Banish Lingering Odors From Plastic Containers With One Simple Trick

On nights when you make too much pasta sauce or bring home leftover curry, plastic storage containers are your best friend. So long as you avoid microwaving them, plastic containers like Tupperware are an ideal way to keep even the most liquified leftovers stored safely and compactly. After you've eaten their aromatic contents and it's time to clean them, however, they might suddenly feel more like foe than friend.

That's because, since plastic materials are somewhat porous, they tend to absorb colors and odors, leading to tough-to-remove stains and unpleasant, lingering smells. If you're struggling to get the scent of garlic or herbs out of your containers with just soap and water, don't chuck them in the trash just yet. There's a simple storage hack that will neutralize odors overnight — all you have to do is put crumpled-up newspaper inside the container and securely close the lid.

Newspaper is an incredibly effective odor absorbent because of its porous structure and the carbon in its ink, which bonds with the olfactory organic compounds that make up what we know as smells. Crumpling the paper increases its surface area and thus its power to absorb odors. This trick isn't limited to plastic food containers, either. Crumpled newspaper is known to remove unwanted smells from refrigerators and even stinky shoes. So, if you have a physical newspaper subscription or can easily access old copies of one, you may never have to deal with lingering household odors again.

For some of us, finding a regular supply of old newspapers might turn this simple hack into too big a challenge. In those cases, there are a number of other tricks to try to keep your plastic containers smelling fresh and avoid food storage mistakes. "Activated" charcoal is another form of nearly pure carbon with a large surface area that is known for its odor absorbing properties. Some of it sealed in your plastic container will likely produce the same odor-neutralizing results as newspaper, though you may be even less likely to keep it lying around the house.

Some people also achieve smell-removal success by exposing their plastic containers to direct sunlight for a couple days, or rubbing them with a slice of lemon to treat any odors with citric acid. If neither method sounds convenient enough, try soaking your plastic food containers in a mixture of water and baking soda.

Baking soda is a great all-purpose kitchen cleaning solution that can be used to clean your oven and deodorize kitchen trash smells due to its alkalinity, which neutralizes acids (including most odor molecules!). Fill up your plastic container with water, then add at least a tablespoon of baking soda — you can always add more for a really persistent stench or to speed the neutralization process along. Whether you use newspaper, baking soda, or another method, the tools you need to eliminate unwanted odors from your storage containers may already be in your home.