What are the ways to maintain plastic kitchenware?
- Apply rubbing alcohol
- Add bleach
- Rinse with hot water
- Use white vinegar
- Wash with baking soda paste
- Apply lemon juice
Maintaining plastic kitchenware can be difficult to do, especially if you’re not equipped with the proper methods to do it. By using ineffective materials and solutions, you may end up potentially subjecting your plasticware to further damage.
Despite the durability of plastic material, you also need to do your part in extending its longevity. Below are just some of the simple tips you can practice in order to achieve this.
Apply Rubbing Alcohol
When it comes to cleaning plastic kitchenware, you only need to make use of readily-available materials in your home. One effective way to clean stained plastic containers is by applying rubbing alcohol.
After prolonged usage and storage of different food items, you might find stains on your plastic container. If left unchecked over time, you might have more difficulty removing these unappealing stains. Luckily, isopropyl alcohol is especially effective in removing stains coming from tomato sauce, coffee, dyes, and even soda or juice.
If you’re dealing with a container, apply the alcohol on the discolored area before immediately rinsing it with water. Tougher stains might require you to let the alcohol solution sit inside the container for a few minutes. For non-containers like plastic utensils, you may simply pour the alcohol over the discoloration and then let it sit for a short while.
Add Bleach
Adding bleach is another effective way of whitening plastic items that have gone yellow over time. For this method to be effective, you have to make use of the following materials: dishwashing liquid, rag, a gallon of cold water, and liquid chlorine bleach.
The first step would require you to wipe the plastic material with a rag dampened in warm water and dishwashing liquid. After which, you need to make a chlorine solution using a gallon of cold water and chlorine liquid.
Depending on the size of the plastic kitchenware, you may need to adjust the volume of water. After making the necessary adjustments, simply dip the container in the chlorine solution. Leave for a few minutes and then allow the plastic to air-dry in a remote area.
Rinse With Hot Water
When using hot water to clean plastic kitchenware, you would need to take the necessary safety precautions. You might want to wear insulating gloves in order to protect yourself from possible burns. On the other hand, you should also be careful when using hot water on plastic kitchenware as it may cause it to misshape.
For this reason, hot water should be used in conjunction with other common kitchen cleaning agents such as dishwashing liquid and a dish brush. For smaller plastic objects like plastic lids, straws, and the like, handwashing with hot water is an effective way of removing stains.
Use White Vinegar
White vinegar is particularly useful for removing odorous smells coming from food items. For example, are you looking to minimize the odor coming from discarded food items such as shrimp heads or other kinds of seafood innards? All you need to do is pour a generous amount of vinegar onto them.
Similarly, white vinegar can be useful in cleaning your plastic kitchenware. The first step would be for you to make a solution of water and vinegar using one tablespoon of the latter for every cup of water. If you’re dealing with many pieces of plastic materials, a large bucket would be preferable.
Soak the items in the vinegar solution for around two hours. You’ll eventually see that the stains will disappear. After they’ve been removed, thoroughly rinse and dry the plastic items.
Wash With Baking Soda Paste
When removing stains and odors, baking soda paste is the most effective material. Apart from these, it is also useful in removing grease that can sometimes be leftover in plastic kitchenware.
Make a solution of baking soda paste with water and directly apply it to the stained area of the plastic item. After which, you would need to let it sit for around 30 minutes before you wash and rinse the plastic item.
Apply Lemon Juice
Similar to white vinegar, lemon juice is another food-grade material which you can use to remove stains and odors in plastic kitchenware.
You might need several lemons that you have to squeeze out. Mix the freshly-pressed juice with water, then add baking soda into the solution. You may now submerge your plastic items.
You have the liberty of adjusting the amount of lemon you use to ensure that it’s enough to clean the plastic. After letting them sit for around 30 minutes, you may scrub, rinse, and then dry them.
Key Takeaway
Maintaining plastic kitchenware doesn’t have to be difficult as you can use readily-available materials from your home. Some of these materials include white vinegar, rubbing alcohol, baking soda, bleach, or simply water.
Coupled with proper plasticware maintenance practices, the guide above will hopefully help you maintain the durability of the various plastic kitchen items in your home.
