Try This Natural Method For Removing Stains From Your Food Storage Containers

Whipping up tomato sauce or a curry-based dinner can be a delight until you put leftovers in a food storage container and realize it stained them or left behind a stinky smell. You might think that a good soak can do the trick to remove the orange stains, but that often isn't the case. However, without purchasing expensive cleaners, you may be able to get your storage containers back in tip-top shape by relying on the sun for stain removal.

One way to avoid stains from adhering to food containers is to use glass containers. Not only will they not stain no matter what food you put inside of them but they are also BPA-free. You can also reheat leftovers at will using glass. Still, many of us have plastic food storage containers and will have to deal with stains. Of course, it's always better to prevent problems from occurring rather than try to solve them after they do. In this case, you can offset orange-stained containers by spraying a bit of oil into the containers before you add the food. The oil protects the container from absorbing the color of the food by adding a layer of oil between the food and the plastic.

Once you realize your food storage containers are stained, you should wash them as soon as you can and try to remove the food residue and oil that may have seeped into the plastic. It also requires quite a bit of soap and elbow grease. Wash them in hot, sudsy water with a sponge or microfiber cloth. If the stains haven't budged try washing them again or run them through a dishwasher cycle.

Next, it's time to let nature take its course. Many of us know the clothes drying secret of allowing whites to air dry on a clothesline to brighten them. That's because the UV rays from the sun naturally bleach stains. You can use this same method to help lift stains from plastic containers. After you've washed the containers thoroughly, lay them out on a tea towel or in your dish rack and place them in the sun. The sun's rays will do their magic but it will take some time. Leave the containers in the sunlight for at least eight hours. After the time is up, simply rinse them again and let them air dry.