parts and the smell goes.

Ingredients

• Mild dish soap and warm water. The base. Skip anything harsh.
• 1 long bottle brush. It has to reach the bottom corner.
• 1 thin straw brush with soft bristles. A sponge can't get inside a straw.
• 1 teaspoon baking soda. For smells and stains.
• A splash of white vinegar. Loosens buildup in nooks.
• 1 clean towel and some air. Drying is an ingredient. Skip it and the mold moves in.

Leave bleach on the shelf. Stanley warns bleach or chlorine can degrade the sealing parts on some products.

Method

1. Break it down. Cup, lid, straw, gasket. Every piece apart. "Mise," as we say on the line.
2. Pull the gasket. Pinch the rubber ring on two sides with two fingers. It lifts out of its groove.
3. Wash hot and soapy. Brush the cup floor. Brush the lid threads, the slider track and the sip hole.
4. Run the straw brush through. Both ends. Rinse until the water runs clear.
5. Rest it open. Lay everything apart until bone dry. Then reassemble.

Hidden tip 1: that gasket is built to come out. YETI's own steps say pinch it and it lifts free. That groove is where the gunk lives.

Hidden tip 2: store the cup with the lid off. Stanley says leave it open until dry. Mold spores settle on damp surfaces, so air is your friend.

Weekly deep clean

• Cup: fill halfway with hot water, add 1 teaspoon baking soda and a splash of white vinegar. Soak a few hours or overnight. Wash as usual.
• Lid and gasket: soak in white vinegar first. Then brush every crevice.
• Toppers and charms: pull them off. Wash in warm soapy water. Dry before they go back on.

Chef's notes: the dishwasher

• Lids go on the top rack only. Small gaskets and straws go in the utensil basket.
• Stainless steel Owala cups: hand wash. Owala says that keeps the finish.
• Hydro Flask coffee mugs are not dishwasher safe. A chipped powder coat in the dishwasher can cause defects.
• Not sure? Read the care card or the base of the cup. Makers differ by model.
• Sugary drinks or coffee? Wash the same day. Bottles holding drinks other than water carried more bacteria in a Purdue study.

Cheat sheet: save this

Never: bleach, a sealed wet cup, or a lid on the bottom rack.

Like any good recipe, it gets better the more you make it.