Why Activated Charcoal Is Your Secret Weapon For Eliminating Bad Fridge Smells
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It's happened to even the best homemakers among us: you open up your fridge, grab the milk, and pull a deep inhale of cool air. Oh, gross — your fridge smells like hot garbage. Maybe it's the milk in your hand, or maybe it's that package of chicken that got drippy when you defrosted it a few days ago. Could be that you gambled with how long tuna salad will last in a Tupperware container and lost. But now your fridge has a serious funk, and we don't mean the type that Parliament sang about in 1975. What's the solution?
We've spilled some virtual ink on the way to deodorize your fridge with baking soda substitute ingredients and we've also divulged how coffee grounds can absorb garage odors. You might be tempted to whip out the Folgers for your fridge situation, but we can do you one better. Activated charcoal is perhaps the best stink-absorber of all, thanks to the fact that its surface area is more expansive than that of baking soda, salt, coffee, or any other common deodorizers, and it's super portable, coming in bricks or sachets. For our money, we like to save some pennies by purchasing premium activated carbon for aquariums. It's activated charcoal by a different name, and one that will make your fridge smell just as sweet. Simply spoon some of the black grains into a clean sock or muslin bag, place it in your fridge, and let it soak up the stench. Problem solved.
Prepare to be surprised at activated charcoal's many uses
Activated charcoal is a bit spendy, and, like you, we hate shelling out money on products that have only one use. Luckily, this wonder powder has a slew of useful applications in your home. Of course, any place that smells musty or unclean will benefit from a sachet of activated charcoal, not just your fridge — your bathrooms, home gym, trash can, and shoe storage will thank you. But neutralizing unpleasant fragrances is only part of the story.
An activated charcoal scrub will eliminate grease buildup with surprising effectiveness, which isn't as astonishing when you remember that absorbing things is kind of its raison d'être. You can also make a homemade filter for drinking water with an activated charcoal sachet. Tackling a DIY bedroom repainting project? Place a dish of activated charcoal on the floor to filter out smelly chemicals from the air as you work.
On a more touchy-feely level, many claim a paste of activated charcoal and water is just as good at calming the itchy burn of stinging insect bites as it is at gently and effectively whitening your teeth (though it doesn't hurt to ask your dentist about that last tip first). The moral of this story is that activated charcoal is nature's wonder sponge, sucking up almost everything you don't want in your life, from eau de garbage to the oily residue from last month's fried chicken. Okay, it probably can't banish your ex, but we'd place good money on it helping you with just about everything else.