Kitchen

[tbearski]

I have several sets of lock and lock bowls and today I noticed black mold or mold growing inside of the lid! While washing the "Clear" bowl lids, I noticed it from the outside and after removing the rubber gasket with a needle the inside was covered in it all over the gasket and inside the track! I use these bowls for my daughter's lunch every day and wash them nightly and then let them air dry and tonite I found the mold. I checked my other sets and they were all ok! The only ones that were affected were the 6-ounce bowls that were used on a daily bases! Usually, I put in fresh or canned fruit and veggies or jello cups in them overnite and they sit in the fridge all nite and then off to school in the morning! So maybe this might be a problem to watch out for! Just wanted to let everyone know because if you got the colored lids it might be very hard to see!

[KaySD]

That's downright scary! Obviously it's not the L&L containers themselves, since most of yours don't have that problem. I've never seen it with any of my containers or bowls, either. So the mold contamination is coming from somewhere else. Inside the lunch box or bag your daughter carries? Or inside the backpack that holds the lunch box? 

[chickenbutt]

1)  I seriously doubt if it is what is known as 'black mold'.

2)  If anything that contains moisture is not properly cleaned and dried, you might expect to see mold accumulate.   That's just a fact of life, not a flaw of Lock & Lock.

I always make sure that the seals are able to be completely dried out, after washing.  If there is any moisture between the rubber o-ring and the plastic seal, I just remove it and dry everything completely.   That will preclude any mold from forming inside there where it's pretty much blocked off from air circulation (which is, btw, the point of the o-rings in the seals).

I have hundreds of L&L containers and haven't had that happen but I am careful about making sure that they are clean and dry.   If you do that, you should be fine. 

[tbearski]

I think you are way off with that theory! It's inside the rubber gasket so it has to be from moisture getting inside and not completely drying! My daughter's lunch box is clean so that rules that out also. I don't know if the seal is broken and somehow the moisture is getting in there and by a broken seal I mean it's not physically broken or cracked, just not sealing!  Much like a double pane window would let moisture get inside and fog up the window! Again, maybe it's just from using them every day when most people would only use them occasionally! My bigger containers are only used for leftovers and that doesn't happen too often! Just putting it out there, maybe I'm not the only one!

[tbearski]

OK, I never removed any gasket to clean and wash the lid! Will be doing that now and do people actually remove the gasket every time they clean them?

[chickenbutt]

Hi again!  I don't remove all of mine.   I only remove one when I can see that there is moisture in there, or something that has seeped in there.   I'm pretty neurotic, so you an probably imagine I scrutinize things to the nth degree. 

If there is some moisture trapped in there you can see it.   What I do is take a butter knife and, with the rounded end,  push it down and gently kind of twist it under and it will pop out.  

I hope that made sense.  When you do it, you'll see what I mean.

I find that seldom happens with the ones I have washed in the dishwasher, but I use full heat dry.   I also don't let them sit in water in the sink.  There are ones that are in constant use so when I wash them between filling them I wash the seal and put it either in the kitchen window (for small ones that I need to dry sooner), or in the dish drainer, even if the container is in water.  That just lessens the opportunity for water to find its way in there.

(yeah, I think too much) 

[Carmie]

Mold is caused by moisture.  I have had a few lids that got some mold between the seal and lid.

Now, I don't put the lids on when I take the bowls out of the dishwasher or hand wash them.  I let them sit on the counter for a while until I know that are 100% dry before I nest them with the lids on. Sometimes I don't store them with a closed lid at all.

I have two RV's that are stocked with lock and lock.  I never seal the lid on an empty bowl in an RV.

Every so often, I remove the seal and wash it seperate and dry it well before I return it to the lid.

I have several lunch size containers.  I do not use the same ones every day.  I rotate them.  If there is a lot of mold, I would wipe down the seal with chlorine bleach and rinse well.  If any mold spores are alive and well, they will multiply with any moisture... even moisture from fruit.

When my Grands were using plastic sippy cups, we had the same problem.  Too much moisture day in and day out.  This seems to be pretty common.

[Texas Gray Wolf]

I've experienced the mold on my gaskets as well.........I remove them on occassion to clean/dry separately..........

[alicedee]

I haven't had this happen on every L&L piece, but occasionally I've noticed the beginnings of the mold...I just remove the gasket, wash and dry it thoroughly, and put it back in place.  I'm not going to bother taking them apart every time I use them!  I just keep an eye on them and deal with them accordingly.

[software]

I have a few, I don't like them but I do use them sometimes.  Did not purchase from QVC but they are authentic L&L.   I always remove the gasket.   I wash in hot soapy water and dry with a clean towel.   I guess if I had to clean multiple containers every day, I might not, but I might use one, once a week so it's no trouble to pull out & replace the gasket.

@tbearski