Get Plastic Containers Clean with No Soapy Leftovers

After using most plastic containers for food storage, if the food has any grease content at all, after scrubbing with soap and rinsing rigorously, an odor and taste of soap still remains. Don't worry, there is hope.

Steps

  1. Rinse plastic containers with the hottest water you have from the tap to remove debris and float away any solubles.
  2. If there is time and space, invert pieces in the sink to allow as much water as possible to drain away.
  3. Wipe vigorously with paper towels or any disposable, absorbent, clean material (see tips below) to absorb as much of the grease as possible - it's best if this can be done until it is almost literally all gone, and it is easier than it sounds!
  4. Wash with your usual warm water and dish detergent or place in your dishwasher if that is your routine.
  5. If you removed the grease sufficiently before using detergent, your container should dry in a very clean condition, not slick at all, and be about as free of any lingering aftertaste as it will ever be!

Tips

  • Repeated folds and/or passes over a greasy surface are more effective than the use of pressure or force or continued rubbing with a saturated wiper.
  • Even the hand-washing type dish detergents that claim to have the most powerful degreasing abilities seem to have a reduced effectiveness at removing grease from plasticware.
  • It is actually quite amazing how much grease an ordinary paper towel can absorb and remove!
  • Certain dish detergents seem to leave behind more odor and taste (on plastics) after use than others; It seems the one that is the very strongest is the 'Dawn' brand in any fragrance they make, and the least likely to leave an odor or taste seems to be the old-fashioned 'Octagon' brand in either of its fragrances.
  • If you are so motivated, you could do some rather extreme in-house recycling to promote this sort of cleaning by holding on to semi-used paper towels and any absorbent paper goods that are barely used and essentially clean in a basket - like under the sink where they are near to hand for cleaning! (Tissue type paper is not recommended.)

Warnings

  • Grease-laden paper towels make fine fire starters, so if you don't want a kitchen fire, keep them away from sources of combustion like the stove, hot oven vents, or for some, the ever-present ash-tray!
  • Should you find this side effect desirable, say for starting the fire in your wood-burning cook stove, use care as an igniting greasy paper towel can produce quite a 'WOOF' of ignition and can easily singe a person's hair!

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