Gabby wrote:
>"Pylls, Barry" > wrote:
>
>>Gabby wrote:
>>
>>>I've had some of my Tupperware for over 20 years and have not
>>>experienced it much. I've found though that it is usually the
>>>items kept in high cupboards & not used much. They don't get
>>>washed as often, for obvious reasons, and tend to accumulate
>>>whatever grease is in the air. My worst experience with the
>>>phenomenon was with Frig-o seal containers. Again, the baking soda
>>>paste worked well.
>>
>>Yes, I too thought that it may just pick up grease in the air. The
>>margarine tubs and tub lids do not do this, however, and neither
>>does the body of the rubbermaid container. That's why I was being
>>cautious about the possibility that the rubbermaid lid is simply
>>secreting it. If this is true, then having seldomly cleaned lids on
>>a top cupboard shelf would also allow it to accumulate.
>>
>>Thanks for the baking soda tip.
>
> I don't think it's secretion but rather the different type of
> plastic which seems to latch on to whatever is in the air. My very
> first experience with the stickiness was with an old 'cake taker',
> an item that had a rubbery feel to it, similar to that of the seals.
> That's how I discovered the baking soda trick. The sticky film came
> right off the cake taker and left it almost as good as new.

Actually, Gabby, the soda tip works about as well as scrubbing with
hot soapy water, meaning that it removes the film for the time being.
The problem I'm finding is that it builds back up in a matter of days,
even though not much cooking is being done in the kitchen, and the lid
is in an enclosed space. I'm inclined to think that it is secretion
from the plastic. The reason for this is because of additional
evidence that I've found just now. I dug up an old rubbermaid
container from storage, and the lid is a very heavy film of the same
kind of stickiness. It certainly is not slippery like oil.

The strange things is that not all my rubbermaid lids do this. The
original beige colored ones do, but the newer white lids do not.
Sounds strange, but I think I'll choose my rubbermaid according to
color from now on....