How Baking Soda Keeps Your Fridge Smelling Fresher

Baking soda has so many useful applications in the kitchen from cleaning your coffee maker to making deliciously chewy chocolate chip cookies. You can even tenderize steak with baking soda. Many people also know baking soda as that thing you put in the fridge to prevent nasty odors. But how and why does that actually work? Well, it's not magic; It's science. 

Baking soda is actually sodium bicarbonate, a naturally occurring mineral that's found in nahcolite deposits which are often located in dry lakes. This crystalline salt is an alkaline substance which puts it at odds with acids as a neutalizing agent. However, because baking soda is also amphoteric, it can neutralize acids as well as bases. Odors come in two varieties: acidic and alkaline, based on their pH. Baking soda works particularly well for removing both varieties of odors because its molecules neutralize their molecules. Since all foods are technically decaying, even when refrigerated, they consistently release gas that produces odor — and even more so as they are overcome by mold and bacteria.

As for how the deodorizing process works, it doesn't happen inside the box of baking soda you place in your fridge. Instead, particulates from the sodium bicarbonate become airborne and interact with the airborne molecules that cause funky smells. This is why some boxes of baking soda have specialized vents, so there are more ways for the particulates to escape and do their job.  

Although most people just buy a box of baking soda, stick it in their fridge, and call it a day, you can do so much more with it. For example, if you have particularly strong, lingering odors from something that spilled or rotted in your crisper drawer, baking soda can be used to clean that up. After rinsing off any residue, you can mix baking soda with hot water and use it to scrub down the inside of your fridge to neutralize lingering scents. However, don't mix baking soda with vinegar because the baking soda will neutralize the acidic vinegar and essentially create a water and salt solution. Not a great cleaning combo.  

When using baking soda to neutralize odors, make sure to place your box in the back corner of the fridge and change it every one to three months, depending on what you're storing in there (Some foods are funkier than others). Aside from boxes of baking soda, you can use things like Arm & Hammer Fridge Fresh filters that stick to the inside of your fridge. Baking soda can also be put in your freezer to prevent odors and bad flavors from permeating the things you have stored inside.