Ratatouille, curry soup, spaghetti with ketchup, carrot puree, tomato sauce… These are all dishes that our plastic containers fear! In fact, the pigments from spices or tomatoes will become embedded in the plastic and make it impossible to clean. Of course, the obvious solution is to opt as quickly as possible for more ecological and durable glass containers or jars. These do not fear stains or washing! However, if you don’t want to part with your collection of plastic containers stained with tomato sauce, you can clean them. How to remove stains? As usual, we offer you natural grandmother’s tips without an ounce of toxic chemicals (bleach, etc.)
1) Basic tips for avoiding tomato sauce stains on a plastic box and for cleaning them
The most valuable advice is not to never slip hot staining foods in the plastic box and never heat everything in the microwave (even if it can theoretically go in this oven)! With heat, stains tend to embed more easily in the pores of the plastic which expand under high temperatures. For this same reason, it is always necessary wash your boxes with cold water. Heat fixes stains and this is as true for a blood stain on fabric as it is for tomato paste or carrots. For your boxes, you can try a very cool cleaning with a splash of fine sugar, a few ice cubes, a glass of water and dishwashing liquid. Close the box, shake, leave for a few minutes and put everything in the dishwasher (or washing machine). It will be like new!
Finally, stains often appear when the box is worn and worn, when erosion reaches the upper layer of the plastic. In fact, avoid too vigorous maintenance with a scratchy sponge or anything tool that can leave micro-scratches. Stains and bacteria love to crawl in and it becomes impossible to clean!
2) Nature to the rescue to remove tomato sauce stains
To clean stains on linen and plastic, nothing beats… the sun! To do this, clean your boxes thoroughly (use the solutions given below). Then expose them to the sun for a few hours to benefit from this whitening effect. Furthermore, this will also deodorize the inside of boxes. The sunniest spot on the kitchen counter or a windowsill should do the trick. However, be careful that your boxes do not fly away!
3) Detach the oil cans
For carrot stains, oil is a very effective stain removal product that will outperform all other household products! It’s also excellent for removing bibs stained with carrot puree. It can also help loosen tomato stains in some cases. To do this, soak an absorbent paper with oil and rub the stains for a long time. This should be enough to remove encrusted pigments.
4) Bicarbonate to deodorize and remove stain
Baking soda has a deodorizing effect and allows you to remove stubborn food molecules. You can use it in several ways. First, if the box is not too dirty, bathe it in one liter of lukewarm water with 4 tablespoons of this powder. After 30 minutes, the tomato sauce stains should be gone. You will then just have to clean your box with soapy water (dishwashing liquid, Marseille soap, etc.). Otherwise, a water/bicarbonate paste to leave on will have a gentle abrasive action to remove the orange marks. Last idea: fill the box with a little water and baking soda mixed. Then put everything to freeze. By removing the ice, you will also remove the stains.
5) Lemon against tomato sauce stains
Lemon juice is one of the best natural ingredients for degrease, disinfect and deodorize while removing stains. To do this, rub the stained walls with lemon. Above all, don’t hesitate to squeeze it a little to get more juice. Then slide the whole thing in the sunleave to act for a few hours. This magical combo will do the cleaning for you! Furthermore, you can also combine sodium bicarbonate and lemon. Sprinkle with bicarbonate then rub with the lemon pulp. The chemical reaction will help remove the reddish marks. Rub a little with a sponge and leave to act overnight before cleaning.
Good to know: What about white vinegar?
It won’t necessarily clean these types of stains, but there’s nothing to lose by trying. However, be aware that it will have a very effective effect against hard water and limescale stains on your boxes. Don’t hesitate to rub it on the white marks that appear after a trip to the dishwasher!