Don’t Put Carbonated Drinks in Your Shaker Bottle (Here’s Why)

Recently, Walmart had to recall nearly 1 million bottles due to injury. Why? A carbonated jump- scare: pssst - BLAM - geyser. Partly this comes down to poor design (clearly not a PROMIXX bottle) as well as basic physics. So let’s use this as an opportunity to discuss what happened, what went wrong, and what to do instead if you love your fizz.

Carbonated drinks are just water with dissolved carbon dioxide under pressure. That gas wants out and there are two things that make that happen fast:

Agitation knocks CO2 loose from the liquid. Gas forms bubbles, bubbles rise, more bubbles form. It's a basic chain reaction. The warmer the drink, the faster this happens.

Powder granules, seam lines, even tiny scratches in cheap bottles all act like “bubble birthplaces.” Pour carbonation over powder and you turbocharge foam and gas release.

Put those together in a sealed bottle and you’ve built a tiny pressure cooker. The flip cap clicks shut, pressure builds, and when you open it the gas escapes violently, taking your drink along for the ride.

Shaker bottles are made for mixing, not containing pressure.

• Flip caps and snap lids are convenience features, not pressure-rated stoppers.
• Threads and gaskets are designed to keep liquids from sloshing out, not to hold back expanding gas.
• Snap-fit agitators are perfect nucleation sites that encourage mixing.
• Many lids have a tiny vent path around the spout. Under pressure, that becomes a launch point.

• Geyser effect: open the cap and you lose a third of your drink to the ceiling.
• Lid blow-off: pressure can pop the cap or strip threads. And no one wants a flying flip-top lid to the face.
• Cracks and warping: repeated pressure cycles can fatigue cheap plastics and rubber seals.
• Hot-car hazard: gas pressure increases as temperature rises. A fizzy mix left in a warm car can swell, leak, or burst when opened.

Totally get it. If carbonation is non-negotiable, here are options that won’t turn your kitchen into a soda fountain.

Best practices (ranked from “safest” to “least risky”):

1. Use still water in the shaker; add fizz last in an open glass. Mix your powder thoroughly with flat water in the shaker, pour it into a cup, then top with soda/sparkling water gently. No lid, no pressure.
2. Stir, don’t shake. If you have to prepare in one vessel, use a wide-mouth cup or pitcher and stir slowly with a spoon. Keep it uncapped the whole time.
3. Make a paste first. Put a splash of still water with your powder to make a smooth paste. Then add the carbonated drink slowly, still uncapped, stirring as you go.
4. “Burp” mixing (for the stubborn): If you insist on using a shaker with carbonation (not recommended), add only a small amount, close the lid, shake once, open to vent, repeat. Keep your face away from the spout. Expect foam and be ready for spills.
5. Use a pressure-rated vessel (but don’t shake). Some bottles are designed to hold pressure (e.g., actual soda bottles or specialty growlers). You can swirl gently with the cap cracked to vent. Still: powders + pressure vessels = foam city. Proceed carefully.

But again, to reiterate, these are merely suggestions. We highly recommend you don’t use fizzy drinks or hot liquid in your shaker!

• Colder = calmer. Cold liquids hold CO2 better, so they fizz less violently. Warm carbonated drinks are primed to explode when agitated.
• Protein loves foam. Proteins stabilize bubbles (think meringue), so protein powders with carbonation create thick foam that traps gas and grows.
• Acid + bicarb combos fizz on purpose. Some pre-workouts and tablets (think effervescent electrolytes) are designed to release CO2 when they hit water. That’s built-in pressure. Keep them uncapped while they’re reacting.

That's a big no! If you insist on doing this, pour the energy drink into a reliable stainless-steel shaker with the lid off, then whisk in pre-workout powder slowly with a spoon.

Use still water in the shaker. If you want sparkle, pour the mixed BCAA into a cup and top with a splash of seltzer. You’ll barely lose fizz and keep your shirt clean.

Kombucha’s already lively. Stir collagen into a small amount of room-temp still water first, then blend into the kombucha in an open glass.

Let the tablet fully dissolve in an open container. Once it’s calm, sip as-is or pour into a bottle, but don’t shake after the reaction starts.

Carbonated sugary drinks foam and creep into lid crevices. If you accidentally build pressure then “volcano” your mix, residue gets everywhere: under seals, around threads, inside flip mechanisms. Rinse right away and occasionally remove components to clean so you don’t end up with mystery smells. (No, carbonation itself doesn’t make bottles smelly; sugar and time do.)

• Is it safe if I only “swirl a little”? Safer than shaking, yes, if the lid is open or cracked. Fully sealed, even gentle swirling can build pressure over a few minutes.
• What if I open the cap a tiny bit to vent? That helps but be ready for foam to surge out. Open slowly, point away from you, and do it over a sink.
• Can I let the soda go flat first? Absolutely. Ten minutes of sitting (or a quick stir in an open glass) makes a world of difference.
• Are any shaker bottles made for carbonation? Most aren’t. Unless the manufacturer explicitly says “pressure-rated,” assume no. Even then, powders still foam, so treat “pressure-rated” as spill protection, not a green light to shake carbonated mixes.

• Shaker bottles are mixers, not pressure vessels.
• Carbonation + powder + shaking = fast gas release, pressure build, and a likely mess or minor injury.
• If you love fizz, mix with still water first, and add carbonation later in an open container, or stir gently without sealing.

Save your shaker (and your shirt). Keep the bubbles out of the bottle, or at least out from under a closed lid. Follow these simple steps and you should be fine.