How to Get Rid of Red Stains on Plastic Dishes

Red stains on your plastic dishes is usually caused by tomato-based sauces or foods.

Red stains on your plastic storage containers are unavoidable, especially if you have used tomato-based sauces or foods containing tomatoes. Most people throw them away after the stain is set, and they buy new containers. It is possible to remove old stains from your plastic containers. This might take several attempts, but many natural cleaners such as lemon and even the sun can destroy stains so that you can save your containers.

Things You'll Need

• Lemon juice
• Sunshine
• Bleach
• Mustard
• Denture tablets
• Oven cleaner
• Hot, soapy water
• Clean water
• Cloth

Instructions

Removing Mild or New Stains From Plastic Dishes

1. 

   Lemon juice is a natural stain remover for plastic dishes.

   Rub lemon juice over the stained areas of your plastic containers. Make sure you cover the entire stain.

2. Set plastic containers in bright sunshine until the stain has faded. You might have to move the containers as the sun moves.

3. Bring inside and rinse well with clean water.

Removing Old Stains from Plastic Dishes

1. Apply yellow mustard to the stained area of your plastic container and leave covered in the mustard for eight to 10 hours.

2. Wash in hot, soapy water to clean away all mustard and the stain should disappear.

3. Drop a couple of denture-cleaning tablets into your plastic container and add water.

4. Allow the container to sit overnight with denture cleaner inside, and the stain should be gone.

5. Dump out denture-cleaning solution and wash well with hot, soapy water.

Removing Sticky, Gummy Stains from Plastic Dishes

1. Fill a separate container with a solution of 3 parts hot water and 1 part bleach to remove stains that also have a sticky or gummy residue.

2. Soak your plastic container in the bleach solution for a few minutes and then rinse well. If the stain remains, soak for a while longer.

3. Spray oven cleaner evenly over your plastic container to remove really tough stains that also have a gummy residue. Tupperware recommends doing this outside because the cleaner fumes can be strong.

4. Leave the cleaner to work for a few minutes, then clean well with hot, soapy water.

Tips & Warnings

• To prevent stains from occurring, spray non-stick cooking spray in your plastic containers before adding a tomato-based food or other food that tends to stain.

• A touch of olive oil rubbed around the inside of the container also will help to prevent staining.

• Wipe clean plastic containers with vinegar to remove lingering odors and grease.

• Tupperware recommends cleaning plastic containers in soap and cold water before you place it in the dishwasher to avoid the toughest stains.

References

• Tupperware Blog: How to Clean Tupperware
• Thrifty Fun: Cleaning Tomato Sauce Stains from Plastic
• The Daily Green: Natural Stain Removers