Plastic food containers are one of the greatest inventions ever for keeping food fresh and ensuring you can eat leftovers for days. But for all their convenience, there’s the common issue of grease or oil residue getting stuck on the insides after use — for whatever reason, no amount of scrubbing or dishwasher runs (which you should never do anyway with plastic containers) seem to help.
Feeling ready to toss your dirty containers out? Don’t call it quits just yet — there’s a cleaning trick going viral on social media that’ll help save you stress and money. All you need is a paper towel, dish soap, warm water, and, of course, a greasy plastic container. Start by filling the dirty container in question with a few drops of dish soap and warm water, stopping at about a third of the way full. Then, take a paper tower and rip it into thirds. Add the paper towel pieces to the container and seal on the lid on nice and tight.
Here’s where things get fun; take the whole container and shake it as hard as you can, in all directions, for at least a minute. If you stop and it looks like the oil or grease streaks are still clinging, shake again until the sides look clear. You can also just dump, rinse, and repeat. Done right, all the grease and oil gets absorbed into the paper towel, leaving the container completely clean after you dump the contents and give it one last rinse with warm water.
More tips for cleaning food containers
Some kinds of grease, oil, and general food residue are just extra stubborn. If you’ve tried this cleaning trick to no avail, there are a few other methods to clean plastic containers worth trying. First things first though, be sure you’re using the right soap. Hand soap simply isn’t going to cut it with grease; a dish soap specifically designed to clean this kind of residue is always going to be best. Be sure to use warm water as well. Cold water will generally be ineffective against stains while overly hot or boiling water can warp the plastic.
If your container has been stained or otherwise dirty for a while, you could try letting it soak for an hour or even overnight with a mixture of baking soda and water. Then, rinse and try the paper towel and soap trick again. You could also try spraying the container down with diluted vinegar first and letting it sit — just be aware that the scent of vinegar can be powerful and isn’t always easily rinsed away.
It’s also important to try cleaning your dirty containers as soon as you’re done using them, rather than letting them sit in the sink untouched for hours or days. Still, no plastic food container lasts forever. If that layer of grease or stain just isn’t budging — or you notice any other signs like cracking or warping — it could be time to throw the container away and start anew.
