Plastic stench? Use baking soda and sunlight.

The fastest fix for a smelly plastic lunch box is a baking soda scrub, a soak, and a day in real sunlight.

Plastic is porous, so odors sink in. Ordinary dish soap just won’t cut it. Make a paste with baking soda and a little water, rub it all over the inside, let it sit for 15 minutes, then rinse. Fill the box with hot water and a cup of white vinegar, and let it soak for a couple hours or overnight. Rinse again.

Then put the box in direct sunlight, upside down, for a few hours. Sunlight breaks down the odor-causing molecules. This combination handles 90% of lunch box smells.

If it still reeks after that, the plastic has absorbed the smell for good. Thin, cheap plastic is the worst offender — get a new one and maybe avoid tomato or curry in that one next time.

Future lunches deserve better.