Stainless steel shrugs off pickle smells. Plastic doesn't.

If your lunch box still smells like a pickle after a wash, the material is the problem—stainless steel and glass won’t absorb the smell, but plastic and bamboo will.

Here’s the deal: odors stick to porous surfaces. Plastic has microscopic scratches that trap vinegar molecules no matter how well you scrub. Bamboo is even worse—it’s literally wood fibers, so it soaks up anything acidic or oily and holds onto it forever. Stainless steel and glass are non-porous, so the smell has nowhere to hide.

If you’re stuck with the plastic container you already own, skip the extra rinse and go straight for baking soda. Sprinkle a generous layer in the box, add hot water, and let it sit overnight. Wash it out with dish soap in the morning and the smell will be mostly gone. Sunlight also helps—set it outside for a few hours.

But honestly, the permanent fix is switching materials. If you’re eating pickled foods regularly, a stainless steel container is the only thing that won’t make next week’s sandwich taste like your last week’s kimchi.

Consider this your excuse to upgrade.