Stop Putting Baking Soda in the Ref

Do you have an open box of baking soda in the refrigerator because someone told you that it will absorb unpleasant odors? According to this article, Baking Soda is not very effective at eliminating odors. A more effective solution would be to put a container of activated charcoal in your refrigerator.

Note that I said 'activated charcoal' so don't go dragging the briquettes from the grill. Activated Charcoal is charcoal that has been treated with oxygen.

According to Encylopedia Britannica:

The use of special manufacturing techniques results in highly porous charcoals that have surface areas of 300-2,000 square metres per gram. These so-called active, or activated, charcoals are widely used to adsorb odorous or coloured substances from gases or liquids.

The word adsorb is important here. When a material adsorbs something, it attaches to it by chemical attraction. The huge surface area of activated charcoal gives it countless bonding sites. When certain chemicals pass next to the carbon surface, they attach to the surface and are trapped.

Where to get it: My husband uses activated charcoals in the filters for his aquariums so I know you can buy activated charcoals from pet stores. If you check at the water filters section of the hardware store, they will probably have them too.

source: How Stuff Works



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