How to clean a straw cup!

Do you have a straw cup? I LOVE mine UNTIL it's time to clean the straw, lol. I drink protein shakes out of it most of the time. I try to rinse it right away so nothing sticks to the inside but sometimes in all the busyness, it sits on the counter for a few hours. Then that sucker is hard to clean and doesn't clean well even after going through the dishwasher. Ewwwww! So one day I spied some chenille pipe cleaners left over from a party and decided that would be the perfect straw cleaner! Now my sink drawer is never without one! After I am finished I wash the pipe cleaner, let it dry and reuse it again and again! The pipe cleaners work well with straw sippy cups too.