This easy hack makes washing your dabao plastic containers a breeze

When circuit breaker in Singapore prevented people from dining in at restaurants, people have been dabao-ing food like never before. And this remains the norm for those of us who would rather not run the risk of eating outside while the coronavirus is still rampant.

That also means plenty of plastic containers have been accumulated. Instead of throwing them away with every use, like many of us, Facebook user Nazry Isa is one of those who'd wash them to reuse and recycle.

And if washing the dishes doesn't spark joy for you, here's what you can do to get it out of the way as quickly as possible.

In a Facebook post which has been shared more than 2,000 times within a day, Isa shared a nifty hack to clean your dabao containers in double-quick time. And you don't even have to rinse them first.

Step 1: Squirt some dishwashing liquid into the containers

Step 2: Fill them up with water

Step 3: Tear up a kitchen towel and drop a piece into each container

Step 4: Snap the lid on and start shaking/swishing the water around so that the interior is clean

Step 5: Rinse both the interior and exterior of the container with the soapy water first and then with running water

And that's it!

You can watch the steps here:

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/nazry.isa/posts/10156918300895666[/embed]

Wrote Isa, who joked that he'd gone "full pakcik (uncle)" after seeing the hack shared online: "I hate cleaning containers like these and I found that this is the easiest way to get rid of that oil from take-out containers, so that you can reuse or recycle them.

"Curry/sambal/lodeh, any gravy la with a lot of oil, this method settles it."

After trying the hack for myself, while it may pass muster if the container is not too grimy, I feel the exterior would still benefit from an additional soapy rinse, especially if it’s been touched with oily fingers.

And somehow because of the contactless washing, I found myself subconsciously using more dishwashing liquid, which some might feel is wasteful. So while the hack is useful for a quick and easy clean, those who are more particular may want to stick to their regular method of washing.

Tried the hack? Tell us what you think!

candicecai@asiaone.com