As an environmentally conscious consumer (and drinker), you don’t want more throw-away plastic filling our landfills or waterways and instead have opted to use reusable straws. One of the most popular types of reusable straws are those made from silicone (for a comparison of silicone vs other straw materials see our blog post: here) silicone offers the advantages of being easily washable, safe, and of course environmentally prudent, because you can use them over and over again.
So, what are the best silicone straws, and where can you buy them? There are a number of silicone straw sellers on the market and there are several factors when considering what makes the best silicone straw purchase. Silicone quality, manufacturing standards, straw thickness, straw size and functionality, and manufacturer’s warranty are all factors you should take into account when choosing your straw purchase.
The Best Silicone Straws are the Safest
Silicone straws are very safe, not only because they are bendy & chewy, making them safe for kids to use and less worrisome for mothers, but they are also safe in that they are healthy for our bodies. Unlike plastic and even metal, silicone does not leach chemicals when exposed to heat variation. They are also BPS & BPA Free.
The very best silicone straws are the safest because they use the best silicone. Like with most products/materials, there are varying degrees of quality and usually the lower the quality, the lower the cost. Unfortunately, manufacturers often opt for cheaper materials to save money.
You want to make sure you are getting silicone straws which are food grade, and inspected by not only by the FDA, but also the RoHs European safety standards. These inspections will ensure that the manufacturing and material standards of those silicone straws are at a high level. These inspections test for traces of harmful chemicals, such as lead or mercury. If the test results are certified, it means those harmful carcinogens are not present in the silicone used.
Low grade, less stable, silicone using chemical “filers” may contain these contaminants. As a result, contaminants are subject to leaching. This can be harmful to the user.
To check silicone quality, give it the “pinch test”. If the pinched silicone turns white, it’s more likely to contain low grade filers or at the least lower grade silicone. Higher grade silicone which adheres to the FDA & RoHs European standards should not change color when given the pinch test.
We are not shy about letting people know that Softy Straws® proudly adheres to strict FDA & RoHs safety standards. We make our straws with the best food grade silicone we can find.
Well Built Straws Do NOT Collapse When Drinking Thick Drinks
A common Amazon question asked of silicone straws products is whether or not they collapse when drinking thick drinks, such as smoothies & milkshakes. The answer to this question depends largely on the specific manufacturer of the straws. Unfortunately, many silicone straws are not made with enough silicone, and the silicone which is used is lower grade and not as firm. This results in weakness and thin spots, which in turn causes collapsing when drinking your favorite thick drinks. The very best silicone straws are built with high hardness silicone which produce a stronger more consistent wall thickness.
Softy Straws® uses premium food grade silicone which is the hardest grade. The result is a much more structurally sound straw that holds up much better when drinking thick drinks.
View our Straws on Amazon.com/SoftyStraws
The Best Sized Silicone Straws Depends on How You Intend to Use Them
Silicone straws come in many different lengths and diameters. First off, you want to make sure what you buy is long enough to fit in your preferred drinking vessel, be it a tumbler, mason jar, or kids cup. Keep in mind, you can cut down silicone straws to fit most of your needs.
Please view our full guide on the best straw sizes for your tumblers and drinking vessels.
So, where can you buy the best silicone straws?
We at Softy Straws® believe that we have taken the many steps necessary to produce the highest quality silicone straws available on the market. We spend the extra time, money and effort to produce all our own molds — not relying on mysterious 3rd party manufactures where we have little oversight of material quality, sanitation, and end product result. We even invented the Straw Squeegee® cleaning tool, which gives you the easiest way to get all of the debris out of your straws prior to sanitizing them in hot water.
We stand behind every straw we produce with our zero-hassle money back guarantee.
Our goal is to have the very best reusable straws available, we hope you’ll consider trying them for you and your family.
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