how to clean a peanut butter or mayonaise jar the easy way!

[+JL_HSTRE]

I found a cache in the Ocala National Forest that was 2 different size plastic PB jars inside each other (logsheet inside the inner jar). Neither smelled like PB anymore and neither seemed damaged, but there was moisture inside both.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Joshism

[AZcachemeister]

My procedure.

Proceed to clean container as above.

 

Is Peanut Butter really a condiment? I had no idea!

 

Once container is clean, rinse thoroughly and place in recycling bin for pick-up on Friday morning.

Go to surplus store and buy ammo can.

Place cache using ammo can and rest assured that metal can will not degrade in harsh climate in less than a year.

[7rxc]

Something to take into consideration. Because its hard to be sure you've removed all oils, a pb jar... while a great storage size... creates the issue of allergic reactions for those with peanutbutter allergies. Even worse for those who to caching and touch something that might still have residual oils on it, and then they touch their eyes or mouth, or food. Same with crafting supplies, if those supplies may ever leave your house and possibly come into contact with an allergic kid. I know you can't protect them at all costs, but we can at least do our part by using something other than the container that holds what is becoming a very fast growing and widely spread allergen.

 

Right you are. However, regardless of what a container is or was used for, even an ammo can, you have NO control over the previous finder. IF they had a PB&J for a snack and have it on their hands, it's more than enough. Same for animal attracting, a bear can probably smell your last meal from the scent of it on the hands you use to open a cache, and will investigate the scent, same for other critters large and small. Given that one can buy bottle preforms in many sizes, I wonder why there is no market for jar preforms prior to ever having foodstuffs in them. However that leaves tons of unrecycled PB and (better) Mayonnaise jars out there.

Since they can be cleaned well, most will continue using them. At least they are recognizable (the ones around here) as what they were. Locally it seems PB comes in Red Green or dark Blue Lids and Mayo in Lighter blues and a few other shades, but the jars are almost the same in appearance if not construction. They recycle under the same number. I can remember one cache that used a Folgers container, red plastic with black lid which was a toy for a bear. No wonder, since I found the cache by the scent of coffee from over 100 feet downwind of it (just lucky) but it was out of place and had never been cleaned. The bear had removed the lid (easy pry) and also added a few new holes while holding it still. Abandoned it after finding no real food found.

 

Doug 7rxc

[+Viajero Perdido]

Someone who's deadly allergic to peanuts would surely recognize a PBJ on sight and simply back away from it.

 

We all need the ability to walk away from certain caches.

[4wheelin_fool]

They do have a cure for it. A tiny microscopic amount is given as to be enough for the persons immune system to overcome, and then they slowly increase the dosage over time.

[+Mad Dawgg]

Peanut butter is not as popular as Vegemite in OZ but both jars would respond to your cleaning method. Having said that I've yet to see either jar used as a geocache container.

 

One of my most horrible recurring nightmares involves being trapped in a Vegemite Factory during the inevitable Zombiepocalypse.

[+Hot Pepper Crew]

Something to take into consideration. Because its hard to be sure you've removed all oils, a pb jar... while a great storage size... creates the issue of allergic reactions for those with peanutbutter allergies. Even worse for those who to caching and touch something that might still have residual oils on it, and then they touch their eyes or mouth, or food. Same with crafting supplies, if those supplies may ever leave your house and possibly come into contact with an allergic kid. I know you can't protect them at all costs, but we can at least do our part by using something other than the container that holds what is becoming a very fast growing and widely spread allergen.

Don't you think if someone has a severe allergy to nuts they will just skip the caches that appear to be recycled nut containers? Should we also not put caches in the woods in case someone has a severe allergy to poison ivy?

[+ScoutDadNC]

I washed out my PB jar like already described, but I also took it a step farther. I cleaned it and then filled it with hot water and put a couple of tablespoons of baking soda in it. Enough to make the water cloudy. I let that sit for a few days and then rinsed it again.

 

Worked so far.

[+sduck]

I don't see why one would go to all the bother of making a substandard cache container slightly less unuseable than it normally is when there are so many other really good cache containers readily available. Probably for free, available in your house right now. Just because a lot of people have used peanut butter jars (or altoids cans, or film cans, or mentos tubes, etc) for cache containers doesn't make them acceptable.

[+Ambient_Skater]

Now can you help get the peanut butter out of my mouth after I eat a sandwich?

[4wheelin_fool]

Well, an extremely evil hide would be take a bison tube and bury it in a full jar of Skippy peanut butter, set out in the open.

 

Title it "You won't find it in a jif"

[+mccombref]

I have seen a few people talk about bleaching the jars. This keeps from attracting animals, but it helps with allergies too. There are a lot of people that are allergic to peanuts and/or eggs.

 

This helps out the safety of others.

[AZcachemeister]

Now can you help get the peanut butter out of my mouth after I eat a sandwich?

 

According to the OP, a squirt of dishwashing liquid should do the trick.

If not, try swishing some bleach around in there.

[+tisourway]

Peanut butter is not as popular as Vegemite in OZ but both jars would respond to your cleaning method. Having said that I've yet to see either jar used as a geocache container.

In the '80s there was a song by Men At Work called Down under, in the song there is a line; "He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich". Here in the states it was changed to; "He just smiled and gave me a knuckle sandwich"; beacuse noone knew what a Vegemite sandwich was. That didn't last very long though, it was soon changed back.

[+tisourway]

Now can you help get the peanut butter out of my mouth after I eat a sandwich?

A dog can help you with that too.

[knowschad]

I washed out my PB jar like already described, but I also took it a step farther. I cleaned it and then filled it with hot water and put a couple of tablespoons of baking soda in it. Enough to make the water cloudy. I let that sit for a few days and then rinsed it again.

 

Worked so far.

 

What is the scientific rationale for using baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)? How does that neutralize peanut butter?

[knowschad]

I don't see why one would go to all the bother of making a substandard cache container slightly less unuseable than it normally is when there are so many other really good cache containers readily available. Probably for free, available in your house right now. Just because a lot of people have used peanut butter jars (or altoids cans, or film cans, or mentos tubes, etc) for cache containers doesn't make them acceptable.

 

Nothing "sub-standard" about peanut butter jars. I have certainly found many more peanut butter jar containers than ammo cans, and they have generally fared about as well. I surely wouldn't put them into the same class as Altoid tins, film cans, or Mento tubes, that's for sure! They are very tough, and despite lack of a gasket, seem to keep out water very well.

[knowschad]

Now can you help get the peanut butter out of my mouth after I eat a sandwich?

A dog can help you with that too.

 

NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!

[+Team Periwinkle]

Most of the geocachers reading this thread probably clean their jars to a level of cleanliness that effectively mitigates the allergy concern. But I'll bet there are lots of geocachers who never read these forums, and might not clean their containers to the same level of cleanliness. So the problem is, if I'm out geocaching with my son, who has a severe PB and nut allergy - how do I know the CO is one of the good ones? And am I really going to risk it in the middle of the woods - even if you labeled the outside of the container "cleaned with bleach"? I'm certainly not going to open the jar to find out what's inside, and risk getting something on my hands, presumably far away from running water and soap. So we'll have to skip any caches that look like they might be PB jars. And that's too bad - my son doesn't like his allergy and doesn't like having to bypass lots of things (certain ice cream, candy, etc.) that other kids get to do.

 

So, even if you clean your jar with bleach and get it certified as clean, I'll be stuck with a DNF. And I know that sometimes you have to walk away from finds due to various reasons - I'm OK with that. But this seems to me to be something a little different.

 

Please don't use anything that looks like a PB jar as a cache container!

 

My daughter has PB, tree nut, milk, dairy, egg allergies (not lactose intolerance or celiac disease - she has a severe dairy allergy), so actually I would like to revise my request to:

 

Please don't use anything that previously was used to hold ANY food as a cache container!

 

Thanks

 

Dave

[Luckless]

If I use a Peanut Butter jar I'll try to remember to note on the cache page that you are looking for a Peanut Butter jar so that the cacher will know whether or not to hunt for it. I'll also list other containers as well so the cacher will know what they are looking for.

[knowschad]

My daughter has PB, tree nut, milk, dairy, egg allergies (not lactose intolerance or celiac disease - she has a severe dairy allergy), so actually I would like to revise my request to:

 

Please don't use anything that previously was used to hold ANY food as a cache container!

Too late. Way too late.

[7rxc]

Most of the geocachers reading this thread probably clean their jars to a level of cleanliness that effectively mitigates the allergy concern. But I'll bet there are lots of geocachers who never read these forums, and might not clean their containers to the same level of cleanliness. So the problem is, if I'm out geocaching with my son, who has a severe PB and nut allergy - how do I know the CO is one of the good ones? And am I really going to risk it in the middle of the woods - even if you labeled the outside of the container "cleaned with bleach"? I'm certainly not going to open the jar to find out what's inside, and risk getting something on my hands, presumably far away from running water and soap. So we'll have to skip any caches that look like they might be PB jars. And that's too bad - my son doesn't like his allergy and doesn't like having to bypass lots of things (certain ice cream, candy, etc.) that other kids get to do.

 

So, even if you clean your jar with bleach and get it certified as clean, I'll be stuck with a DNF. And I know that sometimes you have to walk away from finds due to various reasons - I'm OK with that. But this seems to me to be something a little different.

 

Please don't use anything that looks like a PB jar as a cache container!

 

My daughter has PB, tree nut, milk, dairy, egg allergies (not lactose intolerance or celiac disease - she has a severe dairy allergy), so actually I would like to revise my request to:

 

Please don't use anything that previously was used to hold ANY food as a cache container!

 

Thanks Dave

 

As I said in post #53 above... you have no control over what people eat and then handle a cache container of any type. That would be even more contaminating than using a well cleaned foodstuff container. Nor can you control wild animals, natural allergens etc. that exist out there and borne on the wind. Perhaps a different game that does not require contact with anything ( the M..... game?) would be better. Or find but let someone else log? I know that sounds a bit obtuse, but others can only do so much to help.

Sometimes one simply cannot avoid contact with things they are reactive to. When I was a kid there was a chap burning brush near where we had a summer cottage. The smoke came across the beach area and many of us picked up severe cases of PI. That nearly killed several of us. Thoughtless behaviour on his part, childhood bliss and bad luck on ours. I had it all over the outside and inhaling the smoke took it into the lungs and throat as well. We all did survive, but it was luck and a good rural doctor who happened to be around his office that day. Stuff happens. You can't stop it from happening no matter what, short of withdrawing from life completely. And even then you can't always, that smoke could have got indoors easily as well.

 

Best you can do is what we are trying to do, reduce the possibility as much as practicable in the real world. The rest is up to the individual and family. We can choose to clean up, select lower risk containers if possible, post warnings, and you can still be victim to one that is deemed totally safe because it was non food, placed in non risk (including PI,PO,PS, nettles, bees,wasps, spiders, snakes etc.) location/ container.

 

One idea though, perhaps you could get together with other parents in the same boat... figure out what constitutes a suitable hide location, container and method. Then do something like the Handicache site that rates Geocaches based on the merits of that topic.

Might be as simple as hazardous to allergics, mostly safer, totally safe (unlikely). Perhaps just a relative number rather than an absolute (that's hard to do). Then make a link like their's and let it get placed on cache pages the same as their ratings stamp.

 

Then you and others could see the results when researching caches to hunt for. And create ones for similar families to hunt.

 

That covers most of the bases I think, good luck with the quest.

 

Doug 7rxc

[+bflentje]

I don't see why one would go to all the bother of making a substandard cache container slightly less unuseable than it normally is when there are so many other really good cache containers readily available. Probably for free, available in your house right now. Just because a lot of people have used peanut butter jars (or altoids cans, or film cans, or mentos tubes, etc) for cache containers doesn't make them acceptable.

 

Nothing "sub-standard" about peanut butter jars. I have certainly found many more peanut butter jar containers than ammo cans, and they have generally fared about as well. I surely wouldn't put them into the same class as Altoid tins, film cans, or Mento tubes, that's for sure! They are very tough, and despite lack of a gasket, seem to keep out water very well.

 

Ditto. While you get a failed peanut butter jar every once in a while, nearly all of mine have been notch in terms of holding up. Every once in a while you also get failed ammocans.

[+tisourway]

Now can you help get the peanut butter out of my mouth after I eat a sandwich?

A dog can help you with that too.

 

NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!

True, we don't know where his mouth has been

[+Team Periwinkle]

As I said in post #53 above... you have no control over what people eat and then handle a cache container of any type. That would be even more contaminating than using a well cleaned foodstuff container. Nor can you control wild animals, natural allergens etc. that exist out there and borne on the wind. Perhaps a different game that does not require contact with anything ( the M..... game?) would be better. Or find but let someone else log? I know that sounds a bit obtuse, but others can only do so much to help.

Sometimes one simply cannot avoid contact with things they are reactive to. When I was a kid there was a chap burning brush near where we had a summer cottage. The smoke came across the beach area and many of us picked up severe cases of PI. That nearly killed several of us. Thoughtless behaviour on his part, childhood bliss and bad luck on ours. I had it all over the outside and inhaling the smoke took it into the lungs and throat as well. We all did survive, but it was luck and a good rural doctor who happened to be around his office that day. Stuff happens. You can't stop it from happening no matter what, short of withdrawing from life completely. And even then you can't always, that smoke could have got indoors easily as well.

 

Best you can do is what we are trying to do, reduce the possibility as much as practicable in the real world. The rest is up to the individual and family. We can choose to clean up, select lower risk containers if possible, post warnings, and you can still be victim to one that is deemed totally safe because it was non food, placed in non risk (including PI,PO,PS, nettles, bees,wasps, spiders, snakes etc.) location/ container.

 

One idea though, perhaps you could get together with other parents in the same boat... figure out what constitutes a suitable hide location, container and method. Then do something like the Handicache site that rates Geocaches based on the merits of that topic.

Might be as simple as hazardous to allergics, mostly safer, totally safe (unlikely). Perhaps just a relative number rather than an absolute (that's hard to do). Then make a link like their's and let it get placed on cache pages the same as their ratings stamp.

 

Then you and others could see the results when researching caches to hunt for. And create ones for similar families to hunt.

 

That covers most of the bases I think, good luck with the quest.

 

Doug 7rxc

 

Interesting ideas, thanks for them. And yes, I agree to a certain extent with not being able to control what people eat before going caching - we can never reduce risk to zero for anything we do - but I think avoiding using food containers as cache containers is a somewhat reasonable request that some people might be willing to entertain. Especially the CO's that only own a handful of caches - if you own 1000 caches and are trying to reduce the cost of purchasing all those ammo cans, I can understand using food containers since they are free. And in that case, it would be helpful as Luckless suggested to note in the cache description that the container is a food container.

 

We always carry the epi-pens since we can't reduce risk to zero. And I'm not expecting risk to go to zero, just offering a suggestion of a potential idea to mitigate / reduce some of the risk that can be mitigated relatively easily.

 

Dave