That Funky Lunchbox Smell

October 2, 2014 4:08 PM

My Mr. Bento lunchbox has a persistent odor, not unlike things you've (I've) forgotten in the back of the fridge. It's starting to permeate the little containers and into my food which is... counter-productive to me using it. How do I mitigate the funk? Difficulty: it can't be submerged or put in the dishwasher.

It's vaguely moldy, old food, and musty smelling. I don't put strongly scented things in it, usually things like plain yogurt, crackers, berries, cookies, pb&j, that sort of thing. It's possible I may have forgotten about it in my car over a weekend with strawberries in one of the containers - this smell is entirely my fault and not originating out of nowhere.

I've soaked the little containers in vinegar/water, and filled the larger container with vinegar/water and let them sit for a few hours. The smell was initially gone and then once everything was put back together, it came back.

I can probably put the little containers in the top rack of the dishwasher on a more delicate cycle but I have no idea what to do with the outer shell. It's worth noting that the Zojirushi people emphatically insist no part of it go in a dishwasher.
For reference, this is what I have: Mr. Bento.

Anyone have any suggestions?

posted by ApathyGirl to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

I'd try pouring a big box of baking soda into a gallon ziploc bag (or whatever is big enough to hold all of the pieces) and stick it in there for a weekend and see how that does. Baking soda got a major funk out of a hiking pack we had that someone *ahem* stupid brother in law *ahem* left a subway sandwich in for a few days in the garage. After that I'd wash it like normal and see how it goes, good luck!
posted by julie_of_the_jungle at 4:15 PM on October 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Sunlight is probably your best bet. Keep it open in the sun and unused for a few days. Also, store it open when not in use.

Failing that lemon juice?

Straight vanilla essence is used on refrigerators that are whiffy...not sure if that's useful for stainless steel.

If the options are it's unusable based on the odour I'd risk a bleach soak. But I'm like that.

Oh yeah...charcoal could also work. We used it to great effect on a smelly electric jug. Crushed up tablets from the pharmacy in water. Probably the best first solution upon reflection.
posted by taff at 4:15 PM on October 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Baking soda is really cheap. Get a few boxes and throw them in there.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:15 PM on October 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

The interior containers are plastic, not stainless, right? (Hard to tell for sure from the Amazon page, but it does say they're microwavable, which suggests.) Nth-ing baking soda; maybe make a paste by mixing it with some water and scrub it on there and let it sit for a while.
posted by dorque at 4:19 PM on October 2, 2014

Response by poster: The exterior is red plastic with the stainless liner inside. The little bento containers are all plastic.
posted by ApathyGirl at 4:24 PM on October 2, 2014

Charcoal from the little tablets would be the least corrosive.

Plastic breaks down, I would not use bleach, vinegar, or baking soda.

Make a paste of the charcoal + a little water. Park the plastic bowl in the sun and let the magic happen. Rinse. Dry.

Yep, store them open.

Alternative: Straight Vodka.

Trust me on this. Vodka is disinfectant and erradicates odors. I've used it very successfully on my leather couch when the cat got sick.

Vodka.
posted by jbenben at 4:26 PM on October 2, 2014

You can order new little interior containers very cheaply from the company. I know this because I melted one in the dishwasher. I wash them there all the time, they do fine on the top rack if you don't dry them at mega blast heat.
posted by fshgrl at 4:31 PM on October 2, 2014

Nthing baking soda. In fact, try this -

1. Get a big box of baking soda and dump it in everything. Dump it in the individual containers, dump some in the thermos part, seal everything up and leave it like that for a day.

2. Then, dump out all but, like, a half inch of baking soda from the inner containers (and an inch from the big one). Add just enough water to each to make a paste of the baking soda, and then smear that all over the inside of each container.

3. Then - dump in some white vinegar. After you enjoy the free show (whoooaaaaaaaa volcano action!), wash everyhing using regular dishwashing soap, rinse it out and let it dry.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:48 PM on October 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

Here is where you can order replacement pieces for your Mr. Bento. As you can see they're surprisingly inexpensive. I wonder if there's something stuck in the soup bowl gasket?
posted by Mizu at 4:48 PM on October 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

I'd add, baking soda but leave it in the various containers for a few days. Obviously the plastic has absorbed odors deep into the material. If a quick vinegar and water soak removed the smell for only a short while, that means that the smell has penetrated deeply. Adding vinegar to the baking soda will not increase the odor absorbing potential. In fact it will make it less useful. Dry baking soda and let it sit.
posted by Splunge at 5:40 PM on October 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I think you've got guck between the black plastic rim the lid attaches to on top and the stainless steel body, and to really deal with that you'll have to remove, wash, and replace that black rim and the gasket underneath it (if there is one).

But that's pretty easy to do with a pair of heavy, preferably fleece-lined dishwashing gloves and a big pot with two inches of boiling water in it.

Turn off the heat under the pot, wait a few seconds and place the empty base upside down in the pot with a weight on it so that the black rim is securely submerged: give it about two minutes for the heat to penetrate the rim, put on your gloves, pull it out of the pot, wrap one arm around the cooler base of the body and hold it against your own body as you wrench off the black rim; the heat of the water will have caused the rim to expand enough to come off with not that much force.

Then boil the rim (and any gasket) in powdered oxygen bleach (Oxyclean) and water for a few minutes, rinse them thoroughly, heat them up again in clean water, and press the rim back onto the base of your thermos while the rim is still hot.

I've done things like this a number of times with various thermoses, including Zoj's, but not this model, so I can't promise it won't mar the finish, but I don't think it will.

If there is a gasket, however, getting it back on without kinks may prove challenging.
posted by jamjam at 6:00 PM on October 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

I have read that smearing plastic with a thick paste of baking soda and water and leaving it for a day or two will do the trick.
posted by Salamander at 8:35 PM on October 2, 2014

I use sterilising tablets, designed for baby bottles. You can't use them on anything metal but they work great on plastic.
posted by ontheradio at 7:39 AM on October 5, 2014

Response by poster: So the whole thing spent the weekend on my patio, soaking up rays, splayed out all over. I've just pulled it in and washed everything... looks- er, smells good so far. Going to leave it all sealed up and see how it smells in the morning.
Thanks everyone!
posted by ApathyGirl at 8:18 PM on October 6, 2014

Response by poster: Bad news - the smell has returned. I suspect it's living under the rim, as jamjam described. The little plastic bowls all smell fine once removed from the thermos, but the funk persists in the thermos. I'll try the boiling method to try and clean that area out.
Thanks again!
posted by ApathyGirl at 12:47 PM on October 7, 2014