What is this gunk? Bengal Spice Tea + Oxo Container

November 3, 2022 9:04 AM

I stored some loose Bengal Spice Celestial Seasonings tea bags (excellent tea) in an Oxo Good Grips Pop Container (clear plastic). The tea left a clear, initially sticky residue in the container. What is it and how do I get rid of it?

The tea's ingredients are: Cinnamon, roasted chicory, roasted carob, natural cinnamon flavours, natural vanilla flavours, natural flavours, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, cloves, nutmeg. I presume one of these released some kind of...oil.

The residue is clear, hard, and seems totally impervious to: scrubbing, soap, boiling water, oil, alcohol. Suggestions?

posted by stray to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

I've often found that vinegar works to cut tea residue.
posted by BrashTech at 9:05 AM on November 3, 2022

While I think BrashTech may be assuming that this is residue from brewed tea, I agree that a vinegar solution may be something worth trying. Try half/half vinegar and hot water, and let sit a good while.

As for what the culprit might be - my money's on the "natural [etc.] flavors" or the roasted carob.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:23 AM on November 3, 2022

Response by poster: Yeah, to be clear, these were dry unused teabags.
I've been soaking it in vinegar for half an hour to no effect, but I'll leave it for the rest of the day.

It's almost like the plastic has been melted, is that possible?
posted by stray at 9:37 AM on November 3, 2022

My hunch is to do the vinegar soak for a full DAY, actually.

I don't see how the plastic could have been melted - but is there a possibility this was a flaw that had always been there in the container and you maybe just hadn't noticed it before this?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:40 AM on November 3, 2022 [1 favorite]

I find vinegar *alone* essentially useless for sticky things--I have to combine it with Dawn dish liquid to get results. Oily things--like cooking oil, or that orange goo gone stuff--work better for me in getting sticky residue up. Sometimes a spritz of rubbing alcohol works (or hand sanitizer in a pinch,) but that tends to be best for minor residue from labels or similar.
posted by MagnificentVacuum at 10:13 AM on November 3, 2022

Best answer: Certain volatile compounds or oils (which your flavoured tea may contain) can react with certain kinds of plastic - this may have been the case here, leading to either a permanent gunking of the surface or a bit of a "melting" effect. The bottom of my OXO POP containers says "7 - other" is the plastic they use, meaning polycarbonate.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:16 AM on November 3, 2022 [4 favorites]

Best answer: The plastic has been melted.

By the essential oils of the spices. Clove oil is especially intense, but the others are no slouches.
posted by jamjam at 10:17 AM on November 3, 2022 [8 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks Jamjam - that's what I wondered. Quite amazing, happened within a couple weeks. It's very strong tea! I'm going to assume it is still reasonably safe to use.
posted by stray at 10:49 AM on November 3, 2022

Best answer: Here's an explanation of the chemistry if you're curious.
posted by O9scar at 12:28 PM on November 3, 2022 [2 favorites]