Why Is My Yeti Cup Sweating?

Yeti cups are meant to hold cold drinks for 24+ hours and apparently they aren't meant to sweat, but I've noticed some sweating on mine around the top and so have other people.

So I wanted to work out why is my Yeti cup sweating and what should I do if it is?

I ran some of my own experiments testing ice cold water in glass, plastic and single walled stainless steel cups as well as testing my Yeti cup and an RTIC cup. I also did some research into this and here's what I found:

While some minor sweating near the top of a Yeti cup is normal if your Yeti cup is sweating all over then chances are the vacuum insulation has lost its seal and is broken. This is covered under Yeti's 5-Year warranty and they will replace it for you.

In this article we'll look through the couple of different reasons why your Yeti cup might be sweating.

We'll also show you how to check whether or not your vacuum insulation is compromised or broken and what you should do if your cup is broken and needs to be replaced.

Reasons Your Yeti Tumbler Cup is Sweating

There are a few possible reasons your Yeti tumbler cup may be sweating.

Loss of Vacuum Insulation

The main cause of your Yeti tumbler cup or bottle sweating is a loss of the vacuum sealed insulation.

Yeti cups are made of an inner and outer wall of stainless steel. In between the inner and outer wall is a vacuum.

The vacuum is actually what gives your cup it's amazing insulating properties.

Sometimes the vacuum seal can break and air can fill up the cavity. Air can transfer heat much easier than a vacuum and so if this happens then heat (or cold) can move from the inside of your Yeti to the outside.

When you have cold water inside your Yeti and the vacuum seal is broken the outside stainless steel will become cold to touch.

This cold stainless steel causes moisture in the air to condense into water droplets and that's what we call “sweating”.

So if your entire cup is sweating all over then your vacuum insulation is broken and you should get in contact with Yeti for a replacement under warranty.

Sweating Around The Rim Is Normal

The neck of your Yeti bottle or cup is where the inner and outer walls meet and also the area with the least vacuum insulation.

This means that heat and cold can more easily pass through this section and the iced cold drink inside your Yeti can cool the outside part of the metal.

The cool metal then condenses the warm outside air and water droplets form on your bottle or cup.

This Reddit user had issues with the neck of their Yeti sweating and contacted Yeti about it and here's what they said:

So I contacted yeti and condensation or “sweating” around the neck area is normal. The neck is the thinnest part of the bottle and is not part of the double walled and vacuum sealed portion. If the sweating was occurring around the body or anywhere below the neck, then that would indicate a vacuum seal issue and would be covered under the 5 year warranty! So you’ve got yourself an “A-OK” Rambler!

I also found this to be the case on other brands also. In my article on do Hydro Flasks sweat I also discovered that they have a tendency to sweat towards the top of the bottle just like the Yeti.

Been In The Fridge/Freezer

If you've placed your Yeti cup or bottle in the fridge or freezer then the outside stainless steel will become cold.

When you take it out of the freezer the cold stainless steel can start to sweat in the warmer and moister outside air.

However, this sweating will happen initially but once the stainless steel warms up to room temperature it won't happen anymore.

See the latest price of Yeti cups at Yeti.com

Why Do Regular Cups Sweat?

Regular cups sweat because of condensation. You likely learned about this in school but totally fine if you’ve forgotten how this works (I did) so let me explain it.

Warm air (whether it be outside or inside) is full of water in the form of gas. When that gas comes in contact with a cold bottle or cup or any surface it turns from gas into a liquid and sticks to your cup.

It’s like your cup is acting as a mini-fridge and turning the warm gas H2O into cold liquid H20.

Without a double wall or any insulation the outside of any regular bottles will always decrease in temperature when filled with a cold beverage, thus causing condensation to happen.

How To Test If Your Yeti Cup Has Lost It's Insulation

Before getting in contact with Yeti you might first want to test whether or not your cup has lost its insulation or if something else is happening to make it sweat.

There are a few simple ways to test whether or not your Yeti cup's insulation is broken

Fill it with boiling water

Boil some water and pour it into your Yeti cup and leave it for 2-5 minutes.

Now check the temperature of the OUTSIDE of your Yeti cup. Is it warm or hot to touch?

If so your insulation is likely broken. If it still feels room temperature to touch then your insulation is still probably working just fine.

See if it floats

Yeti cups actually sink when they are completely filled with water. This is because the vacuum insulation isn't buoyant.

However, if your insulation seal has broken then the inside of your Yeti cup will have filled up with air and will now float.

Fill up a sink or a bath and submerge your Yeti cup in it, making sure to remove all air from inside the cup. Then let go and see if it sinks or floats.

Test against other Yetis or insulated cups/bottles

You can also test the performance of your Yeti against other insulated cups or bottles and see if they perform significantly worse or not.

What Should I Do If My Yeti Tumbler Cup Is Sweating?

If your Yeti tumbler cup is sweating you should first check whether or not the vacuum sealed insulation has been compromised.

Use one of the tests outlined above to check whether or not it has been.

If you can see that yes, the cup is no longer insulating properly and this is why the cup is sweating then you'll want to get in contact with Yeti in order to arrange a replacement cup to be sent out to you.

If your cup is outside of Yeti's 5-year warranty period then sadly there isn't much you can do either than buy a new cup.

See the latest price of Yeti cups at Yeti.com

Is Sweating Covered Under Yeti's Warranty?

Yeti 5 Year Warranty

Yeti cups and bottles all come with a 5-year warranty which you can read about on Yeti's warranty page.

While “sweating” is not covered under the warranty loss of insulation through normal use is covered and Yeti should replace the product for free.

In order to get your damaged Yeti cup replaced you'll have to:

  • Have purchased from a YETI authorized dealer
  • Have proof of purchase
  • Ship the product back to YETI
  • Have only used the product as intended and followed the product's care instructions

But assuming you still have your proof of purchase you should be fine.