Customer Reviews

OXO International 1112201 Good Grips Travel Mug 13.5 Oz Red

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK, first the "good". That's the part where I praise these mugs. We've had two of them for a couple of years now and thought we had found the perfect mugs. Tactile, comfortable to hold, fits perfectly in the car's cup holder, no annoying handle to get in the way, REALLY nice to drink out of (unlike some travel mugs that seem designed to ensure you'll pour scalding liquid down the front of your top when you try to take a sip), you can knock over a full mug of coffee and only experience a tiny dribble of spillage at most.... yep, we have used these things almost daily since we bought them.

Next, the "bad". That's the part where the lids are really annoying to keep clean and not dishwasher-safe to boot. Still, I know that OXO has told customers complaining about the buildup of coffee gunk on the lids (which can, and often does, make the button get stuck and prevent the lid clicking open/closed properly) that they should run the lid, with the button in the open position, through the dishwasher on the top shelf to get rid of the gunge. So that's what I've been doing every now and again when washing by hand is just not cutting it. It seems to have done the trick, for the most part, although if you take milk in your coffee like I do, or sugar in it like my husband does, it really is a pain to get in all the nooks and crannies in those lids, and we've forever been having to soak them in very hot water and try to work brushes, paper towels, Q-Tips, etc, in there to get out the worst of the nasty buildup.

And now... for the "ugly". The part that is making me heave just thinking about it. I was browsing Amazon with a view to ordering a couple more of these mugs because, despite the annoying issues listed above, we really do like them. Or... did. Before hitting the one-click order button to get my mugs shipped out on two-day delivery, I got sidetracked reading the reviews, and spotted where someone said they'd figured out how to take the lid apart to clean it properly, although they did warn that the nasty coffee buildup inside the lid was not pleasant. OK, I can deal with nasty coffee buildup, I thought, almost intrigued. So I followed the instructions to pop off the top of the button and unscrew the little Philips screw beneath, and so on... first I took the lid from the first mug apart. Lots of tarry coffee ick was built up in the unreachable, uncleanable part. OK.... so I cleaned it all out, very thoroughly, and reassembled the lid. I was quite proud of myself. Next up, the second mug. What I found inside was.... rather scarier, and almost resulted in my hurling up the contents of my stomach over the kitchen floor. I'm attaching a product photo to this review. Take a look.... those little white things? Yeah. Those are little maggots, larvae, whatever you want to call them. I think the LiquiSeal mugs are going in the trash now and I won't be ordering new ones now.

I'm giving two stars rather than one, because... seriously, there is so much to love about these mugs, they are ALMOST perfectly designed. But the fact that they really can't be cleaned properly (despite my best efforts to clean them as scrupulously as the design allows) and then somehow end up with MAGGOTS in them.... yeah, that's a pretty big design flaw from where I'm sitting.

OXO, please please please figure out a design for these where disassembling the lid is easy and mentioned in the product information, rather than something you're not supposed to do (but which results in a very nasty surprise when you do try it). For all I know, putting the hand-wash-only lid in the dishwasher could have exacerbated the existing problem and led to the revolting maggotiness, but when OXO's own customer service people are advising customers to do just that in order to clean the things, that hardly qualifies as "user error".

Now, if you'll all excuse me, I need to go and pick out a couple of new travel mugs.

I can't believe there is not already a review for this bad boy.

Okay, here's my story that I'm going to lay on you - ALL TRUE, by the way. I worked with a woman who had a cool looking travel mug - this was probably 7 or 8 years ago - and I loved that it didn't have a handle. [So many travel mugs have a handle, and it never looks good.] This one was sleek and cool. She explained what the button on the top did - other than make a cool clicky sound. It opened/closed the seal. The seal that keeps the liquid warm (or cold, I guess), for quite a while. Oh, and keeps it from spilling.

I was sold.

I went to the store and got myself one, in red. It became my signature coffee mug, seen on my desk, in my car, at staff meetings, in my bag and elsewhere. It's even been spied in my dishwasher on occasion. It's a little worse for the wear, since I've had it so long, so my husband bought me a new one for Christmas. Also in red, but with the dimpled motif - they've clearly updated their style since my original purchase. I'm not wild about the dimpled look [I preferred the smooth red of my original], but the functionality is so tops that I'm getting over it.

Oh, another TRUE STORY - I got one for my husband for Christmas, too! In the silver. He thinks it's great, as well, but he's a little less vocal about it.