Friday afternoon, school bag time… and there it is: the notorious forgotten lunchbox. 😅 You open it with one eye squinted – what will you find? A half-eaten sandwich that has now become a science experiment? A banana peel that has taken on a life of its own? As a mother, I have seen (and smelled) it all. But no panic! Where there’s a will, there’s a way – even for stuck-on peanut butter in a corner of the lunchbox or musty-smelling drinking cups. In this blog, I’ll take you through the world of cleaning lunchboxes and drinking bottles. Lighthearted, full of self-mockery, and above all: effective. So you can open your child’s lunchbox every day without blushing.
Daily routine: rinse immediately after use
The golden rule to keep a lunchbox and drinking bottle clean is actually very simple: do it immediately. Sounds logical, but after a long day your child might still let the lunchbox dangle in the backpack (“Oh yes mom, it’s still in there…”). Try to teach that the lunchbox and cup go straight to the counter after school. Rinse them right away. Why? Food residues that stay briefly in the box wash away easily with a little water. But if you let that crust of cheese or the last chocolate milk sip dry until the next morning, you have a problem. Bacteria feast on it and odors start to form.
So: empty the box (including those hidden compartments – yes you raisin box at the bottom!), throw away leftovers or – better yet – compost them. Then a quick rinse. Run hot water through, optionally with a drop of dish soap. Fill the drinking bottle halfway with warm water, put the cap on, shake, rinse out. This literally takes 30 seconds and saves you a lot of scrubbing later. Make it a habit, for example part of the after-school ritual: hang up the coat, lunchbox to the kitchen, wash hands. This also teaches the little ones responsibility (a nice bonus!).
Tip: Give a clean cup every day. If you have a few favorite drinking bottles in rotation, you can rinse the used one in the evening and let it dry, while another goes along the next day. This way bacteria have no chance to accumulate in the same bottle day after day.
Weekly cleaning: soapy water and scrubbing
Besides the daily quick rinse, a weekly deep clean is ideal. Choose a moment – Sunday evening for example – to thoroughly clean all lunchboxes and bottles from the week. Fill the sink or a basin with hot water and a splash of dish soap (or a mild cleaner). Take all parts apart: often caps, straws, silicone rings etc. can be removed from drinking bottles. Put everything in the soapy water and let it soak for a few minutes. This loosens stuck-on residues and kills some bacteria with the hot water.
Then grab a bottle brush for the drinking cups. Go well along the edges and in the corners. Many children’s cup straws have twists where dirt hides; use a pipe cleaner or special narrow brush to clean those. For the lunchbox use a soft sponge or dish brush. The Scrub Daddy sponge is ideal here: in warm water it softens and cleans without scratching, yet it quickly removes food residues. And it has such a cheerful face – makes cleaning a bit more fun, for you or the little helper who might want to join in.
Don’t forget to clean the edges of the lids and the sealing rubbers (if they are in the cap) well. Dirt and moisture often remain invisible there, which can later cause mold. Rinse everything very well with clean, hot water after scrubbing. You don’t want to leave a soap taste. Let everything drain on a clean tea towel or dry with a tea towel.
After such a weekly cleaning session, the lunch items are spic & span. Extra advantage: if you have multiple lunchboxes and cups, you can prepare a stock for the week right away. Saves rushing on Monday morning knowing all containers are fresh in the cupboard.
Removing stubborn odors and stains
Do you know that? A plastic tomato sauce stain that just won’t come out of the lunchbox. Or a drinking cup that – despite cleaning – still smells sour from old lemonade. Time for the trick box! Here are some mom hacks to tackle tough stains and odors:
- Baking soda against odor: Put a tablespoon of baking soda in the (clean, empty) lunchbox or bottle, add warm water, stir/shake a bit and let this mixture sit overnight. Baking soda neutralizes odors. Rinse out the next day and the musty smell is gone or at least greatly reduced.
- Vinegar against buildup: For milk residue or lime scale in drinking cups (especially in water bottles you see that lime ring at the bottom): fill the bottle with equal parts warm water and white vinegar. Let it sit for an hour. The vinegar dissolves the buildup. Rinse well afterwards, because vinegar taste in your water is not really pleasant. 😉
- The Pink Stuff for artworks: Has your little artist decorated their lunchbox with pen or marker? Or is there a sticker that left half glue residues? Then take a cloth with a bit of The Pink Stuff cleaning paste and gently rub over the ink stain or glue residue. This paste is mild but effective: ink, pencil and even highlighter often dissolve wonderfully, without damaging the plastic (test on a small piece just to be sure). Then rinse well with water so no residue remains in the container.
- Magic eraser sponges: Another handy tool for tough stains is the Scrub Daddy Wondersponge (Eraser Daddy). It’s a kind of white “eraser” sponge that removes stains without extra cleaning agents. Ideal for example for discolored walls of a drinking cup or stubborn food stains in corners that are hard to reach.
- Lemon fresh: Need a natural deodorizer? Cut a slice of lemon and put it in the cleaned, empty drinking bottle or box for a few hours. Lemon works disinfecting and absorbs odors with a fresh aroma. Be sure to rinse well afterwards, otherwise the next juice will taste like lemon lemonade (though maybe not so bad!).
- Sunlight bleaches: Do you have a transparent plastic cup that has become dull or has an orange haze from carrots? Put it in the sun on the windowsill for a day (open, so UV also reaches inside). The sun bleaches naturally and kills bacteria. Mother Nature as cleaning helper!
Sometimes a bad smell in a drinking cup is a sign that something remains, for example in the cap. So always check: can all parts be taken apart? Unscrew any valves or rubbers and clean those separately. What you can’t reach, you can boil for 10 minutes in a pot of water (if the material allows) – think of silicone straws or caps of anti-leak cups. That removes germs that cause odor.
10 sustainable tips: clean and green lunchbox & drinking bottle
We want to give our kids a clean lunchbox, but also leave a clean planet behind. So how do we do this in a sustainable way? Here are 10 tips to keep lunchboxes and drinking bottles clean with an eye for the environment:
- Choose quality: Invest in a sturdy BPA-free lunchbox and a stainless steel or high-quality plastic drinking bottle. These last longer, absorb less odor and discoloration, and need to be replaced less often (less waste!).
- Use eco-friendly dish soaps: For example a dish soap or spray with natural ingredients. Did you know there is a The Pink Stuff dish spray? You can spray it on stuck-on dirt and rinse off later – it’s gentle on the environment and you need less scrubbing.
- No disposable items: Use reusable brushes and sponges. A good Scrub Daddy sponge lasts long and can be used for many cleaning tasks. Disposable scouring pads often end up in the trash after one dirty box – a shame.
- Natural drying: Let the opened lunchbox and bottle air dry on the drying rack after washing. Saves paper towels. If you’re in a hurry, use a clean tea towel (and then hang it to dry for the next round instead of putting it immediately in the laundry).
- Water saving: Put all lunchboxes and cups to be washed in one soapy water at once instead of rinsing separately under the tap. Fill the sink and wash them together – that saves water and energy (especially if you use warm water).
- Refill and reuse: Some cleaning products can be bought as refills. For example concentrated all-purpose cleaner from Fabulosa (which you can also use for other cleaning tasks). You then reuse the same spray bottle by refilling with water and a splash of concentrate – less plastic waste.
- No bleach needed: Bleach is effective but quite harsh and not eco-friendly. Instead of bleaching a white bottle, let it stand in the sun for a day or use that magic eraser sponge. And for odors, vinegar is a great substitute for chemical odor removers.
- Leak-proof lunch? Less rinsing! Okay, this is more preventive: make sure containers and bottles close well. If soup or juice doesn’t leak in the bag, you don’t have to wash the backpack and the outside of the box stays clean. Less cleaning = less product and water use.
- Upcycle old containers: Does a lunchbox become too scratched and grimy for food after years of use? Then use it for something else in the house instead of throwing it away. Store craft supplies in it or use it as a storage box for crayons, lego, etc. This gives it a second life.
- Teach kids good habits: Ultimately the most sustainable: if children learn from a young age to keep their things clean (e.g. rinse themselves or at least not leave food residues for days), their things last longer. And less extreme cleaning means less cleaning products and less plastic replacement purchases.
With these tips you not only keep your children’s stuff clean, but you are also consciously working with less waste and environmentally friendly cleaning. A win for everyone!
FAQ – Cleaning lunchboxes and drinking bottles
Q: Can the lunchbox and drinking bottle go in the dishwasher?
A: Often yes, but pay attention to the manufacturer’s instructions. Many BPA-free plastics can go in the top rack of the dishwasher at low temperature. But prints (cute Frozen or Paw Patrol designs) can fade in the dishwasher. Also caps with rubber rings are better washed by hand; the high heat can dry out or deform them. My approach: the daily simple shapes go in our dishwasher, but the nice prints and complicated caps I wash by hand – that way they stay beautiful and intact longer.
Q: How do I get mold out of a drinking bottle or straw?
A: Oh, if you see black spots in a spout or straw, mold has grown due to moisture that stayed. First: disassemble everything. Soak the parts in hot water with a splash of vinegar or a sterilizing tablet (the ones you also use for baby bottles). Then use a pipe cleaner/brush to physically scrub away all mold. Rinse very well afterwards. If you doubt whether you can reach everything (some anti-leak straws are really a maze): you can also let lactic acid cleaning vinegar sit for a few hours, that kills mold. But if it remains a problem or you don’t trust it, replace that part. Prevention is by cleaning daily and letting bottles dry completely. Store them with the cap off so air can get in.
Q: My plastic lunchbox still smells like tomato sauce no matter what I do. Tips?
A: Tomato is notorious; it can color plastic orange and leave odor. Have you tried baking soda and vinegar? That often works well. Another trick: fill the box with crumpled newspaper and close the lid, let it sit overnight. Newspaper absorbs odors (just like it can deodorize smelly shoes). Or put the box in the freezer overnight – cold neutralizes some odor molecules. As a last resort you can rub a bit of (sunflower) oil on the spots, let it sit and then wash; oil can loosen colored molecules of tomato from the plastic. Be sure to degrease thoroughly afterwards with warm soapy water. If the smell and color really remain and bother you? Then the box is maybe just “well used”. See tip 9 above: give it another purpose and treat yourself to a new one, and try to clean immediately after use to prevent recurrence.
Q: How do I really clean my toddler’s drinking cups in their anti-leak cup?
A: Anti-leak cups, familiar territory! Take all loose parts out: often there is a silicone membrane or valve in the lid. You can usually pop those out. You definitely have to clean those, because milk and juice accumulate there. Use a thin brush. Boil such a spout cup regularly: 5 minutes in a pot of boiling water (again, check if the plastic can handle that – most can, like baby bottles). Many brands also sell separate replacement parts; sometimes it’s sustainable to replace only the worn straw instead of buying a whole new cup. And alternate: have two cups in use so you can let them dry completely each time.
Q: My teenager always forgets to clean his sports bottle, now there is brown buildup inside. What now?
A: Teens and their bottles – a notorious combination. Brown buildup often comes from isotonic sports drinks or just tea/coffee if they bring that. Fill the bottle with warm water and a Steradent tablet (those effervescent tablets for dentures, really!). Let it sit overnight; those things are designed to loosen brown buildup (tannin). Rinse well. No Steradent at home? Use a good scoop of baking soda and boiling water, let it sit until cooled. Then shake well and rinse. Invest in a stainless steel bottle if needed – it absorbs buildup less quickly and is easier to clean thoroughly (and often dishwasher safe). And talk to your teen about hygiene: maybe the idea of bacteria in his drink motivates him to rinse after use... Maybe. 😅
From “ew, what is THAT in the lunchbox?!” to “ah, nice and clean and fresh” – with a little effort and our tips it’s really doable. By paying attention daily and cleaning thoroughly weekly, you prevent nasty surprises in the lunchbox. And believe me, your child tastes the difference: a sandwich from a fresh lunchbox just tastes better (okay, that’s in the mind, but still!). Moreover, it feels good as a mom (or dad) to know your child drinks from a clean cup. Hopefully you found these light cleaning tips helpful and can get started at home. Good luck – you’ve got this!
Has this story inspired you to tackle dirty lunchboxes and drinking bottles? Make it easy for yourself with our cleaning helpers! Try for example the scratch-free Scrub Daddy sponge for daily scrubbing, or use the vegan The Pink Stuff dish spray to loosen stubborn food residues. Check out our range of sustainable cleaning products and shop now at ViralCleaning for a sparkling clean kitchen setup!