Our enamelware mugs are stainless steel mugs with an enamel finish. The enamel is a protective and usually colorful coating that is baked onto the stainless steel. The vivid colors are fun and reminiscent of vintage camping cups. The enamel colors will not fade on exposure to sunlight. In addition to making the mugs look great, the enamel adds protection to them. The enamel coating helps to prevent corrosion (rusting) of your mug. Enamel mugs are highly heat resistant. When properly cared for, these mugs can last a long time.
Some fun facts:
The making of enameled products on a large scale first began in Germany around 1840. They used a simple method compared to today: they heated the mug to a very high temperature and then dusted it with enamel,they then immediately fired the mug. This often gave them a spotty coat; two coats were always required to achieve the desired surface. Additionally, it could only be applied to cast-iron items, and they could only use it for simple products like mugs, pots and pans.
From the 1840s- 1930s all enamel applications required two coats of enamel. The undercoat that was needed was always blue. The top coat of the desired color was most often white.
To care for your enamel- we recommend washing by hand as the abrasive action of some dish washing detergents can scratch and dull the surface. Do not put in the microwave! This is a stainless steel mug with enamel coating. You cannot put metal in the microwave! If you drop it on a hard surface, the enamel will crack.
To understand, you first need to remember some high school science. Heat is transferred in three ways: Convection, conduction and radiation. Copper insulated drinkware works with all three.
1- Stainless Steel Outer wall
2-Copper Plated Interior wall
3-18/8 Stainless Steel Interior wall
4-Vacuum Insulation
In convection, heat transfer occurs when a liquid or gas — air, for example — moves. In other words, it works by moving heat from a hot liquid to the cooler air by the motion of the air. For example, when you blow on your hot coffee you are transferring the air particles, cooling the hot substance. In drinkware you want to prevent the heat from being transferred away from your liquid to keep it hot- or into your liquid to keep it cool. We accomplish this with the vacuum. There is a vacuum between the inside layer and outside layer. By eliminating gas from this space we eliminate the convection of the heat. There is little to no gas to transfer the heat through. Some of our drinkware comes with vacuum sealed lids- this would help eliminate convection cooling of your drink also. As the vacuums in drinkware are not perfect, and some lids are not vacuum sealed, eventually some convection occurs.
In conduction, the transfer of heat is through a conducting material, such as metal. Heat causes the molecules to start to move and transfer from the heated molecule to another molecule. This transfer continues until all the molecules around the hot molecule are hot. An example of this is putting a metal spoon in your hot coffee, it conducts the heat up the spoon and soon even the handle is hot even though it is not touching the hot drink. We eliminate heat being transferred out of your hot coffee (or tea, etc) with the double layer of stainless or acrylic. The interior layer does not touch the outside layer. This helps keep the outer layer cool for you to hold and prevents it from forming condensation when you have something cold in your drinkware. Simply put, the outer layer does not touch the inner layer so it does not come in contact with the temperature of the liquid. Double layered drinkware is very effective and usually suitable for casual coffee drinkers.
Radiant heat moves in a straight line away from your hot drink, heating up anything solid that it encounters. This form of heat doesn’t heat the air, it heats just solids. The metals that are in the direct path of the heat absorb it immediately. Once the metal has been heated up, they radiate that heat to other metals. Copper is an excellent conductor. It absorbs the heat the radiant energy is transferring to it immediately and radiates it back. Since the copper is attached to the inner layer of our drinkware this radiation of heat occurs right back into your drinkware. This helps keep your drink hot longer.
Do not put our products in the dishwasher. Even if you really really think it will be ok. You would think my own children would know this. But yesterday my son very nicely loaded the dishwasher. Including my water bottle. I am very grateful he did the dishes. Now my water bottle is no longer round. And leans a bit. And is softer than it was. The lid fits still- so I am using it today.
But I am using this as a teachable moment. Please follow our recommended care instructions. Your bottles will last longer and look better. Since they likely have your logo on them, you want them to look their best for your customers and employees. We include cards inserted in almost all our products with care instructions. Sometimes customers request that we do not, or the shape or size of the bottle/mug does not allow us to stuff it.
I know, there are a lot of people out there who say that they are dishwasher safe- most of my suppliers do. But they do want to keep supplying me with drinkware- right? My research on plastics in general tells me that they should not be superheated as it effects the integrity of the plastic. Most residential dishwashers are probably safe- maybe not the “sanitation” setting- but regular wash. But my water bottle is proof that not all are ok. Of course, I would like to sell you more water bottles when yours eventually give out. But I would rather have you love the one you buy and use it for years and years to come. And have your customers and employees appreciate the quality of our products. If you had a really nice car would you put it through the drive through car wash? Or would you hand wash it? Do you throw your good wool sweaters in the washing machine? Or hand wash and dry? This is the same thing. Take care of our products and they will look good and make you look good for years to come.
Our drinkware is good quality and by taking care of them, you can expect years of dependable service. Please follow our care and use instructions to get the most out of your new product.
Bobcat 32oz Tritan Water Bottle $4.49-$3.49
Do NOT Put in the Dishwasher
In general, we do not recommend you put any of our drinkware in the dishwasher. Yes some of our manufacturers say it is ok. Yes some of our competitors say it is safe to do so. We do not recommend it for several reasons. First, the acrylic/plastic products are not meant to be super heated. When you put them in the dishwasher the heat can melt some of the thinner plastics. The thicker ones you will not see an immediate impact. However, the high heat will take it’s toll on your product. Over time the plastic/acrylic will start to break down. And it breaks down into whatever you are drinking. If you wash it by hand the acrylic/plastic will keep its integrity and safety. Second, the rubber gaskets that seal the lids of your drinkware will break down fairly quickly. They crack under the high heat of the dishwasher and will start to leak. Third, the glue that holds your drinkware together- whether acrylic/plastic or stainless will break down under the high heat of the dishwasher. Then your liners start to slide- sometimes even coming out. Lastly, abrasive soaps in dishwashers can scratch the surface of both your stainless steel and acrylic/plastic. The process we use to put your logo onto your drinkware should withstand this- but what good does it do if the drinkware no longer works?
We recommend hand washing for the best result. Simply wash your bottle with warm soapy water. First pour out any leftover liquid, then add a few drops of dishwashing soap and some warm water, screw on the top, and shake for a few minutes. I suggest you use a bottle brush like a baby bottle cleaner so you can scrub deep inside your bottle, especially if it has a narrow mouth. Thoroughly clean the cap and straw as well and allow to air-dry overnight. Make sure you clean under any rubber gaskets as well. Most come off easily to allow you to clean them thoroughly as well as clean under them. I use a small baby bottle brush to clean mine. Scrub away coffee stains with a nonabrasive scrubbing pad. If you have a tough stain, sprinkle baking soda on the pad and then scrub. If you have a stain that is stubborn, rinse out the mug, fill it with distilled white vinegar, set it aside to soak overnight and try scrubbing again.
If you clean your drinkware daily this should keep it clean.
Let’s say you forget your water bottle/travel mug in the car for a few days and find a smelly surprise. For stainless you can try this: Pour 2 tablespoons of baking soda into the mug, then add a generous amount of whatever vinegar you have on hand. The mixture bubbles up as you add the vinegar to the baking soda, so leave enough room in the mug to allow for shaking. Seal the mug tightly with the lid so the vinegar and baking soda don’t leak out. Shake the mug well at least a few times to get the inside surface and bottom of the lid clean. Scrub the mug with a soft bottle brush to break-up any grime left behind by coffee, if necessary. Don’t forget to clean under and around the rubber seal if it has one. Open the stainless steel mug, and rinse it thoroughly with warm water to remove the baking soda and vinegar. Once the mug is clean, let it air dry in a well-ventilated area on a drying rack or clean towel.
For our plastic and acrylic drinkware you can use vinegar. This all-natural cleaner is great for killing certain germs and bacteria, but it isn’t effective at killing everything such as the flu virus. After washing with soapy water, rinse well, and fill your bottle about one fifth of the way with white vinegar. Fill the rest with water, let it stand overnight, and in the morning thoroughly rinse it out using the above method with soapy water. Unless you like the taste of vinegar in your water…
If that doesn’t work you can use water bottle cleansing tablets: Many companies make this type of product, including Camelbak ($12 for eight), or you can also get away with using effervescent denture cleaning tablets such as Efferdent. Just fill your bottle with water, drop the tablet in, and allow to dissolve and sit for 15 to 30 minutes (depending on the product’s directions). Then rinse and enjoy your clean bottle.
DO NOT MICROWAVE ANY OF OUR PRODUCTS!!!
If putting in the dishwasher because plastics/acrylics should not be super heated then putting them in the microwave is an even worse idea. Again, the thinner walls will melt or lose their shape. The thicker ones will start to break down and lose their integrity. They will begin to crack and will break more easily. And obviously you cannot put stainless steel into the microwave because it is metal. You will catch your microwave on fire. If you need to reheat whateve you have put into your drinkware, first pour it into a microwave safe container, then heat it and put it back into your drinkware. Our travel mugs keep your drink warm for hours- so hopefully you find time to drink it in that time frame anyway. To get the maximum efficiency from our travel mugs preheat them. Heat water as hot as you can get it then pour it into your travel mug. Put the lid on and wait a minute or two. Then dump out the hot water and put your hot beverage into the travel mug.
You can do the same with your water bottles. Prechill them with cold water, then add your beverage. Do not put our drinkware into the freezer unless instructed to do so. Especially with liquid in them. The liquid will expand and crack your drinkware. For our freezer items, put them in the freezer upside down. This just prevents them from absorbing the smells of your freezer. Do not freeze the lids or straws of any of our items.
Do not drop your drinkware. It will withstand a drop or two from a reasonable distance (say your desk?) But probably not from the roof of your car. You can crack the seams, dent stainless rims or cause the liners to pop out. Our Tritan water bottles can take a bit more beating. It is impact and shatter resistant and great for hikers, campers and teams. I still would try not to drop it off a cliff or anything.
Do not overtighten the lids. Hand tight is good. Overtightening can cause the plastic in the lid to crack compromising your seal. Chewing on the lids will do the same thing.
With The Proper Care and Use of Our Drinkware you can ensure they last for years. With your brand and logo on them we want to make sure your customers, employees and team stay happy and satisfied.
Price shown includes your ONE COLOR logo unless otherwise stated in the description Dismiss
