Get a brush set, not another sponge

The most effective way to clean bento box grooves and dividers is a small nylon brush set — not a sponge, not your fingernail, not the dishwasher. A baby bottle brush set with a narrow straw brush does the job perfectly.

Sponges just push food paste around and can’t physically reach the corners where rice and nori get packed in. The pointy little brush in a straw-cleaning set is what you want. It fits right into the grooves and scrubs the sides instead of just mooshing things around.

Two tips that make it way easier:

• Soak the box in hot soapy water for five minutes before you brush. Baked-on rice basically falls off.
• Don’t bother with silicone bristle brushes for this. They’re too floppy. Nylon bristles actually dig into the grooves.

If you’re mid-trip and don’t have a brush, a toothpick wrapped in a paper towel works in a pinch, but it’s slow and annoying. Just spend eight bucks on the brush set and be done with it.

Your futomaki tray deserves better than a sponge.