Did you know that the average temperature inside a dishwasher on a standard cycle is between 130 to 140 degrees fahrenheit? And that cycle can last two or more hours. Which means that if you run your reusable water bottle through the dishwasher and you have a low quality sticker on it, that sticker is going to disintegrate and possibly come off entirely and clog your dishwasher filter.
If you are going to apply stickers to your buy-it-for-life water bottle, brands such as Hydro Flask, Contigo, Nalgene, Stanley, etc. Then you need to use stickers specifically made to be durable and withstand the extreme heat of the dishwasher. You need thick vinyl water bottle stickers with a permanent adhesive backing and high gloss coating.
Reusable water bottles are expensive these days, good ones are upwards of $50 or more so if you’re going to invest that much in a water bottle and then personalize it with stickers don’t go cheap on the stickers. Here is why you need to use vinyl stickers instead of a coated paper sticker or some other lower quality synthetic
- Vinyl is one of, if not the most durable of the plastics. Vinyl is made up of two simple building blocks: chlorine based on common salt and ethylene from crude oil. The combination of these two ingredients creates a product that is not only versatile but also extremely tough. That’s why vinyl is often used in flooring and other products to construct things.
- Resistant to Heat and Cleaning Agents. There is some debate here but standard vinyl used for making stickers begins to melt above 220 degrees fahrenheit, well above a standard dishwasher cycle temperature. Vinyl is also resistant to cleaning agents which means that whatever dishwasher soap you use won’t cause any damage to your sticker.
- Gloss Finish. A high gloss UV coating finish will ensure that the colors of the design will stay vibrant for years. Standard UV finish will last for 5 to 7 years in direct sunlight. This means occasional exposure to UV rays will give your stickers a decade or more of life without color fading. Let’s face it, you’ll lose the bottle before the color fades from the sticker.
A good quality vinyl sticker material should be 5ml or more in thickness. Preferably 7 to 10ml. The thicker the vinyl is not only does it feel and look higher quality but the stronger and easier it is to apply. Thicker vinyl stickers will be easier to apply on a water bottle because of their rigidity and won’t double over on itself or allow air bubbles to form between the bottle and sticker back.
The shape and size of stickers have little to no effect on the durability, so go ahead and design a custom water bottle sticker in any special size or dimensions. Use your team logo, a motivational saying or even a photo and create a water bottle sticker that is special and unique to you and you only. Current printing technology has come a long way and you have the option to only order a few (as little as 1!) custom sticker.