# Help with musty smell in plastic???



## missysid (Feb 21, 2006)

There was a estate sale in town last weekend and I went and put a bid in on a lot of canning jars and those square plastic freezer containers. Well I won with a bid of $38.00 and the lot included 26 dozen qt and pint jars, a garbage bag of rings and new lids still in the box and over 100 freezer containers (which I really was not looking at - I wanted the jars). 

But while the jars were great and are washed and boxed for canning this summer I am having a fit with these plastic things. They have a musty smell to them - they were stored in a cardboard box in the barn  

Help is there anyway to get that out? I have hand washed them in dish soap and tried a run through the dishwasher but no luck. Do you think bleach water would help or would it damage the plastic? I am open to any and all suggestions to try and save them - I would love to use them for berries this summer. 

Thanks all.

Mel


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

You could try setting them outside for a day in the sun, or you could try filling them with a very weak vinegar solution in a warm spot for a day, or both. Take one or two and do experiments so that you can see any effects. As a last resort, line them with ziplock bags. Once the bags are frozen with the food in them you can remove the containers.


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

I've heard that stuffy them with crumbled up newspaper and letting them sit sealed is supposed to remove odors.

I read that putting dry coffee grounds in them is supposed to do the same but coffee is kinda expensive so I used USED coffee grounds in a plastic container and it took out 90% of the smell.


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## luvrulz (Feb 3, 2005)

Try charcoal briquettes too..........


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

I wouldn't mess with the plastic freezer boxes. It will probably be nearly impossible to get rid of the musty smell. Besides that, with old plastic freezer containers I've found that they often split and that the lids will not stay on. Simply not worth the effort. Great buy on jars, rings & lids so you've gotten your money's worth without the freezer boxes.


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## BUDSMOM (Jun 21, 2006)

Actually i have some tupperware that was in the basement and kinda musty. Appreciate all the tips here.


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## missysid (Feb 21, 2006)

Thanks for all of the tips. I might try each of them on 1 or 2 just to see which works better. If all else fails I will through them out but would like to try. I have some now that were my great aunts and they still work great and stack in the upright freezer so easy I would love to save these if I can. 

Thanks for the suggestions.


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## grannygardner (May 4, 2005)

I'd run them through the dishwasher with a couple of cups of vinegar.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

If you can't get the smell out, don't throw them away! They're still good to use as containers for nails, screws, leftover paint, etc. If you don't want to keep them you can always give them to someone else to use.


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## sheepish (Dec 9, 2006)

I heard, but haven't tried, that putting them in the sun inside a garbage bag stuffed with crumpled newspapers works. It does work for books, but I don't know about plastic. it might warp them.

But if there is any trace of musty smell after you try all this, don't even think of using them for food.


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