How Kitchen Tongs Make Drying Reusable Plastic Bags Effortless

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Kitchen tongs are among the most useful utensils when you're trying to put together a great meal. Whether you use them to toss and serve a classic Caesar salad, flip meat and veggies on the grill, or simply coat your favorite pasta in a delicious, creamy, garlicky Parmesan sauce, they're a must-have. In fact, they are actually the type of cookware that's ideal for outdoor cooking and campfires, so make sure to pack them before your next trip.

Apart from keeping you safe from burns and injuries while cooking over high heat or sizzling oil, kitchen tongs are also perfect for keeping your hands clean. Surprisingly, though, they're the one common kitchen tool you should never use to pull food from the air fryer; they can cause damage. What's even more astonishing is that, beyond the kitchen, these amazingly handy tools have plenty of other uses, such as grabbing hard-to-reach items on top shelves, squeezing your morning dose of lemon juice, or cleaning those dirty window blinds. They're also great for drying reusable plastic bags. If you're wondering how to do this, it's actually quite simple: Take those tongs out of your kitchen drawer, open them wide, and slide them inside the freshly washed plastic bag. Then leave the bag upside down and let it drain until it's completely dry and ready to be used again.

Reusable plastic bags aren't just convenient. They're durable, practical, and are one of the small changes the planet needs for a big difference. They also solve the problem of storing produce in the plastic bag they came in. However, since they're ultimately meant to store food, they need to be thoroughly washed after each use. This not only prevents harmful bacteria and mold from growing, but also keeps the bags fresh and clean for when you need to use them next. This is where the kitchen tongs trick comes in handy. However, instead of just letting the bag drain in the sink once you decide to give this method a go, it's better to use a dish rack since kitchen sinks can harbor a lot of bacteria, including E. coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter. The last thing you need is germs migrating into your reusable plastic bags and potentially causing cross-contamination.

In addition, one potential downside to this trick is that inserting tongs into a bag's narrow opening could put pressure on its edges and damage the bag. This is particularly likely with reusable bags made of thinner plastic, or those that have been reused multiple times. In that case, perhaps it's time to do some shopping and buy new ones. If you're unsure which to buy, FoodSaver's reusable gallon vacuum zipper bags are a solid choice.