http://www.bin-store.com/blog

Because plastic bins are so versatile, chances are good that you use them all around your home. That means that there are many different ways in which plastic totes for storage can become dirty and stained through use. Your clear plastic food containers can become discolored over time, and you can end up getting all kinds of mud and debris on the plastic containers you use in your mudroom.

How can you get your plastic containers clean again without resorting to harsh chemicals? There are actually numerous different techniques you can try which are totally natural.

1. Rubbing alcohol

One of the easiest ways to clean plastic storage bins is by using rubbing alcohol. This technique is particularly effective if you are attempting to remove food-related stains such as those left behind by coffee, tomato products, tea or juice. Rubbing alcohol also does a good job of removing food dye stains from plastic containers.

You will get the best results of this technique if you will allow the plastic food container to soak for a time in the rubbing alcohol. Wait for a few minutes, and then rinse it out and do some scrubbing with your basic detergent. The stain should come right out, but you may need to repeat this process a couple of times for the best results.

2. Hand sanitizer

If you do not have rubbing alcohol handy, but you do have some hand sanitizer, then you have everything you need to naturally scrub stains out of plastic storage bins. Most hand sanitizer has rubbing alcohol as the key active ingredient. So it works exactly the same way, and you can use the same technique to get your plastic clean. Once again, remember to soak the plastic for a few minutes to get the toughest stains out.

3. Lemon juice

If you happen to have some lemon juice in your kitchen, or even a lemon, you can use it to remove stains from your plastic boxes. The most effective way to do this is to rub down the surface you are trying to clean using the lemon or lemon juice, and then place the box outside in the sunlight for couple of days.

The acid content in the lemon makes it a powerful cleaning agent. Using this technique will get rid of microbes, and should also help to restore the color of your plastic. Once you discover how well it works on plastic, you can try using it to clean some of the other items around your home. It works great for a variety of cleaning tasks!

As you can see, you do not need to buy any specialized cleaning products for your plastic storage bins, nor do you need to resort to harsh chemicals. Even if you are dealing with tough stains, there are many techniques for how to clean plastic containers naturally. There are many more methods that you can use, so make sure that you read on to Natural Ways to Remove Stains from Plastic Bins, Part 2 to find out even more.