How To Clean Silicone Kitchen Utensils The Right Way To Remove Stains And Odor

Silicone cookware and utensils can be wonderful additions to your kitchen toolbox, as they're easy to clean, durable, nonstick, safe on your expensive pots and pans, and relatively affordable. But, like almost anything, silicone utensils require proper maintenance, especially if they've developed some unsightly stains and unpleasant odors.

Silicone's tiny pores are penetrable by certain kinds of food molecules, which is why some smells and stains linger, especially when they latch on while the pores expand in the heat and get trapped when the material contracts once cooled. The good news is that there's no need to toss your silicone cookware – that red sauce-stained spatula and whisk that's developed a signature garlic funk can be saved. Some stains and odors might be treatable with a good scrubbing of dish soap and hot water if caught early, but there are a few tips to try next if that doesn't work. 

For more stubborn leftover smells, reach for white vinegar. White vinegar is one of the ultimate hacks for a cleaner kitchen, so it's no wonder that it comes in handy for silicone maintenance, too. Soaking your utensils in equal parts water and vinegar for several hours should neutralize those odors. If that still doesn't do the trick, you can also bake your silicone cookware on a baking sheet at around 250 degrees Fahrenheit for between 20 and 30 minutes. Just make sure your silicone is heat-safe before doing so.

While some of the same methods for removing odors from your silicone utensils may help with stains, too, there is one trick that targets stains specifically. Instead of reaching for the white vinegar, grab a bottle of vegetable oil instead. While it's typically used as a prevention method, one Reddit user shared that they rub on vegetable oil to remove stains, noting that it works especially well for "tomato and carrot stains but not all kinds." A fellow Redditor who tried their suggestion found it so helpful that they wished that the other user's "pillow is extra cold tonight." 

An alternative method is to soak your stained silicone utensils in a bath of hydrogen peroxide overnight before rinsing. One thing to know before using hydrogen peroxide in your kitchen is not to exceed a 3% concentration to avoid potential negative side effects.

Keeping your silicone utensils free of stink and discoloration is actually pretty easy when done correctly and with a little consistency. Prevention is key to keeping your silicone utensils as good as new, so make sure you're running them through the dishwasher on the top rack after every use.

There are a handful of other rules to follow when using silicone kitchenware. One major thing to keep in mind is that, as great as silicone is, once it breaks or is punctured, it's a lot harder to keep clean. The broken silicone can be the perfect nook for bacteria to get trapped and grow, so major blemishes like this are when it's time to consider throwing your utensils out.