Plastic lunch boxes will eventually smell like your lunch. Get glass or steel.

If you want a lunch box that doesn’t hold onto fish or garlic smells, get stainless steel or glass. Plastic is the problem, not your cleaning habits.

Plastic is porous on a microscopic level. Every time you pack something pungent, oils and sulfur compounds work their way into those tiny pores, and no amount of soap is getting them back out. Glass and stainless steel are non-porous. They wash clean, literally. Garlic and fish don’t stand a chance.

One thing to watch: even a good glass or steel container can smell bad if the lid has a cheap silicone gasket. Look for a box where the gasket is removable and replaceable. If it’s glued in or sealed, that’s where the smell will live. A few brands sell replacement gaskets, and that’s a quiet feature worth paying for.

Also, if you’re stuck with plastic, stop microwaving in it. Heat opens those pores up and pushes smells in deeper. That’s how you end up with a “curry container” that stays a curry container forever.

Future you doesn’t want fish-flavored Tupperware.