That Small “Chip” Under Your IKEA Mug Is There on Purpose
You fill it with coffee, rinse it, and put it back in the cupboard. Turn over certain IKEA mugs, though, and you’ll find a small notch interrupting the raised ring beneath the base. It can look like a piece has chipped off, especially if you have never noticed it before. That gap has a purpose, and it addresses a familiar annoyance when unloading the dishwasher.
A Reddit post comparing two mugs draws attention to the difference: one has a cutout in its base ring that gives water a route out. IKEA confirms the drainage feature in its product descriptions.
What the notch does
When a mug sits upside down in the dishwasher, its recessed underside faces upward. Water can collect inside the raised ring, leaving a small puddle even after the wash cycle ends.
The notch breaks that ring and provides an escape route. IKEA calls these openings drainage gates and explains that they carry away water that might otherwise accumulate beneath an inverted mug.
Instead of forming an enclosed basin, the base has an outlet.
Why the mug’s position matters
A drainage notch gives water somewhere to go; its position still affects whether water reaches it. On a tilted mug, placing the opening toward the lower side gives collected water a downhill path.
That does not make the mug immune to droplets or guarantee a dry base. It explains how the cutout can reduce the puddle that spills onto your hand—or the dishes below—when you lift the mug from the rack.
Which IKEA mugs have it
The feature appears on several designs, including certain STRIMMIG, VÄRDERA, and FÄRGRIK mugs. IKEA describes drainage gates on product pages for those models, though you should check the mug itself rather than assume every IKEA cup has them.
Look at the raised foot ring underneath. The drainage opening interrupts that ring rather than passing through the part that holds your drink.
A designed notch is different from damage
The title refers to the intended cutout, not every missing piece of ceramic. A mug can still develop a real chip or crack, so compare an unfamiliar mark with the product photographs before treating it as a design feature.
On a mug made with a drainage gate, that small gap belongs there. The detail that looks like damage helps solve the puddle left behind after washing.