The baking soda trick fixes new lunch box plastic taste

Wash your new lunch box with hot soapy water first, then scrub it inside and out with a baking soda paste and let it sit for a couple of hours before rinsing.

That usually does it. The soap gets rid of manufacturing oils, and the baking soda pulls out the stale plastic smell that gets into whatever you pack. It’s mildly abrasive too, so it helps the surface itself.

For really stubborn cases, make a stronger paste and leave it overnight. Or fill the box with a mix of hot water and a few tablespoons of vinegar, close it, and let it soak for an hour. Just rinse well after. Sun-drying for a half hour also helps kill the smell, but don’t leave most plastics out too long or they can fade.

Skip bleach or heavy chemical cleaners on food containers — plastic is porous and can hang onto those residues just as well as it hangs onto the smell. And if it still tastes like plastic after the first attempt, just repeat. Manufacturers are inconsistent, some boxes need a second round.

Worth the twenty minutes now so your sandwich doesn’t taste like a Tupperware factory.