Grandma's ingenious hack to remove stains from plastic container has the internet applauding

Editor's note: This article was originally published on July 22, 2023. It has since been updated.

It's okay to be possessive about your plastic containers but what's not okay are those stains on them from pasta you had in it two years ago. One TikTok user @ariganja shared a simple cleaning hack she learned from her friend's grandma. The video captioned, "Best hack I was ever taught" garnered over 659,000 views. Hacks and tips given by grandmas are hardly ever useless and this time was no different. The plastic container indeed went from a stained box to a sparkling clear one in a matter of minutes. If this hack had been shared earlier, we could have saved all those dishwashing bicep workouts for another chore. 

The woman first displays her stained plastic container, which she has thoroughly cleaned but still has orange stains on it. She fills the container halfway with hot water and then adds a dash of dish soap. She tears a paper towel into pieces and puts the pieces in the box as well. She closes the lid and shakes the container really well. In a few minutes, she displays the plastic container to be sparkling clean and brand new. Free of orange stains.

TikTok users were thrilled upon learning this helpful and easy hack. "Can confirm this works. I don’t even use that much water. It’s so awesome!" commented @pervykittkat. "This did not work at all. I tried it twice. Lol. That’s my luck!" wrote @carmenbell16. Some users also shared hacks they use to clean their containers. "I pour Clorox into them and bam," shared @Nisha. "Rub or spray a tiny amount of oil in the container before adding contents. Clean up is a breeze and NO stains!" added @jaxjamn. "My hack is that if I constantly have spaghetti, there's no problem," joked @bronson2099. 

Cleaning your plastic container may not appear to be the best way to help the environment but reusable plastic containers not only reduce your at-home plastic use but also help reduce food waste. Each year, approximately 40 million tons of plastic waste are discarded in the United States alone. A large portion of that waste is made up of single-use plastic, such as cling wrap and sandwich bags. Reusable containers eliminate the need for some single-use plastics, and keeping them clean means you'll want to use them frequently.

Reusable, sealable containers also help keep food fresher in your fridge for longer. If you do not compost, the food you do not consume will most likely end up in a landfill. In fact, 40% of food in the United States ends up there. Approximately 42 billion pounds of that comes directly from our homes. If that wasn't enough, you're also saving money. Plastic container and other reusable containers are reasonably priced and will last for a long time (especially if you use this cleaning hack).

This lowers your costs for purchasing single-use plastics to store food while also keeping your food fresher for longer. However, there are some health risks attached to using a plastic container such as chemicals in the plastic seeping into your food so one might consider the usage of glass containers.