Be it our school or office, we all look forward to our lunchtime. It is the only time when we all sit together and converse over food. We pack healthy and delicious lunches in our tiffin boxes. There are plenty of colourful lunch boxes in our market these days. Besides storing food, they turn out to be cool and boost your style quotient too.
However, sometimes the lunch boxes may turn out to be an embarrassment at your desk. These lunch boxes can turn out to be smelly and contain the stain of the previous meal that doesn’t wash away, no matter how hard you try. The bitter truth about plastic containers is that they require some maintenance. Do not worry; we bring you some homely kitchen tips that will help you get rid of smells and stains.
Check out the 7 tips and tricks below:
- Keep The Tiffin Boxes Open
Many people keep the tiffin boxes closed after use. This may not remove the smell immediately. Put the boxes upside down to drain out the water in a designated area. Make it a habit to keep the lunch boxes open as soon as you reach home to avoid bacterial development inside.
- Put The Lunch Boxes In The Refrigerator
Even though your lunch box is neat, the smell persists when you open it and keep it in the refrigerator. The cold temperature helps eliminate strong odours. Leave the tiffin boxes in the fridge for almost three to four hours, or overnight.
- Use Raw Potatoes
Raw potatoes are not only useful for eating but also help with cleaning. Potatoes contain oxalic acids, which help remove the stains from tiffin boxes. Potatoes also remove the pungent smell from the boxes. Cut the potato into halves and coat the pieces with salt. Now rub the potato inside the box and leave it for 15–20 minutes. Rinse the box with dishwashing soap and water.
- Use Cinnamon
The antibacterial properties of cinnamon will help you get rid of the pungent smell from the lunch boxes. Cinnamon reduces the growth of bad bacteria in the tiffin boxes. To do this, put some water and cinnamon sticks in a vessel to boil. Put this water in the tiffin box and leave it for 10–15 minutes. Wash them with warm water and rinse well.
- Use Lemon Peels
After extracting the juice from the lemon, we often throw away the peel. However, little do we know that these lemon peels act as cleansing agents. The citric acid present in the lemon peels not only cleans the stains but also removes the smell. Boil some fresh lemon peels in water, put this water in the tiffin box, and leave it for 30 minutes. Clean the tiffin box with water.
- Use White Vinegar
Containing acetic acid, white vinegar helps eliminate odours by killing the bacteria that cause bad smell. Mix equal parts of water and white vinegar and put the solution in the tiffin box. Let it sit for a few hours or overnight, then rinse thoroughly with water.
- Use Baking Soda
As we all know, acids can be neutralised by bases. Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a base. It reacts with butyric acid to form sodium butyrate, which has no smell because it is not volatile. Thus, baking soda absorbs the smell from the tiffin boxes. Combine 1 tablespoon of baking soda with water and make a thick paste. Apply it to the boxes and leave it for 10–15 minutes. Wash and dry it afterward.