Built To Last - Stainless Steel Care

What is stainless steel?

Answer: a bit of a metal powerhouse (and in our opinion the best material for food storage!) It's completely and infinitely recyclable, super strong and lasts a really long time, making it the perfect choice in terms of its green credentials. It’s also inert, hygienic and doesn’t leach compounds (unlike plastic). 

All of these factors combine to make it an incredible material for just about anything, but especially for food storage & water bottles.

We wrote this guide to help you look after your products so that they can live out their full life potential before they get recycled. 

How (and how often) should I wash my stainless steel products?

As with any food or drink storage, you should ideally wash your stainless steel lunch boxes and water bottles after every use. 

Good news is that you can just stick almost all our products in the dishwasher or wash by hand in the sink and it should come up squeaky clean! You won't have any stains (hence the name) unlike plastic counterparts which never quite return to their pre-use state and start to deteriorate really quite quickly. Best to wash the steel caps by hand though (they only take a minute).

If you’re using a leakproof product, take the seal out and clean and dry them separately too to make sure that no nasties are lurking underneath. It's best to wash the seals by hand if possible 

What about a deeper clean?

Sometimes food just gets left for a little too long in your lunch box or water bottle, this is when a deeper clean is called for! The three options that we like are baking soda, vinegar or Milton. 

Baking soda

Baking soda is great for a deep clean. Also known as sodium bicarbonate or bicarbonate of soda, it has disinfectant, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, and is excellent at removing bad smells. So, using baking soda to clean your water bottle will get rid of mildew, mineral build up, stains and those lingering odours.  Put one teaspoon of baking soda in your empty bottle or box and fill with warm water, give it a good scrub and leave to soak for at least 15 minutes or overnight and then rinse out with cold water  

Vinegar

Bacteria can build up in moist conditions and sometimes you will see mildew and mould appearing inside your lunchbox. Pretty unpleasant but there is an easy fix. The best way to disinfect and sterilise your lunch box naturally is with distilled vinegar. It’s non-toxic, mildly acidic, a good disinfectant and a fantastic DIY cleaning product all round the house.  Put 2 tablespoons of distilled (white) vinegar in your bottle and fill half way with warm water. Put the cap on and give it a good shake. Use your brush to give it a good scrub, then rinse with water and leave to dry completely before using.  Top tip: Don’t use any other type of vinegar as it may linger on in an unwelcome manner! No-one wants their food smelling like chips (unless of course it is chips)!     

When things go really bad!

If things have been left really too long and things have got pretty funky in your lunch box or water bottle... don't worry - you can return it to its former glory with these method below.  Number one rule. Don’t use bleach. It's not made for human consumption. Instead you can use hydrogen peroxide or Milton sterilising liquid. It’s not that easy to find hydrogen peroxide over the counter in small quantities but you can pick up Milton in the baby aisle of your local supermarket or pharmacy.  Milton is totally safe and whilst researching this blog we found out that you can even use it to sterilise water.  To clean your stainless steel food container with Milton put a teaspoon in the bottom and fill with warm water. Leave overnight to soak, and in the morning give it a good scrub with hot soapy water and rinse.

Can I freeze stainless steel?

For lunchboxes, yes! Just make sure you leave a gap between the food and the lid as it will expand.

We don’t recommend freezing your stainless steel drinks bottles though -see our blog on metal bottle care.

Can I reheat food in stainless steel?

Yes! The best way to reheat food in a stainless steel storage product is to pop it in the oven with the lid off. Easy!

You can also heat it directly on the stove or even over a campfire! Be aware though that cooking over naked flames could tarnish steel, not that it makes any difference to performance, it just might look a little blackened.

Is Stainless Steel Microwave Safe?

Some of our containers are composed of microwave safe steel - The Prep & Store Containers, Lunch Bowls & Clip & Seal lunchboxes. View the whole range here.  You can read this guide on how to safely microwave SOME stainless steel. 

What about when I need to throw my stainless steel product away?

The longer you keep and look after your stainless steel bottle, lunchbox, canister or washing up bowl, the lower their environmental footprint, so we encourage everyone to love and use them for years and years until they really can’t be used any more. 

Lost a cap? Don’t chuck the whole product away! You can buy spare seals, caps and more here!

If you follow all of the tips above, your stainless steel products will live a long, happy and useful lives before they get recycled to start their new lives elsewhere. 

Steel can be recycled in household recycling but silicone needs a specialist - so send it back to us for recycling and we’ll deal with that for you.

Got more questions? Visit our FAQs or contact:info@elephantbox.co.uk