social

Separating Plastic Drinking Cups

April 28, 2005

Four stacks of plastic cups red, yellow, green, and blueI have a plastic cup stuck inside another plastic cup, and I have tried putting cold water as well as hot water in them, but cannot get them apart. I would appreciate and tps anyone has.

Advertisement



CarolynJ

Answers


Silver Post Medal for All Time! 364 Posts
April 28, 20050 found this helpful

I heard of a similar problem, but with a commode and a cup.
It was solved by placing ice cubes in the cup and when the cup shrank from the cold, it was removed from it's wedged location. I ought to add that at this point in time, it was in the backyard.

 
April 28, 20050 found this helpful

You might also try filling up a sink with water and putting the stuck cups under the water level for a minute. Sometimes if the water gets between the two, it separates. Even try the trick with the ice cubes before the water bath.
Another thing that might work is putting your thumb on one of the cups and your middle finger on the other. Push in alternate directions (even try that under water)

 
April 29, 20050 found this helpful

try getting a better grip with rubber/latex gloves with dry cups ....twist. Or hot water on outside cup..ice in the inside cup. good luck!

 
By geovanna (Guest Post)
June 8, 20070 found this helpful

Hello I'm a nanny and my boss stacked about 5 plastic cups inside each other and now they won't come off. We have tried hot water cold water, soap and nothing works... Any Ideas? Thanks Geovanna V.

 
By Fred (Guest Post)
December 2, 20070 found this helpful

Put the in the freezer overnight, then put them in your dryer with a blanket for s few min.

 
By Dawn James (Guest Post)
January 11, 20082 found this helpful

There is a simple solution fill the inside cup full of ice then wait a few minutes turn on the hot tap water and let the hot water run around the outside glass. Immediately and very easily the cups will come apart. Just a little science used there!

 
By (Guest Post)
May 16, 20081 found this helpful

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't say it enough times! It worked! Very easily! (The ice in the top cup and then fill up the sink and put the bottom of the outside cup in the hot water and voila!)

 
By Angela (Guest Post)
September 3, 20080 found this helpful

OMG! It worked! I am doing a happy dance right now because I have been trying and trying to separate these two cups all day. I think I even pulled a muscle trying to pry them apart! So happy!

 
By lunardeimos (Guest Post)
January 6, 20091 found this helpful

I did this with a plastic margarita shaker top. Used plastic wrap to prevent ice cube water from leaking from the lid into the top cup and ran hot water around top cup. Still had to use a flat head screwdriver to pry apart, but at least it worked! Thank you, science.

 
October 27, 20090 found this helpful

Gotta love the Internet:) Filled the top cup with ice water, dipped the bottom cup in boiling H20 that was on my stove top and wallah took all of ten seconds. Thank you for the knowledge of others, you make my life simpler.

 
October 28, 20110 found this helpful

Worked like a charm! My wife bought two nice cups for a great price, because they were stuck together. Took the advice from here, put ice and cold water in the cup, placed it in hot water and voila!

Advertisement

Thank you so much.

 
October 28, 20110 found this helpful

Worked like a charm! My wife bought two nice plastic cups for a great price, because they were stuck together. Took the advice from this thread, put ice and cold water in the cup, placed it in hot water, took it out, twisted it a bit and voila! Thank you so much.

 
February 18, 20130 found this helpful

Gonna try this right now, so happy I decided to google this. Only wish I'd check the web sooner.

 
January 14, 20140 found this helpful

Finally, a solution! I have had a set of 4 plastic condiment cups stuck together for months. I was going to toss them in the trash.

Advertisement

The ice in the first and the quick soak in hot water separated them immediately!

 
December 24, 20140 found this helpful

Tried the cold water and hot water and it did not do so I ran hot water into the bottom glass and took a pointed knife, and gentley pried between the two for about a 1/4 inch and it worked great.

 
Anonymous
January 6, 20160 found this helpful

Worked like a charm....except I didn't run hot water on the outside plastic glass....I ran hot water into the sink and placed the glasses standing up in the water water for a few seconds and they happily released from each other.

 
Anonymous
April 21, 20160 found this helpful

Two plastic bowls stuck together. No ice. But I did have a bag of frozen peas in the freezer. I put the bag of peas in the inside bowl for a few minutes, then upended the bowls and ran hot tap water over the outside bowl.

Advertisement

Voila! The inside bowl dropped right out!

 
April 21, 20160 found this helpful

Two plastic bowls stuck together. No ice. But I did have a bag of frozen peas in the freezer. I put the bag of peas in the inside bowl for a few minutes, then upended the bowls and ran hot tap water over the outside bowl. Voila! The inside bowl dropped right out!

 
Anonymous
May 5, 20160 found this helpful

Worked n 30 secs .thank you so much .

 
Anonymous
May 15, 20160 found this helpful

I filled the top cup with ice left in it in the freezer for 5 min and then placed the cups in hot water for a few seconds, then twist came right apart.

 
May 15, 20160 found this helpful

It worked ice in the cup and hot water in a larger cup for a few seconds, then a twist they came apart.

 
July 25, 20160 found this helpful

I tried the ice and hot water but it didnt work, this was much faster! I put WD-40 around the bottom stuck cup and it pulled right apart.
Angela

 
September 26, 20160 found this helpful

I bought 4 Tupperware cups at a tag sale. I didn't realize they were stuck. Tried the ice water on top and hot water on the bottom. Didn't work with four.

Advertisement


BUT then I did the freezer then dryer trick. First two separated, put the last two cups back in the freezer, dryer again and worked like magic! Thx

 
December 9, 20160 found this helpful

I just hairdryed the outer cup for 30 seconds ensuring the air didnt go in the inner cup and pulled quite easily. Saved faffing around with ice cubes!

 
December 21, 20160 found this helpful

TaDa! my cups were Melamine. had to put them in the freezer overnight then set them in a bowl of very hot water. A minute later, they were free!

 
September 16, 20190 found this helpful

i tried this and it did not work for me...anymore solutions? i would appreciate it if u post something that i can see so i can get these cups apart! thank u...

 
Answer this Question

2 More Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

July 27, 2009

How do you pull apart two plastic tumblers, that are stuck together?

By MARY from Leominister, MA

Answers


Diamond Feedback Medal for All Time! 1,394 Feedbacks
July 31, 20090 found this helpful
Best Answer

If there's any gap between the two tumbler lips, trickle warm water into that area. The water may act as a buffer and lubricant. Wiggle the two tumblers in opposing directions.

Advertisement

You could also submerge the two tumblers in warm water (dishwater worked for me,) and try this same technique.

 
Answer this Question

Archives

ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.

July 27, 2009

How do you separate plastic restaurant cups? They were washed and stacked together now they won't come apart.

 
Read More...
<< First< Previous
Categories
Home and Garden Repair Other DishesJuly 19, 2016
Pages
More
👒
Mother's Day Ideas!
🐰
Easter Ideas!
🌻
Gardening
Facebook
Pinterest
YouTube
Instagram
Categories
Better LivingBudget & FinanceBusiness and LegalComputersConsumer AdviceCoronavirusCraftsEducationEntertainmentFood and RecipesHealth & BeautyHolidays and PartiesHome and GardenMake Your OwnOrganizingParentingPetsPhotosTravel and RecreationWeddings
Published by ThriftyFun.
Desktop Page | View Mobile
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
Generated 2024-03-28 02:07:59 in 9 secs. ⛅️️
© 1997-2024 by Cumuli, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.thriftyfun.com/tf743818.tip.html