Put any tomato-based sauce inside a clear plastic Tupperware just one time. Soon, you’ll have yourself a forever-red-stained container. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times you wash it. Nor will switching up soaps or cleaning techniques do the trick, either.
However this TikToker, Pressie (@shpresseyyy), claims to have cracked the code. In a viral clip that’s garnered over 5.4 million views, she shares the trick she promises will teach folks “how to get grease stains off of Tupperware easily.”
Grease be gone
“If your Tupperware has yellow stains that you can never get out, no matter how hard you scrub, let me show you a quick hack,” Pressie says at the onset of the video.
She then breaks down the steps one will need to follow in cleaning their Tupperware. In the clip, she holds a plastic container up to the camera.
“Fill it up with a little bit of water. You’re gonna need some soap. And you’re gonna need a piece of paper towel,” she states. “Just throw the paper towel in there and squirt some soap.”
She places the dry paper towel into the small bit of water at the bottom of the container. Next, she spritzes it with a few short pumps of some liquid soap.
“It’s that simple. OK let me get a lid,” she says, closing the container. “All right so put the lid right on, after you have the paper towel, the soap, and the water.”
Pressie then begins to shake the container. “And literally just shake it,” she says as she briefly reacts to some water leaking from the Tupperware.
Shake, shake it
“But just shake it vigorously. But look you can already see it, bro, look,” Pressie says. “You can already see it going away.”
She claims it’s the paper towel that removes the stains.
Pressie then holds the bottom of the Tupperware up to the camera. Through the soapy water, the paper towel appears to have soaked up some of the stains.
“It has all the like, grease stains on it. OK let me show you. Let me rinse it off. Actually, to show you guys that I’m not lying I’m gonna pour out in here,” she says, bringing a bowl into the frame.
“I’m gonna pour it all out in here,” she says, showing the tupperware as she holds it above the large white bowl. “And then literally I’m gonna rinse it off, look at this final reveal.”
She then takes another cup filled with water and begins to clear the soap away from the Tupperware.
“Look at this final freakin’ reveal,” she says, showing off the newly cleaned container. “It’s literally perfect you don’t have to scrub for 40 hours to get your sponge to clean it.”
@shpresseyyy How to get grease stains off of Tupperware easily #tupperware #grease #clean #hack #cleaninghacks ♬ original sound – Pressie
How does it work?
TikToker @facesbyadi also went viral sharing this very same stained tupperware tip back in 2020. Other media outlets were astounded by the hack, like NowThis Impact, which posted it to its YouTube page. The video accrued 327,000 views there, and a whopping 4.5 million on TikTok.
@facesbyadi This hack has saved so many of my Tupperware friends. Try it!!!! #fyp #cookingvideos #cookinghacks #lifehacks #hacks #stainremover #foryou #foryoupage ♬ original sound – FacesByAdi
Tasting Table also provided a pretty sound explanation as to why this hack seems to work better than others. Due to the nature of grease/oil, and its reluctance to mix well with water, traditional cleaning methods rarely work. However, the ripped-up sheets of a paper towel seem to be the key factor. These strips, paired with soapy water and shaking, are enough to loosen up the grease. Also, the porous nature of the paper towels make it a great magnet for the loosened-up grease stains. So the grime sticks to the towel, leaving you with a clean, see-through tupperware once more.
TikTokers were impressed
One user echoed the aforementioned explanation of the paper towel’s role in this cleaning hack.
“The soap pulls the grease out to surface and the paper towel is the final surface for the grease to settle on. The sponge/rag is just pushing the grease around. Paper towel is pretty absorbant,” they wrote.
But many folks believed in the power of the wet paper towel.
“Paper towel absorbs the grease and soap just helps get it off the container. Same thing if you have a greasy soup just lay a paper towel over it,” one said.
Another chimed in, “The tissue absorbs the oil and grease so when you don’t use a tissue there’s no where for it to stick to!”
Some were dubious as to the hack’s efficacy when it comes to long term stains. “So what about 5yr old spaghetti sauce stains,” one asked.
Others were just happy to have discovered this knowledge. “The way I’m about to teach my mom how to clean Tupperware. How the turns have tabled,” they said.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Pressie via TikTok comment for further information.
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