Fridge smells do not always come from obvious mess. The shelves can look clean, the food sealed, and the temperature fine. Still, the moment the door opens, something feels off.
I cleaned everything I could see. I wiped shelves and drawers. I threw out anything questionable. The smell stayed.
So I tried the most common fix. I put baking soda in the fridge and left it there.
Why I Used Baking Soda at All
The idea is simple. Baking soda interacts with odor particles in the air. It does not mask smells. It does not perfume the fridge. It just dulls what is already floating around.
I did not expect it to fix a bad smell. I wanted to see if it could stop a mild one from hanging on.
What Baking Soda Actually Does
Baking soda does not clean the fridge. It does not remove the source of a smell. If something is leaking, spoiled, or stuck under a drawer, the smell stays.
What it does is help once the source is gone.
After the fridge was clean, the baking soda kept new odors from building up. The air stayed neutral instead of slowly turning stale.
Why It Sometimes Feels Useless
If the fridge still smells, there is still a problem inside. Baking soda cannot overpower active odor. It can only deal with what is left in the air.
It also needs exposure. Leaving it sealed in a box limits how much air it can reach. Spreading it out or using a vented container makes a difference.
It also does not last forever. Once it has done its job, it needs to be replaced.
How I Use It Now
I only use baking soda after the fridge is actually clean. I place it where air moves, not hidden in a corner. I replace it when the fridge starts to smell dull again.
I do not expect it to fix problems. I use it to prevent them.
Baking soda is not a magic fix. It is a maintenance tool.
It works when the fridge is already clean. It fails when it is asked to do the cleaning itself.
Used the right way, it keeps the fridge from smelling off again. Used the wrong way, it does nothing at all.
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