Deep Washing a Plastic Pencil Case

You probably never think to clean your pencil case. It sits there until you need to take a pencil out of it. That’s when the smell of graphite and ink rushes out to meet your nose, along with dust from all the crushed bits of broken lead. When you don’t clean your pencil case, those smells and bits of pencil and eraser shavings build up and deepen the marks your pens and pencils leave. By providing simple care with soap and water, your pencil case will last much longer and look and smell cleaner than ever.

Dissolve baking soda in water. About four tablespoons of baking soda for a quart of water should be more than enough if the only plastic you’re cleaning is the case. You can do this in a bowl or plastic tub in the sink.

Submerge the case in the water. You can leave the case open inside the water or pour the baking soda water directly into the pouch. The baking soda will remove any smells, so you want to make sure the water gets inside of the case.

Rinse the case. Use warm water with enough detergent to make the water soapy. Run it under the water to make sure all the baking soda is gone, then drain the water you used.

Get a soft cloth. In a clean bowl, add a small amount of detergent to warm water. Dip this cleaning cloth into the water. Use the cloth to scrub out any leftover marks. Be sure to reach into the corners to make sure you’ve removed all of the dust and shavings that will make a bigger stain in the future.[4]Some plastic scratches easily, so make sure your rag is soft. If you can’t reach a part of the case, use a soft brush such as a baby toothbrush.

Rinse out the plastic.  Put the case under a small stream of warm water. Turn the case over and open it up. Make sure all the soap is gone before you’re done.

Dry the plastic quickly. Use the dry end of a soft cloth. Get down into all the corners and the outside of the case.Some plastic can develop water spots or mold if left alone, so don’t air dry.

Stuff the case with newspaper. If a bad smell hasn’t gone by this point, crumple up newspaper, push it into the case, then leave it in an enclosed space such as in a kitchen container. The newspaper has the ability to absorb odors.