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You’ve just finished off that leftover Italian food you had in your frozen food containers, and of course the tomato has left behind stubborn, unsightly stains. Why does tomato sauce stain plastic, and how can you get stains like these out of your plastic food containers so you can restore them to their original appearance?

There are actually a number of natural methods you can use to get tomato stains and other stubborn blemishes out of your plastic food containers, but in this post I will be focusing on lemon juice.

First of all, why do certain foods and beverages like tomatoes or coffee leave behind such troublesome stains? It all has to do with the strong acids present. This is why traditionally, most Italian dishes are served and stored in glass vessels, not plastic ones.

Still, all of us have stored Italian food in plastic containers for leftovers at one point or another, and found ourselves fighting to remove stains as a result.

Lemon juice is a powerful cleansing agent which can restore your plastic food containers. There are a few different methods you can use, but one of the most effective ones requires just a couple of steps:

1. Get the container you need to clean and rub down the inside with lemon juice. You can do this with the lid as well.
2. Now set the container and the lid outside in the sun. Do not wash off the lemon juice just yet.
3. Wait 1-2 days.
4. Bring the container and lid back inside and rinse them off with a little dish soap and water.
5. Dry your container and lid as usual.

If you need to, you can repeat the steps above, but if you leave your container outside for several days in direct sun, you probably will not have to. In some cases, if you have very light stains, you may also be able to lift them using just the lemon juice without putting the container outside.

Both lemon juice and UV rays have a bleaching effect, and when you combine them, they do an incredible job removing stains and discoloration from plastic surfaces. As a bonus, they also can help to disinfect your plastic containers.

The other thing you can do is mix together lemon juice with a little salt. This is a powerful combination since salt works well to absorb stains. Simply combine the two and scrub away at your plastic containers. You will also discover this works well for cleaning your plastic cutting board, your countertops, your sink and faucet, and other surfaces in your kitchen and throughout your home.

You now know an effective method for how to clean stains from plastic food containers, one which is both natural and affordable. This is not the only natural method that works however; you can also try vinegar, rubbing alcohol, denture tablets, or standard dish soap. Be sure to read my other posts on cleaning plastic food containers for more great tips and tricks!