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 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 use silicone straws. Easier to clean than metal ones too.
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
My impression is that at least in Germany it’s very rare to get a straw in a restaurant at all. It’s usually fast food places, bars and clubs where straws seem to be a thing, and these places usually don’t offer metal cutlery.
Agreed, and it’s because they don’t serve drinks with ice - I witnessed this pretty much everywhere from Amsterdam to Finland. I asked one person why and was told no one wants their expensive drinks to get watered down. At the time, a fountain drink was at least double the expected price in the states. No ice, no need for a straw?
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The simple answer is cleanliness.
Straws of any sort are a pain to clean. You need to at least get a focused stream of water up the middle, and preferably a brush. Industrial dishwashers just can’t do this reliably. You either need a specialist cleaning machine, or do it manually. Both are expensive.
There are also issues with preferences (metallic tastes, shape, etc), handling (metal straws are perfectly shaped to mess with the innards of dishwashers) and cost. But cleanliness is the BIG one.
You’re right, but but carry-out drinks are a big part of it too. If you’re keeping disposable straws for those, you might as well use them in both places for the reason you cite.
Except any annoying kitchen task that can solved by specialized but not crazy expensive equipment will be.
Like, I don’t think a kitchen would bother trying to automate silverware rolling. (I just looked it up. Equipment exists, but not published prices. I’ve seen pleny of staff doing by hand though.) I have, however, seen a thing that looked like 4 mini vertically spinning carwash-spinning-pole-of-towels thingies that bartenders were using to wipe the insides of glasses. (I just looked that up too. I think I found the model for $810 US.) No one would have that in their home, but not many people use any sort of straw at home.
So what I’m saying is that a specialized dishwasher for durable steel straws doesn’t seem hard to design or expensive to manufacturer. I feel OP was hoping for more innovation.
Cost/benefits unfortunately kick in. A machine like that takes training to use. It also requires maintenance. The costs Vs using paper straws is too high for most restaurants to push forward with.
Right, the true cost of the plastic isn’t something a business has to pay. They buy straws by the gross for pennies and there is no disposal fee.
The disposal problem isn’t free but no restaurant would willingly pay one.
They are a fucking pain in the ass to clean. Dishwashers leave a ton of shit.
I have glass straws at home, they come out of the dishwasher immaculate every time.
Unless you drink only water that’s smash (x) doubt.
Washing machines could be made to support glass/metal straws for better cleaning though, I think there just hasnt been enough adoption yet.
They are a pain in the ass to clean currently
I think the engineering to make a suitable affordable at home device to clean the inside of a variety of straw sizes is harder than you think. Dishwashers are already a pretty dumb device with little engineering and are quite expensive.
Triangle device that has a heater like an electric kettle. They lay along the long side standing up. Pump rolls/jets hot water over the top down through the straws. A few ridges on the back and a removable filter to rinse in the sink. Could be less than 50 for a stand alone device, a dish washer could build it into the front closing door, just needs the jets for water ran there. The heat would already exist in the dishwasher.
Edit: I do agree it wouldn’t be the perfect cleaner, but a dishwasher isn’t that. Also most straws are pretty similar in diameter. Strange straws would just not go on there, like how strange cups don’t fit in dishwashers.
I think the most common issue with metal straws we will find is people complaining the metal feels cold on their teeth. I never had that issue, but my partner has said it to me before, she uses those rubber tips for the end of the metal straw
Don’t mock me, but… Why are people so obsessed with straws? I can’t even remember when I used it the last time. If I want to drink a beverage, I just use glass or cup as it is.
I have sensitive teeth. Drinking an ice cold drink without a straw hurts my teeth. So I prefer when I can get it
Ok, thanks, that’s a good point.
Have you considered avoiding ice cold drinks?
Hi Wendy’s , I’d like one large 2 liter of Coke. Do me a favor and make it piss warm for me. Could ya do that?
No idea, not in the US, we don’t have Wendy. Also in the rare occasion I do order a coke once or twice a year I’ll take a can not a fucking barrel.
I also have sensitive teeth and stay away from ice cold drinks myself, it doesn’t have to be piss warm don’t you have anything in between over there? Fridge cold, take a sip and enjoy it slowly, pace yourself. Is plastic straws really the only solution, and is funally taking rid of them going to be the end of the world?
Sometimes, on a hot day, an ice cold drink is very refreshing. Plus it’s a hassle having to remember to ask for no ice every time I eat out.
Yeah it’s also a hassle to have to deal with millions of single use plastic straws going in the landfill every week.
Boba teas suck without straws. accessibility issues as well. Mixed drinks are pretty good with straws (all the ice, and if it needs to be mixed using a straw serves a dual purpose).
To expand on accessibility, some people have neuromuscular issues that make drinking from a cup difficult. Some people have sensory issues that have the same end result. Straws help these people.
Saves Valuable Time at High Labor Costs
I’m sorry. What?
why not just have those people bring their own straws then?
For me personally, I used to have really bad heartburn until I started using straws pretty much exclusively. Rarely do I get heartburn anymore and I also don’t belch as much either, which I was doing a lot of as well.
I do use metal or glass straws exclusively though, even in the car I have some in a case in the cubby so I don’t have to use those awful paper straws if I am ever forced to grab food in the car.
I’m with you on this. Just STOP using straws, they’re almost always unnecessary.
You definitely need a straw for a Slurpee or Icee because otherwise you can’t go KhHHHhHhhHHhhuhHh with the straw against the lid up and down making that horrible sound as you try to drink the bottom and the top flavor consecutively. Can’t do that without a straw.
Metal straws don’t make the noise either!
I will buy you a stick, bro.
I don’t use straws because I’m all growed up.
You could just learn to drink like a grown up.
Then I’ll have to get it without ice, my teeth are pretty sensitive
Why is “with ice” the default option for drinks in the US? For beverages, the restaurant is saving money, but for water?
ice is twice as nice
Because its cold and refreshing? Ice water stays cold longer than not ice water.
Water is best served at a bit below room temperature (maybe 50° F/10° C). I don’t want my teeth hurting and my throat frozen. Also, waiters should be good around and refilling water glasses, not dropping off my food and GTFO until I am done eating.
It’s an accessibility thing. Some people struggle without a straw (elderly, disabled, etc). Straws are also convenient if you’re wearing lipstick.
That’s such a simple thing for people with mobility problems to solve for themselves.
If straws are a requirement then carry your own straws. Then you can choose the material.
I commented on another thread about McDonald’s, in France they stopped giving out straws and just printed on the cup “To drink, remove lid and lift cup, you’re not an infant”
First comment underneath it was “What about people with mobility problems”
Shut the fuck up bitch
When i was in paria they just had recycled card lids with a small hole in like a coffee lid and ypu drank from the hole. Or i guess you could remove the lid.
Hawaii has straws already figured out. They feel and work like regular ass straws, yet they are biodegradable and made from Papayai i think. Every restaurant and vendor i came across used them. Idk why it hasnt spread to the mainland.
There’s a lot of interesting alternatives like that right now but they all have the same issue: Scale.
Providing a McDonald’s quantity of straws requires a HUGE supply chain.
True, but every place i went to on all of the islands out there had the straws, as well as the disposable silverware of the same material. 1.4 million people live there and like 10 million tourists visit each year. Most of those tourists are eating out every meal. The cruise ships all have them. It seemed at a decent scale, i think its finna scale bro
McDonald’s is an absurdly large scale. Google says 69 million customers per day. Most companies can’t provide that many straws. It’s also the reason things like the McRib are limited time, there aren’t enough pork trimmings to consistently supply them at a reasonable price point.
For sure they are silly big. They wouldn’t need to convert all of their branches at the same time though. Primarily focus it around coasts and waterways, convert bit by bit as needed. They won’t convert unless it is cheaper or required by regulation
I’ve never used an ass straw, is it very different to just using your tongue?
Your missing out bro
It’s actually a retrofitted beer bong. Using it requires a handstand and a handful of close friends willing to help.
I used to work in a place that used bioplastic straws made from agave fibers. They’re here already.
They’re tough to clean quickly
They should develop metal syringes to directly inject the fluids into the body
I think straws are harder to clean properly. All other utensils are outside surfaces only. If some one has food stuck inside one the restaurant is probably not going to want to manually put a cleaner inside every one to be sure. A small chance some customer is going to get one with food still in it… I don’t mind the paper ones that don’t go soggy right away. At home I use metal or silicone ones. Like the silicone ones!
My guess is cleaning a lot of them effectively would take too much time.
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You can do that with a metal knife too.
I do not recommend putting knives in your mouth when you’re drunk.
Even when you’re sober. I accidentally filed down one of my canines that way.
What alcoholic drink uses a metal knife?
Nothing yet because so far all the drinks are a bunch of poser drinks. I’m going to invent some true metal drinks that will fuck everything up and be totally real! And if some emo tries to order it they just get a punch in the face!
I worked as a dishwasher at Cracker Barrel for a summer, and just getting the utensils clean was a challenge on a busy day. Metal straws used at scale would need specialized washing equipment that can handle a kid shoving it full of pork chops and mashed potatoes.
They would make it if there was demand, but that won’t happen without forced adoption of the metal straws in the first place.
I’m sure the hygiene issues would overshadow the reusability issue. Folks won’t be happy the first time they get a chunk of somebody else’s dinner when they take a sip of their drink. People abuse dishes in restaurants in very creative ways.
Glass straws might be better, if only because you can see anything that’s lodged inside.
For many of the same reasons they aren’t a suitable alternative for those who need straws, either (though a restaurant owner will be making the decision based on cost rather than accessibility).
The real issue is that people still (or ever) bitch and moan about straws, since they were never really a problem, just a distraction from those actually destroying the environment…
I feel like those “reasons” are very exaggerated. How many people are allergic to stainless steel? How is metal not safe in hot beverages? If it’s burning due to heat, the liquid will do that on its own. How are biodegradable straws any more if a choking hazard? There are so many questionable judgements in that list. At the very least, it isn’t nearly that binary.
Metal conducts heat more readily than water. Odd as it may sound, metal stuck into a hot beverage will burn your mouth/lips more readily than the liquid itself.
But the liquid is still dangerously hot. And maybe if you are too disabled to safely drink from a mug, scalding hot beverages are not a great idea, anyway.
And you didn’t respond to anything else. How many people are actually allergic to metal straws that just touching them is enough?
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I feel like people trying to “poke holes” in the needs of disabled people they clearly haven’t taken even a minute to research (never mind considered the fact you don’t know everything, and you not knowing something doesn’t make it somehow wrong or invalid) are wilfully ignorant ableists (E: and your next reply confirms it. You don’t get to decide who is or isn’t “too disabled” to do anything, ableist)
Or you could, you know, answer legitimate questions rather than go to ad hominem attacks.
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I did Google things like “biodegradable straws choking hazard”, and “metal straw allergy” and found exactly jack shit to back up those assertions.
I googled “metal straw burning” and found “this injury can be prevented with the use of the silicone cap as it would act as a barrier,” so it’s not a problem either.
Just because someone is disabled, it is not a black check to make unchallenged assertions.
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Let’s see if they get it this time! (Hint: they won’t)
Because they will all end up in some kids nose
via the hole it punched-through the roof of their mouth.
metal straws are dangerous.
We’re talking about placing them alongside knives and forks - both of which are pointier.
I wouldn’t consider them that dangerous, but even if you do, that’s fairly easily solved with a silicone tip
