Sunday, April 27, 2014

Suncreen Damaged Tervis Fixed with Coconut Oil


Coconut oil is all the rage and I am hooked!  This is some cool stuff!  Apparently,  there are 101 Uses for Coconut Oil and I've got another one to add to that list.

Tervis tumblers are also all the rage lately.  (They've been around since 1946, actually!)  Although the Tervis company has a LIFETIME GUARNTEE, I was still looking for a way to restore my tumblers that have been etched by sunscreen.  As a researcher, the first place I went to look for information on how to fix my cups was on the internet.  I found that someone suggested using toilet bowl cleaner!  Ew!  Most of my searches ended with more information about how great the Tervis return policy is.  I was still looking for my own fix, though.

So, back to the coconut oil.  Coconut oil is also touted for its success in reminerlizing teeth.  I don't really know what that means, but it sounds good.  I starting using coconut oil with a little baking soda added to it to create a paste as my new toothpaste.  I'm freakishly IN LOVE with my new coconut oil and baking soda toothpaste!  It is so different and it does such a good job.  I feel like I've just spent time at the dentist while drinking a pina colata.  Delightful! 

While brushing my teeth one weekend, I spied my Tervis tumbler and had an idea.  Why not try my "toothpaste" on a cup?  The cup couldn't really look any worse...
Tervis Tumbler all etched from sunscreen.

The lid also looking shabby.
 Reminder:  Most chapstick, lip balms, and lip sticks have sunscreen in them.


In this picture, notice that you can't even see through the cup!

Again, notice that the glass is so foggy that you can't even see through it.



The "toothpaste"  Coconut oil and baking soda mixed to the thickness of a traditional toothpaste.

Regular ol' Arm and Hammer

Coconut oil is solid!  (Not what one typically thinks of as "oil".)

I use a wooden coffee stir stick to put the toothpaste on my toothbrush and used that to spread some of the paste onto my cloudy Tervis tumbler.

I started with a test strip.

And made a note of the time.

While I was waiting on the concoction to work, I noticed that a sand dollar I had on display was a little dusty.  How about a little coconut oil?

Beautiful!  Remineralizing?

After ten minutes, I wiped off the paste.

Lo and behold!  It took off a lot of the scum!

The shiny stripe is hard to see, but it really did work!  So, why not try the whole cup?

OMG!  For about ten minutes, I rubbed the coconut oil and baking soda "toothpaste" all around the cup...inside and outside.




 
SIDE BY SIDE
 
 

19 comments:

  1. This procedure removed the sunscreen film but scratched the tumbler. I think you're better off returning for a replacement.

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  2. I'm going to try it right now!

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  3. Thank you!! I have several personalized Tervis tumblers and this restored them to a like new condition. No more sun screen haze and it did not scratch my tumblers. Thank you for this great tip.

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  4. Great tip! I just found your post while trying to figure out how to clean my tumblers. I had no clue that sunscreen was the culprit, but it makes sense since we've taken them to the pool.

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  5. Thanks to the article I have a fixed Tervis cup!!! Mine was ruined by my son mixing baking soda and Epsom salt in it while in the tub, so I didn't use more baking soda to fix it. I just rubbed a very small amount of organic coconut oil in all over and in it and it fixed it. I agree baking soda will scratch it, but that was all my kid earlier.

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  6. Thanks for this lifesaver. I thought my Libre cup was ruined by sunscreen but this simple recipe worked wonders on it along with my tervis cup.

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  7. This works but then once I washed the cup it became foggy again - is this not happening to all of you?

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    1. Sorry, I posted before I saw.... Me too...

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    2. Ah ha! I knew it was too good to be true, washing the cup just takes the oil off the cup and becomes hazy again. Pls remove your "fix".

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  8. Did anyone wash it after and then post the results? :-( Mine is now again jaded. Dag nabbit.

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  9. Try using automobile compound and a little elbow grease. Works great no scratches and haze does not come back after washing, looking for way to avoid issue in future now.

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  10. what kind of automobile compound?

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  11. Mosquito repellent will also cloud up the Tervis...just found that out over the 4th when three of mine got damaged. I will try the coconut oil and Baking soda thing. HOWEVER, I did call Tervis and they will take them back and replace them, honoring their guarantee. I asked about the special designs I'd had done on them. The gal on the phone said to send them back, and Tervis will just take the bad tumblers apart, carefully removing the design and replace it in new ones, or recreate it if that is not possible. BOTTOM LINE...I'll try the paste and my backup is sending them back for a free replacement. Cool! And in the future, no sunscreen or mosquito stuff users using the tumblers. Hey, maybe I will keep a cloudy one just for them. LOL

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  12. Meguiars Plastx plastic cleaner (generally used for auto headlights) works great.

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  13. May not be the best to drink out of after Meguirs used inside. Mine is only bad inside which isn’t sun screen.

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  14. Coconut oil is a band aid fix. Sunscreen and/or bug spray etches the plastic - you need to use compound (auto) then thoroughly wash it.

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