This GENIUS Reusable Straw Slides Apart So You Can Actually Clean the Inside!

With many families making the move to trade in disposable straws for reusable ones, we haven't found a reliable method of cleaning them — pipe cleaners just don't get all of the gunk. Yet, with single-use plastics contributing to 40 percent of ocean pollution, what's the alternative? It might just be the newly launched Rain Straw, which, as of today, has met over 300 percent of its Kickstarter fundraising goal.

The Rain Straw is a sliding reusable straw that functions like a normal straw when using it to drink, but slides open for easy and complete cleaning. Traditional methods of cleaning reusable straws just don't cut it. "When my business partner first told me about this idea last year, I went straight home and pulled out my kids' reusable straws from the drawer," CEO Sean Watkins told POPSUGAR. "I took one look inside the straw and saw crusty dried up smoothie residue on the inside walls. I then asked my wife if she had actually washed the straw, and when she told me she had, I still didn't believe her. So I went ahead and put the straw in the dishwasher myself and ran another cycle. After a full cycle it still came out looking the exact same: green crusty smoothie."

It's intended for use by the entire family, and if you pledge $15 now, you can reserve five straws, which will deliver late this Summer.