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 Post subject: HELP! Can't get odor of Tupperware
PostPosted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 7:00 am 
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Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:35 am
Posts: 2305
Location: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
:cry: My box of Tide Ultra Original Scent got wet at the bottom so I emptied it into a large Tupperware container. It took a few months to use it all. Now, I can’t get the scent out of the Tupperware. I have left straight bleach in it over night and washing it on ‘heavy’ cycle in the dishwasher to no avail.
This is a very expensive and now useless container. I have written to Tide and Tupperware.


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 Post subject: Re: HELP! Can't get odor of Tupperware
PostPosted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 7:53 am 
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Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2012 8:51 am
Posts: 663
Location: W. Montana
If you have a couple of sunny days where you live you can put the container outside in the sun. I have found that this works better than any other method I've tried, even for really nasty odors (such as spoiled meat from a failed freezer).


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 Post subject: Re: HELP! Can't get odor of Tupperware
PostPosted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 9:53 am 
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Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:50 pm
Posts: 2062
Baking soda? I had to get the garlic smell out of my mini chopper container yesterday so that I could whir up some apricot preserves for Linzer cookies. I sprinkled it with a generous amount of baking soda, scrubbed it around, and left the paste in it for half an hour or so before rinsing. That container is hard acrylic, not the softer stuff they make Tupperware out of, but it worked.


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 Post subject: Re: HELP! Can't get odor of Tupperware
PostPosted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 10:35 am 
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Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:45 pm
Posts: 1531
Location: Ottawa, ON
This is one of the reasons I don't own Tupperware anymore; if I use soft plastic containers, I go for the cheapest possible now. I most instances I've just tossed them, but the sun thing does work sometimes in my experience. Never tried baking soda.


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 Post subject: Re: HELP! Can't get odor of Tupperware
PostPosted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 1:23 pm 
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Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 7:58 pm
Posts: 1206
While I can't say if it will remove the problem odor you have in the soft plastic, I just recently removed the odor of cloves (one of the hardest to remove) from the lid of a spice grinder by soaking it in a dip made for removing tea and coffee stains, which I use when my iced tea pitcher begins to stain badly. I think it is oxalic acid based, so maybe that type of thing would be worth trying.

Something I remember about old tupperware (and I mean OLD! Mom used to sell it when I was maybe 2-6 years old) was that it seemed that oils actually mjgrated through it, it was so porous. They would always get sticky on the outside when cornmeal or other oily grains were stored in them. Maybe this is why odors were particularly hard to eliminate. Does anyone else remember this? I have never had this happen with any other plastic container, even those cheap ones.

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 Post subject: Re: HELP! Can't get odor of Tupperware
PostPosted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 3:31 pm 
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Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:05 pm
Posts: 1191
Location: Chico, CA
I have some old Tupperware bought in the early 70s and in my experience, once it's stained or smelly, it's done. Ditto for old Rubbermaid. I keep it for when I need to take something or don't care. I switched to glass Pyrex many years ago for that reason. Now, I use either the Pyrex, ziplocks or Foodsaver bags. Recently I had some leftover broth and saw a tall container and reached for it. It was sort of sticky even though I am pretty OCD about cleaning stuff. Knew I'd end up discarding it anyway.

Tupperware has a lifetime guarantee, so if it is unusable, they should replace it for free.

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 Post subject: Re: HELP! Can't get odor of Tupperware
PostPosted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 9:18 pm 
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Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:45 pm
Posts: 1531
Location: Ottawa, ON
My understanding is that fats bond with plastics relatively easily (related polymer strands or the like), and it seems especially with the soft plastics. Fats often contain the smelly bits. Can also make the plastic feel greasy, etc.

Never found a solid science-y source for this though.


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 Post subject: Re: HELP! Can't get odor of Tupperware
PostPosted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 12:15 am 
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Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 7:58 pm
Posts: 1206
The only two pieces of tupperware I still have are the ones holding the AP and bread flours, since those are not oily. The rye is in a commercial Rubbermaid, which I have had no problems with.

Something I used to use for removing that stickiness from the oils is no longer legal, due to its effect on the ozone layer - the degreaser 1,1,1 trichloroethane. I still have some that I got just before it was taken from the market, but I use it very seldom, when nothing else seems to work. Maybe something like that would remove the smell!

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 Post subject: Re: HELP! Can't get odor of Tupperware
PostPosted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 10:20 am 
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Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:35 am
Posts: 2305
Location: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Many thanks to all; I will attempt allof them right after Christmas. Now, I just need to be sure NOT to put anything in it :lol:
The kitchen is loaded with stacks of this and that in strategic corners to enable everything to get done when it needs to be. Guest arrive this afternoon, the fire is lit, music is on and wine is poured. What could possibly go wrong :?: :lol: :shock:

Oh yeah, and HER gift is very cleverly hidden...


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