It can be a chore to clean your lunch box if you’re not in the habit of doing it. But the good news is that once you’ve cleaned it thoroughly, maintaining it will be so easy the next time that it should take no time at all. To make life a little easier, we offer three tips for cleaning insulated lunch bags that you can use today to get ahead of schedule and keep your lunch fresh day after day.
Gut That Thing Completely Out
The first thing you’ll need to do is clean out your lunch bag of all debris. This may seem obvious and easy, but that’s where the bacteria and fungus can grow. So you must be more careful to get it all out. Lunch bags have insulation, meaning there will be moisture if you’re carrying food and beverages. Add crumbs and old food left in the bag to that, and you could have things growing in your lunch bag that don’t belong there. So check all the compartments, cracks, and crevices, and clear them out as soon as possible.
Use Cold Water and Mild Detergent
Only use cold water and mild detergent when you clean your bag. You want to do this because if your bag has synthetic materials and you use warm or hot water to clean it, you could potentially release fumes or chemicals. If it’s not BPA free or doesn’t say that you can wash it with warm water, it can be dangerous to use water at higher temperatures. Likewise, strong detergents might break the bag down if they’re too powerful, so you’ll want to avoid them. Wash by hand when you can, and never use the dishwasher unless the bag states it’s dishwasher safe. Otherwise, the dishwasher could melt it with scalding hot water and steam.
Air Dry Your Bag Overnight
Again, you might find yourself out of a lunch bag if you don’t let it air dry. The problem with machine drying the bag is that it may not be capable of handling high heat and could melt or burn. So it’s always advisable to let it dry naturally unless it states otherwise. You could even dry it by hand with a towel if you needed it immediately. Most wholesale lunch bags have care instructions that you can read before cleaning and drying.
You should know these three tips for cleaning insulated lunch bags so that you can have a nice lunch every day. It’s so pleasant when you can sit with a fresh lunch regardless of where you are or what you’re doing.