It is said that people are made of water. Most of the weight of the human body is water. The younger the age, the higher the proportion of water in the body. When a child is just born, water accounts for about 90% of the body weight. When he grows up to a teenager, the proportion of body water reaches about 75%. The water content of normal adults is 65%. Everyone cannot live without water in daily life. Drinking water requires a water cup. Whether at home or in the office, everyone will have their own water cup. Choosing a suitable water cup is very important for us. Moreover, there are a variety of water cups on the market. How to choose a high-quality and healthy water cup is also our special concern. Today, the editor will share with you how to choose a suitable water cup?
The article will talk about the following aspects
1. What are the materials of water cups
1.1 Stainless steel
1.2 Glass
1.3 Plastic
1.4 Ceramic
1.5 Enamel
1.6 Paper cup
1.7 Wooden cup
2. Clarify your needs by scene
3. Precautions for buying water cups
4. Which water cups are recommended
1. What are the materials of water cups?
The materials of water cups are divided into stainless steel, glass, plastic, ceramic, enamel, paper, and wood. There are many kinds of specific components of each material. Let me explain them in detail below.
> 1.1 Stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy product. Sometimes we worry about rust or something. As long as it is a stainless steel water cup that meets national standards, the possibility of rust is extremely low. This kind of cup is used to hold ordinary boiled water under normal use, and there is no need to worry at all. However, it is best to be careful not to use this stainless steel cup for tea, soy sauce, vinegar, soup, etc. for a long time, so as to avoid the cup body from really corrosive and precipitation of chromium metal that is harmful to the human body.
Common stainless steel materials for water cups are 304 stainless steel and 316 stainless steel. 316 is stronger than 304 in acid, alkali and high temperature resistance. What is 304 stainless steel? What is 316 stainless steel?
Let’s talk about iron and steel first.
The difference between iron and steel is mainly in carbon content. Iron is converted into steel by refining carbon content. Steel is a material with a carbon content between 0.02% and 2.11%; a material with a high carbon content (generally more than 2%) is called iron (also called pig iron). The higher the carbon content, the harder it is, so iron is harder than steel, but steel has better toughness.
How does steel not rust? Why is iron prone to rust?
Iron reacts chemically with oxygen and water in the atmosphere to form an oxide film on the surface, which is why we often see red rust.
Rust
There are many types of steel, and stainless steel is just one of them. Stainless steel is also called “stainless acid-resistant steel”. The reason why steel does not rust is that some metal impurities are added to the steelmaking process to make alloy steel (such as adding metal chromium Cr), but not rusting only means that it will not be corroded by the air. If you want to be acid-resistant and corrosion-resistant, you need to add more other metals. There are three common metals: martensitic stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel and austenitic stainless steel.
Austenitic stainless steel has the best comprehensive performance. The 304 and 316 mentioned above are both austenitic stainless steels. The metal composition of the two is different. The corrosion resistance of 304 is already very high, and 316 is better than it. 316 steel adds molybdenum to 304, which can significantly improve its ability to resist oxide corrosion and aluminum chloride corrosion. Some seaside household items or ships will use 316. Both are food-grade metals, so there is no problem in choosing. As for whether the difference between the two can be distinguished by human eyes, the answer is no.
>1.2 Glass
It should be said that among all cups of various materials, glass is the healthiest, and some organic chemicals are not used in the process of firing glass. We are actually worried that the harmful organic chemicals in the cup itself will enter our body during drinking water, and organic chemicals will have side effects on the human body. There will be no such problem when using glass. During use, whether it is cleaning or collecting, glass is simpler and easier.
Commonly used glass water cups are divided into three types: soda-lime glass water cups, high borosilicate glass water cups, and crystal glass water cups.
Ⅰ. Soda-lime glass cups
Soda-lime glass is a type of silicate glass. It is mainly composed of silicon dioxide, calcium oxide, and sodium oxide. The main components of commonly used flat glass, bottles, cans, light bulbs, etc. are soda-lime glass.
This material glass should have relatively good chemical stability and thermal stability, because the main components are silicon dioxide, calcium silicate, and sodium silicate melts. There will be no toxic side effects in daily use, and it will not cause adverse effects on health.
Ⅱ. High borosilicate glass cups
High borosilicate glass has good fire resistance, high physical strength, no toxic side effects, and outstanding mechanical properties, thermal stability, water resistance, alkali resistance, and acid resistance. It is widely used in many products such as lamps, tableware, and telescope lenses. Compared with soda-lime glass, it can withstand more temperature changes. This kind of glass is thinner and lighter, and it feels lighter in the hand. Many of our water cups are made of it now, such as the double-layer glass water cup with tea strainer of Thermos, the whole cup body is made of high borosilicate glass.
Ⅲ. Crystal glass
Crystal glass refers to a container that is made by melting glass and then forming a crystal-like container, also known as artificial crystal. Due to the scarcity and difficulty of mining of natural crystal, it cannot meet people’s needs, so artificial crystal glass was born.
The texture of crystal glass is crystal clear, revealing a very noble visual feeling. This kind of glass is a high-end product among glass, so the price of crystal glass will be more expensive than that of ordinary glass. Crystal glass can be distinguished from ordinary glass by a closer look. If you tap or flick it with your hand, the crystal glass can make a crisp metallic sound, and the crystal glass feels heavy in your hand. When you rotate the crystal glass against the light, you will feel very white and crystal clear.
>1.3 Plastic
There are many kinds of plastic water cups on the market. The three main plastic materials are PC (polycarbonate), PP (polypropylene), and tritan (Tritan Copolyester).
Ⅰ. PC material
From the perspective of material safety, PC is best not to choose. PC material has always been controversial, especially for food packaging. From the perspective of chemical molecules, PC is a high molecular polymer containing carbonate groups in the molecular chain. So why is it not recommended to choose PC material water cups?
PC is generally synthesized from bisphenol A (BPA) and carbon oxychloride (COCl2). Bisphenol A will be released under high temperature. Some research reports show that bisphenol A can cause endocrine disorders, cancer, obesity caused by metabolic disorders, and early puberty in children may all be related to bisphenol A. Therefore, since 2008, the Canadian government has identified it as a toxic substance and banned its addition to food packaging. The EU also believes that baby bottles containing bisphenol A can induce precocious puberty and may have an impact on the health of the fetus and children. From March 2, 2011, the EU also banned the production of baby bottles containing bisphenol A. In China, the import and sale of PC baby bottles or similar baby bottles containing bisphenol A was banned from September 1, 2011.
It can be seen that PC has safety concerns. I personally recommend that it is best not to choose PC material if there is a choice.
Factory direct sales of large-capacity polycarbonate drinking cups
Ⅱ. PP material
PP, also known as polypropylene, is colorless, odorless, non-toxic, translucent, does not contain bisphenol A, is flammable, has a melting point of 165℃, softens at around 155℃, and has a use temperature range of -30 to 140℃. PP tableware cups are also the only plastic material that can be used for microwave heating.
Ⅲ. Tritan material
Tritan is also a chemical polyester that solves many of the drawbacks of plastics, including toughness, impact strength, and hydrolysis stability. It is chemical resistant, highly transparent, and does not contain bisphenol A in PC. Tritan has passed the US Food and Drug Administration FDA certification (Food Contact Notification (FCN) No.729) and is the designated material for infant products in Europe and the United States.
When we buy a water cup, we can see the composition and material of the water cup, such as the basic parameter introduction below:
>1.4 Ceramics
I guess you have heard of Jingdezhen, and Jingdezhen ceramics are very famous. Many families use ceramic cups, especially tea cups. The so-called “ceramic cup” is a shape made of clay, made of clay or other inorganic non-metallic raw materials, through molding, sintering and other processes, and finally dried and hardened to be insoluble in water.
The main concern when using ceramic cups is that the raw materials used in ceramics exceed the standard of heavy metal elements (lead and cadmium). Long-term intake of lead and cadmium will cause excessive heavy metals in the body, which is easy to cause abnormal reactions in important organs such as the liver, kidneys, and brain.
Drinking water from a ceramic cup is also healthier, without some synthetic organic chemicals. It is recommended that we all go to some more reputable ceramic cup markets (or brand stores) to buy healthier ceramic water cups, which is also a good guarantee for our health.
Ceramic cups are indeed very beautiful
>1.5 Enamel
I guess many people have forgotten what enamel is. Have we used enamel cups? Look at the picture below to know.
Enamel cups are made by coating a layer of ceramic glaze on the surface of metal cups and firing at high temperature. Enameling the metal surface with ceramic glaze can prevent the metal from being oxidized and rusted, and can resist the erosion of various liquids. This kind of enamel cup is basically used by our parents, but it is basically gone now. Those who have seen it know that the metal inside the cup will rust after the ceramic glaze on the outside falls off.
Enamel cups are made after high-temperature enameling at thousands of degrees Celsius. They do not contain harmful substances such as lead and can be used with confidence. However, the metal in the cup may dissolve in an acidic environment, and as mentioned above, the surface damage will also precipitate harmful substances. If used, it is best not to use enamel cups to hold acidic drinks for a long time.
>1.6 Paper cups
Nowadays, we use disposable paper cups a lot. Whether in restaurants, visitor rooms, or at home, we can see paper cups. Paper cups give us a sense of convenience and hygiene because they are disposable. However, it is difficult to judge whether disposable paper cups are clean and hygienic. Some inferior paper cups contain a large amount of fluorescent brighteners, which can cause cell mutations and become a potential carcinogenic factor after entering the human body.
Common paper cups are divided into wax-coated cups and polyethylene-coated cups (PE coating).
The purpose of wax coating is to prevent water leakage. Because wax will melt when it encounters hot water, wax-coated cups are generally only used as cold drink cups. Since wax will melt, will it be poisoned if you drink it? You can rest assured that even if you accidentally drink the melted wax from the wax cup, you will not be poisoned. Qualified paper cups use food-grade paraffin, which will not cause harm to the body. However, there are basically no waxed paper cups now. The useful ones are basically to add a layer of emulsion outside the wax cup to make it a straight-walled double-layer cup. The double-layer cup has good heat insulation and can be used as a hot drink cup and ice cream cup.
Polyethylene coated paper cups are now more commonly used in the market. Polyethylene coated cups are a relatively new process. This type of cup will be coated with a layer of polyethylene (PE) plastic coating on the surface during manufacturing, which is equivalent to covering the surface of the paper cup with a layer of plastic film.
What is polyethylene? Is it safe?
Polyethylene is resistant to high temperatures, has high purity, and does not contain any chemical additives, especially plasticizers, bisphenol A and other substances. Therefore, polyethylene coated disposable paper cups can be used for cold and hot drinks, and are relatively safe. When we choose, we should look at the material of the cup, such as the following parameter description:
Parameter description of a certain brand of paper cup
>1.7 Wooden cup
Pure wooden cups are easy to leak when filled with water, and generally need to be coated with edible grade wood wax oil or lacquer to achieve heat resistance, acid resistance and waterproofness. Edible grade wood wax oil contains natural beeswax, linseed oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, etc., does not contain chemical raw materials, and is green and environmentally friendly.
Wooden cups are rarely used, and it is common to have some wooden cups for drinking tea at home.
It is relatively rare to use it. Perhaps the use of raw wood materials destroys the ecology, and the cost of making a large-capacity wooden water cup is also very high.
2. Clarify what your needs are?
You can choose your own water cup according to the following perspectives.
[Family daily use]
Don’t consider the inconvenience of taking it out, glass cups are recommended.
[Sports and personal use]
It is best to use plastic material, which is resistant to falling.
[Business trip and personal use]
You can put it in your bag or in the car when you are on a business trip. If you need to keep warm, you can choose stainless steel.
[For office use]
It is convenient and similar to home use. It is recommended to choose a glass water cup.
3. What are the precautions when buying a water cup?
1. From the perspective of health and safety, it is recommended to choose a glass cup first. Glass cups do not contain organic chemicals and are easy to clean.
2. When buying a water cup, go to a large supermarket or buy a brand water cup online. Read the product description and introduction more. Don’t be greedy for cheapness and don’t buy three-no products.
3. Don’t buy plastic cups with strong pungent odors.
4. It is recommended not to buy plastic cups made of PC.
5. When buying ceramic cups, pay more attention to the smoothness of the glaze. Don’t buy bright, inferior, heavy glaze and rich color cups.
6. Don’t buy stainless steel cups that have rusted. It is best to buy 304 or 316 stainless steel cups.
7. When buying an enamel cup, observe whether the cup wall and the cup edge are damaged. If there are damages, do not buy them.
8. Single-layer glass cups are hot. It is best to choose double-layer or thicker cups.
9. Some cups are prone to leaking at the lids, so check whether there are sealing rings.
Post time: Sep-18-2024