The orange-red stain tomato sauce leaves on plastic containers comes from a pigment in tomatoes called lycopene. Lycopene dissolves in fat; when a plastic container's porous surface meets the fat in the sauce, the pigment seeps into the plastic and leaves a stain that normal washing can't remove.
Hot sauce touching hot plastic makes the stain worse; heat opens up the plastic's pores and lets the pigment work its way in deeper. That's why sauce straight out of the oven leaves a much more stubborn stain than sauce that's already cooled.
What's the most effective way to remove the stain?
Setting the stained container out in the sun is one of the most practical, free methods; UV rays in sunlight noticeably fade the pigment within a few hours. Washing and drying the container first, then leaving it by a sunny window for half a day, usually clears the stain completely.
A thick paste of baking soda and water rubbed onto the stained area and left for a few hours also lifts most of the stain when scrubbed gently afterward. Soaking overnight in vinegar water has a similar effect.
Is there a way to prevent the stain in the first place?
Coating the inside of the container with a thin layer of cooking oil before storing staining foods like tomato sauce keeps the pigment from touching the plastic directly and cuts down on staining considerably. Letting the sauce cool fully before putting it in the container helps too.
For containers that regularly hold tomato-based food, switching to glass is a permanent fix, since glass, unlike plastic, doesn't absorb pigment at all.
Does the dishwasher remove tomato stains?
The dishwasher alone usually can't fully remove a lycopene stain; the hot water can lighten it a bit, but since the pigment has worked its way into the plastic, a standard cycle often isn't enough on its own. Some dishwasher tablets with oxygen-based bleach can knock the stain down a bit more effectively.
Leaving the stained container in the sun before running it through the dishwasher can combine both methods for a better result; the sun weakens the pigment first, and then the machine's hot water clears the remaining traces more easily.
Even if the stain doesn't come out entirely, the container is still perfectly fine to use; the stain is only a visual mark and doesn't affect the container's cleanliness or safety.
A container that's only stained but otherwise sound doesn't need to go in the recycling bin; the stain doesn't affect how well the container works or how safe it is. The real signal that a container should be retired is cracking, breaking, or a lid that no longer seals properly.
A long-used container that's been stained many times over can be retired from food storage and repurposed for something like dry goods or laundry supplies instead; that's a practical way to keep using it without throwing it away.
Rubbing dishwasher powder onto the stain with a damp cloth, instead of liquid dish soap, can sometimes work more effectively; powder formulas often contain a stronger abrasive component.
Comments (2)
Karbonat macununu denedim ama benim kabımda leke tamamen çıkmadı, yalnızca biraz açıldı; birkaç saat değil bir gece boyunca bekletince sonuç daha iyi oldu, o yüzden yazıdaki süre bana kısa geldi.
Bekletme süresi kabın malzemesine ve lekenin eskiliğine göre değişebilir, bazı kaplarda birkaç saat yeterli olurken bazılarında bir gece gerekebilir; sonuç yetersiz kalırsa macunu tazeleyip bir gece daha bekletmeyi deneyebilirsiniz.
Güneşte bekletmek benim kabımda hiç işe yaramadı, birkaç gün pencerede tuttuğum hâlde leke aynı yoğunlukta kaldı; belki sosun içindeki yağ oranı fazlaydı, ama herkeste aynı sonucu vermiyor gibi görünüyor.
Güneşin etkisi sosun yağ oranına, kabın plastik türüne ve güneşin açısına göre gerçekten değişebiliyor; birkaç gün yetmiyorsa karbonat macununu deneyebilir ya da lekeyi tamamen çıkarmak yerine kabı yalnızca sos saklamaya ayırmayı düşünebilirsiniz.