<p>As long as it's only the cup handle you glued, and the epoxy cured completely hard (no stickiness left), epoxy is very safe.</p>
<p>However, if you glued the actual cup and beverages come into contact with the epoxy, I wouldn't consider it &quot;food safe&quot; unless the packaging explicitly says so. It's true that epoxy, once cured, is chemically extremely stable and usually doesn't give off any harmful chemicals. But it's still remarkably porous and liquids can seep into the cured epoxy and seep out again into your next cup of tea. Many people experienced this porous property of their very expensive epoxy kitchen counter tops when they got mustard or ketchup stains that seeped into the epoxy and won't come off anymore.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-12-17T20:44:58.100Z
Thanks! The epoxy is completely outside of the area of contact with the liquid, so it should be fine. I'll be careful with it though!
martinarroyo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-12-09T07:06:46.740Z
2024-12-09T07:06:46.740Z
Elmy
<p>My biggest worry is that if the glue joint isn't very good, you'll get a lapful of hot coffee, and that hurts.</p>
<p>The components of epoxy are a bit toxic, but the chemical reaction renders it much safer; many epoxies are even ok for food contact once fully cured</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-12-10T08:34:57.493Z
I agree. Epoxy invariably degrades with heat, and ceramics are notoriously difficult to glue because they distort slightly when breaking with the result that they can rarely be abutted perfectly.
Mark Morgan Lloyd
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-12-17T20:45:23.377Z
Thanks for the comments. I'll be careful not to put hot beverages in!
martinarroyo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-12-08T18:50:01.850Z
2024-12-08T18:50:01.850Z
Chris H
<p>I glued some ceramic cup holders that were delivered broken using <a href="https://www.uhu.com/de-de/produkte/uhu-plus-schnellfest-binder-harter-blister-35" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Uhu epoxy glue</a>. This glue is supposed to be good for temperatures of up to 100º C, but I wonder about the safety concerns if I use these cups to drink from them (even when excluding hot beverages). I was not able to find any details in this regard on the safety sheets, so any help is appreciated. The glue was applied only to the holder (no internal surface) and I dropped some residue near the points of contact.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-12-13T19:14:45.777Z
"waterproof" doesn't always mean submersible, so bear in mind soaking or using a dishwasher might directly degrade the bond; also, ceramic is porous so moisture wicked from e.g. unglazed areas on the bottom of the mug might undermine the bond.
Yorik
<adhesives><ceramics>
Is it safe to use Uhu 2-part epoxy glue to fix a broken cup handle?
martinarroyo
# Is it safe to use Uhu 2-part epoxy glue to fix a broken cup handle?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-12-08)

I glued some ceramic cup holders that were delivered broken using [Uhu epoxy glue](https://www.uhu.com/de-de/produkte/uhu-plus-schnellfest-binder-harter-blister-35). This glue is supposed to be good for temperatures of up to 100º C, but I wonder about the safety concerns if I use these cups to drink from them (even when excluding hot beverages). I was not able to find any details in this regard on the safety sheets, so any help is appreciated. The glue was applied only to the holder (no internal surface) and I dropped some residue near the points of contact.

Thanks!

**Tags:** adhesives, ceramics

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: "waterproof" doesn't always mean submersible, so bear in mind soaking or using a dishwasher might directly degrade the bond; also, ceramic is porous so moisture wicked from e.g. unglazed areas on the bottom of the mug might undermine the bond.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2024-12-08. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

My biggest worry is that if the glue joint isn't very good, you'll get a lapful of hot coffee, and that hurts.

The components of epoxy are a bit toxic, but the chemical reaction renders it much safer; many epoxies are even ok for food contact once fully cured

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: I agree. Epoxy invariably degrades with heat, and ceramics are notoriously difficult to glue because they distort slightly when breaking with the result that they can rarely be abutted perfectly.  
> **username_0**: Thanks for the comments. I'll be careful not to put hot beverages in!  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2024-12-09. Score: 6

As long as it's only the cup handle you glued, and the epoxy cured completely hard (no stickiness left), epoxy is very safe.

However, if you glued the actual cup and beverages come into contact with the epoxy, I wouldn't consider it "food safe" unless the packaging explicitly says so. It's true that epoxy, once cured, is chemically extremely stable and usually doesn't give off any harmful chemicals. But it's still remarkably porous and liquids can seep into the cured epoxy and seep out again into your next cup of tea. Many people experienced this porous property of their very expensive epoxy kitchen counter tops when they got mustard or ketchup stains that seeped into the epoxy and won't come off anymore.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks! The epoxy is completely outside of the area of contact with the liquid, so it should be fine. I'll be careful with it though!  

---

