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Cleaning Lunch Boxes Naturally with Vinegar

Cleaning Lunch Boxes Naturally with Vinegar

Updated 2 January 2020 10:08 AM

You can easily clean your own or your children's lunch boxes naturally and get rid of left over food, fish, onion and other odours or any other container by simply using vinegar

It's as easy as wiping the container using a cloth soaked in vinegar or if the smell is particularly bad, add vinegar to bread and soak it like this:


  1. Pour white vinegar over enough bread to cover the base of your container and let it absorb the vinegar
  2. Leave the vinegar bread in the closed lunch box overnight
  3. In the morning, remove the bread and wipe the lunch box out

This methods works on metal and plastic lunch boxes as well as ice chests.


Image: Unsplash | Caroline Attwood
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Science Notes

Because vinegar is acidic (acetic acid) and readily dissolves food and mineral deposits. It is also antibacterial and antifungal and is therefore excellent for cleaning up after old smelly, rotting food.

It is of course eminently edible as well so if there is any residue left in your food container, you can be sure it is doing you no harm.

Related Tip

Vinegar will also clean any surface as well as deodorize it. Remember to compost your bread and vinegar.

There are all kinds of fantastic eco lunch boxes here on ekko.world, made of things like bamboo and metal. 

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