This is the question we get asked more than any other, and the internet answers it badly. You will find people insisting printed vases leak, and people insisting they are perfectly watertight. Both are right, because they are describing different vases.
Why some printed vases leak and others do not
A printed object is built from stacked layers. Where those layers meet, there can be microscopic gaps. On a standard print with a solid wall and infill, water finds those gaps over a few hours and starts to weep through – not a dramatic leak, more a slow damp ring that appears under the base overnight.
Vases printed in what is called vase mode are different. The nozzle travels in one continuous spiral from the base to the rim, so there is no seam between adjacent wall segments, only the bonded joint between layers. Done at the right temperature the wall behaves like a single piece of plastic. Our Twisted Vasemode Planter is the obvious example – the name is literal.
How to tell which one you have
Run a fingernail up the outside wall. A single-wall spiral print has an even, fine ribbing all the way up with no vertical seam line. A conventional print usually has a faint vertical scar where each layer started and ended. If you can see that line, assume it will seep eventually.
The practical approach we recommend
Use a liner. Not because printed vases are fragile, but because it removes the question entirely and makes the vase easier to clean. A cheap glass test tube, a jam jar, or a cut-down plastic bottle sits inside and holds the water. The printed piece does the job it is actually good at, which is looking like something worth having on a table.
For dried arrangements and stems, none of this matters – and honestly, dried stems suit the sculptural shapes better anyway. The Strata Vase and the Fairy Garden Sculpture Vase both read better with pampas or eucalyptus than with cut flowers.
What about hot water?
Do not. Standard printing materials soften well below boiling, and hot water is the fastest way to warp a piece that would otherwise last a decade. Cold or room-temperature water only, and keep the vase out of a dishwasher – hand wash with mild soap and it will be fine.
If you want one that definitely holds water
Ask us before you order. We print to order, so if you tell us a piece is going to hold water directly we can print it in vase mode or add a sealed inner wall where the design allows it. It costs nothing extra to ask, and it is a much better outcome than finding out on your sideboard. Send us a message or start with the vases category.
More on materials: PLA vs PETG vs ASA, and how to care for printed pieces.
