Sunlight kills tomato stains for good

Tomato stains on plastic aren’t permanent — dish soap and a few hours of sunlight will take them right out.

Start with warm water and a grease-cutting dish soap like Dawn. The red pigment in tomato is oil-based, so the soap pulls out most of it. Use a soft sponge or an old toothbrush, not steel wool — you’ll scratch the plastic and give the next stain more places to hide.

If a ghost of the stain is still there, here’s the real trick: leave the container in direct sunlight for an afternoon. Lycopene, the molecule that makes tomatoes red, breaks down under UV light. This is the classic Tupperware fix and it genuinely works better than any stain remover you can buy. Skip the bleach — it can cloud or warp the plastic.

Sunshine is free, and that’s where you should start.