Soda for unpleasant odors in the refrigerator: yes or no

Properties of soda

Sodium bicarbonate or bicarbonate is a white powdery substance consisting of small crystals. Soda is used for industrial purposes, for cooking, in home medicine, and as a household remedy for getting rid of contaminants.

Sodium bicarbonate is a completely affordable product. It can be purchased at any grocery store. Moreover, the product is used so economically that one package is enough for a fairly long period.

Bicarbonate has many beneficial properties that make the product so popular:

1. Kills pathogens. The substance is widely used to treat bacterial or fungal diseases. Solution rinses are prescribed for dental diseases, sore throat, and oral candidiasis.
2. Improves the taste of products. Baking soda helps transform many culinary creations. It softens the meat, in combination with vinegar, fills the dough with oxygen, makes the omelet more fluffy, and significantly speeds up the process of cooking beans.
3. Takes care of the skin. Hydrocarbonate is used in cosmetology for the preparation of scrubs. It will cleanse the skin, remove roughened particles of epithelium, and help remove excessive sebum secretions. Microscopic particles polish the skin and improve blood circulation.
4. Cleaning properties. The product can clean not only the skin, but also household items. Every housewife knows that a powdery substance is an excellent assistant for cleaning metal surfaces. Thanks to bicarbonate, you can eliminate plaque, rust and any dirt. You can also remove fungal infections on tiles and walls.
5. Absorbs moisture and unpleasant sweat odor. There is no easier or cheaper way to eliminate unpleasant shoe odor than using bicarbonate. Baking soda is an excellent remedy for foot odor in shoes. It absorbs all excess moisture and kills fungi that cause sweating.

Everyone knows about the beneficial properties of this product. That's why it's easy to find in any kitchen arsenal.

Causes of bad breath

In 90% of cases, the source of the problem is the oral cavity. More precisely, bacteria, as a result of whose vital activity, proteins and amino acids are broken down on the surface of the tongue or gums. As a result, acids and other substances with a characteristic putrefactive odor are formed.

How to properly clean a baby's tongue with baking soda for thrush.

The most common causes of halitosis:

• a white film on the tongue formed due to poor hygiene;
• accumulation of food in the interdental space;
• poorly performed dental procedures;
• the presence of abscesses;
• dirty dentures;
• gingivitis (inflammation of the gums);
• periodontitis;
• deep carious lesions;
• alveoli free from teeth;
• the presence of ulcers on the oral mucosa;
• oral infections;
• starvation;
• stress, anxiety;
• features of the menstrual cycle;
• smoking;
• alcohol abuse;
• eating onions, garlic, durian, cabbage, radishes;
• medications that cause dry mouth;
• viral diseases (human papillomavirus, herpes simplex);
• chronic tonsillitis;
• chronic sinusitis;
• Zenker's diverticulum;
• gastritis, stomach ulcer, reflux;
• infections of the bronchi and lungs;
• kidney inflammation, kidney failure;
• carcinoma (malignant tumor);
• diabetes;
• metabolic disorders;
• trimethylaminuria (fishy odor syndrome).

If you have serious illnesses, a full consultation with a doctor and comprehensive treatment are necessary.

How to remove unpleasant odor using baking soda

Baking soda is effective against foul odor in shoes, excessive sweating and bacterial contamination. To get rid of an unpleasant odor, you need to pour a small amount of powder into your shoes (you can use a canvas bag or sock). Leave it like this overnight. In the morning, the powder should be removed from the shoes. During the night hours, the product will absorb excess moisture.

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A simple action will help you cope if your shoes start to stink. But it’s worth paying attention if the source of the unpleasant aroma is a person’s feet. First of all, you need to start treating your limbs at home. This product is suitable for this purpose.

To remove sweaty feet, it is recommended to use soda baths. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate in 2.5 liters of warm water. You need to keep your feet in this bath for 15 - 20 minutes. After regular use, the foul odor will disappear.

You can make soda deodorant. To do this, combine baking soda and potato starch in equal proportions. Add a few drops of lavender oil. Mix the medicine thoroughly and apply to the soles of the feet, coating your fingers. Bandage your feet with a bandage or gauze bandage, put on cotton socks. It is better to carry out this procedure at night.

Once your feet stop emitting an unpleasant aroma, it will be quite easy to remove the smell from your shoes with baking soda. If your feet are not treated, very soon your shoes may smell again.

Does baking soda help neutralize unpleasant odors in the refrigerator?

It is used everywhere by housewives not only as an additive to baked goods or as a remedy for heartburn, but also as an abrasive agent that is absolutely non-aggressive. The product is known for its antiseptic properties. They are the ones that are important when “odors” arise in the unit.

Causes of amber

• Mold and fungi often appear on refrigerator shelves due to improper use and seal failure.
• Opened products, as well as expired ones, begin to rot and emit a specific sour smell. It mixes with the rest of the food, and as a result a very unpleasant aroma appears, which over time permeates all foods.
• Butter releases butanoic acid, and spoiled meat and sausage products release amines. This whole “bouquet” makes the air in the refrigerator unbearable and repulsive.
• In some cases, the appearance of odors is caused by a malfunction of the ventilation system or breakdown of parts in the refrigerator, as well as improper care.
• Inspect the water drainage area, where the main source of the stench is often located.

Regular baking soda or, scientifically, sodium bicarbonate is an amphoteric substance. It tends to react with alkalis and acids. As a result, it neutralizes the odors emitted by them.

If the smell is old

When cheese or dairy products have expired, baking soda actually eliminates the unpleasant aroma. However, if fish or meat goes rotten, the powder will not help at all. You will have to use additional funds.

1. Apply a solution of warm water and table vinegar in equal proportions. Wipe all parts of the refrigerator with it, including shelves, walls, and even jars and plastic boxes of food.
2. You can take 3 - 4 drops of lemon juice and dilute with 200 ml of warm water. And if after cleaning the refrigerator and all the previously taken measures the smell still remains, then use ammonia, which you also dilute with water.
3. A solution based on laundry soap that contains alkali helps eliminate a strong, unbearable odor.

Recipes with baking soda for shoe care

Bicarbonate can be used to care for shoes. Simple and accessible recipes will help maintain beauty and freshness at any time of the year:

1. To ensure that shoes always remain fresh and do not start to smell bad, you can place bags (made of natural fabric) with carbonate powder in them.
2. Mix soda with hydrogen peroxide. Treat the insoles of your shoes with the resulting mixture. This product will disinfect and help maintain freshness for a long time.
3. A mixture of baking soda, essential oil and finely ground citrus peel will help get rid of odor in shoes. To do this, the ingredients are mixed and the entire internal surface is treated with them. It is recommended to leave the pulp under the insole for 2 hours, then remove it, and later carry out a hygienic wash with the addition of mustard powder.
4. You can add newness to white shoes that have already lost their original color by mixing soda and hydrogen peroxide. Using a brush, apply the mixture to the entire surface of the shoes and leave in sunlight. Soon the material will acquire an extraordinary shine.
5. If you mix bicarbonate with toothpaste, you get an effective cleaning agent. It must be applied to the brush and distributed over the contaminated areas of the shoes (as in the photo on the Internet).

Dirt will quickly be removed, and even worn shoes will look new.

Simple tips will make care much easier and help save time and money.

Options for replacing soda at home

In addition to the above remedies, skillful housewives usually use additional ones. Let's briefly list what else can help with odors in the refrigerator.

Use of activated carbon

To achieve maximum effect, finely crush the tablets of the drug and pour into a shallow saucer. Just like soda, locate it near the source of the stench.

It is recommended to change activated carbon at least once every 4 weeks. It is also an excellent natural absorbent. And you can buy it at any pharmacy kiosk.

Coffee

You can use ground or in grains. Over the course of 7 days, the product remarkably neutralizes quite strong unpleasant odors, as it is also very aromatic.

Odor absorbers

1. If you want an inexpensive option, then purchase 3 balls with silica gel bags. The package will last for a year. It is important that they do not come into contact with air. Put just one. Then, if necessary, replace it with a fresh one after a while.
2. Absorber containing activated carbon in granules. It helps a lot when there are a lot of vegetables and fruits in the refrigerator that emit ethylene gas. It promotes faster ripening of products in this group, so the product will help keep them fresh for a longer period.
3. Absorbent containing gel, algae extract and lemon extract. It quite effectively frees the unit from the oldest odors, and makes the air fresh and pleasant.
4. Crystal of mineral salts. A large piece absorbs amber wonderfully. To refresh it, it is recommended to periodically rinse it under running water.
5. Ozonizer. Powered by type C batteries, equipped with a special low battery indicator. Helps eliminate stench and completely destroy microorganisms, fungi and bacteria. A very effective remedy.

Where to place odor absorbers

It is important to place it in place so that there is enough free space. You can attach it to the door, so the entire unit will be subject to processing.

If the refrigerator is large, then place one capsule or crystal on the top shelf and the second below. This will cover the entire area and prevent any unpleasant odors from remaining.

Read the expiration date on the packaging carefully. It is advisable to purchase absorbers manufactured no later than six months ago. Regardless of the indicated expiration date, they quickly lose their ability to absorb aromas.

Harm of baking soda

If we talk about the dangers of baking soda in the treatment of heartburn, it lies in the fact that a drop in acid levels can provoke the opposite effect, when in the course of opposite reactions the acid concentration increases even more and the person’s unpleasant and painful sensations often return with even greater force.

Still, the properties of baking soda do not allow it to be fully used as a medicine for oral administration due to its strong alkaline reaction. And the carbon dioxide released needs to go somewhere, so bloating and flatulence cannot be avoided.

Soda as a fragrance

• How else can you use baking soda at home? For example, instead of linen fragrances. Leave 1 tsp in a small jar. baking soda, dilute it with water and fabric softener. You need to make several holes in the lid of the jar or cover it with a breathable cloth.
• If you put a saucer of baking soda in the refrigerator, it will neutralize the unpleasant odor left by stale food. You can also refresh “suffocated” plastic food containers.
• You can also sprinkle a layer of soda on the bottom of the hammer, and the filler will not have to be changed so often.
• Make shoe fragrances from baking soda. To do this, you need to mix half a glass of soda with starch and add (optional) a few drops of any essential oil. After you make the mixture, pour it onto a piece of fabric (any scrap) and tie it with a ribbon. Such sachets will absorb excess moisture from shoes and neutralize unpleasant odors.

Soda contraindications

If the stomach has high acidity, treatment with soda should be avoided, as it causes constipation, intestinal obstruction and can be the onset of gastritis. In case of an ulcer, it causes internal bleeding and is unsafe for oncology.

Treatment with soda during diabetes should be under the supervision of a doctor, like all other serious diseases.

You should not overuse soda, as when used internally it can harm the stomach, and when used externally, it often causes skin burns if used incorrectly. There is an individual intolerance to soda. In such cases, as with an overdose, vomiting and nausea occur. Only fresh soda is useful for treatment; if it has been left open for a long time, it will find its use as a cleaning agent, nothing more.

The benefits and harms of the drink

Mineral soda is quite useful. It has a rich taste and can be drunk during the hot season. Prepared at home, it helps:

• tone the body;
• improve appetite;
• adjust acid-base balance;
• activate metabolism.

The disadvantages of the drink include a low level of nutritional value. The product contains few vitamins and macro- and microelements necessary for the body.

Excess acid in the body causes calcium to be poorly absorbed. Therefore, drinking a small amount of soda improves its absorption.

But at the same time, abuse of soda can lead to the development of gastrointestinal diseases: irritation of the gastric mucosa, loose stools, and dyspeptic symptoms.

Video about soda for real housewives

What you should never do is use baking soda on aluminum surfaces. A chemical reaction may begin. Otherwise, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate) is absolutely safe, which cannot be said about other products that housewives use. Baking soda neutralizes the acidic taste of water and absorbs unpleasant odors. Remember that wet baking soda absorbs odors more effectively than dry baking soda. But if you use wet soda to clean the carpet, it is then difficult to remove it from the lint. Therefore, it is better to use dry soda for carpets.

Soda in the garden

Baking soda is such a universal remedy that it can be successfully used to care for plants.

Against gray rot

Baking soda will help protect grapes from gray rot and at the same time increase the sugar content in the berries.

To do this, 80 grams of soda are diluted in 10 liters of water, and the resulting solution is sprayed on the grapevine. The same solution can be used to treat fruit trees against leaf-eating caterpillars.

Fertilizer for plants

Soda solution can be successfully used as a fertilizer for plants.

To prepare the nutrient, you need to dissolve 1 teaspoon of soda in 1 liter of settled water. Plants such as clematis and larkspur can be watered with soda solution.

For the health of the garden

To prevent powdery mildew on cucumbers, spray them with a soda solution (1 teaspoon per 1 liter of water). A solution of 10 liters of water and 1 tbsp. spoons of soda can be poured over cucumbers to prevent premature yellowing of the leaves.

In the fight against powdery mildew, baking soda is one of the most effective remedies. To process currants and gooseberries, use a solution: 5 liters of water, 1 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil, 1 tbsp. spoons of soda, 1 teaspoon of liquid soap and 1 aspirin tablet.

For cut flowers

Baking soda will help keep cut flowers fresh.

To keep the bouquet in the vase as long as possible, add soda to the water: 1.5 liters - 1 teaspoon.

Against weeds

Getting rid of weeds, which often grow between paving slabs and in cracks in asphalt pavement, is quite simple.

Simply sprinkle baking soda generously on the areas where the weeds have grown.

Cleaning stubborn scale

Sodium carbonate helps remove thick layers of fat and soot from pots and pans (except Teflon and aluminum). Actions are performed in the following sequence:

1. A large metal pan is filled with warm water to 2/3 of its volume, approximately 10 liters.
2. Carefully pour in soda ash - 250 g.
3. Add silicate glue - 200 ml.
4. Pour in shavings from a quarter of a bar of laundry soap.
5. Mix the items to be cleaned thoroughly and add them to the solution.
6. Place the pan on the stove,
7. Set the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes. For persistent stains, increase the time until the surfaces are completely free of scale.

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All that remains is to thoroughly rinse and wipe the pans and pots that have returned their shine.

Get rid of cutting board smell

Cutting boards, especially if they are made of wood, absorb moisture and food odors, and washing does not solve this problem. There is a solution: wet the board with water, sprinkle it with baking soda and leave it there for a few minutes. Then rinse thoroughly under running water. If the smell from cut onions, garlic, or aromatic herbs is absorbed into your hands, simply wipe them with soda.

Harm and contraindications

Like any other health product, a mixture of water and soda on an empty stomach has a number of contraindications for certain groups of people, and if used incorrectly or excessively, it can have harmful effects on the body.

Precautionary measures

The soda solution will not harm the body and will be beneficial only if the following recommendations are taken into account:

1. First of all, negative consequences can be caused by consuming baking soda that has expired (more than 12 months from the date of production), since after this period the composition of the powder may change for the worse - for the better, leave it to wash your kitchen surfaces.
2. Do not take the aqueous solution simultaneously with medications, especially herbal ones, intended to reduce the acidity of the gastrointestinal tract. This can cause an alkaline imbalance in the body.
3. On an empty stomach, the soda solution is used for a reason: it is until a person begins to have breakfast that the acidic environment in his stomach remains neutral. If you drink water and soda immediately after meals, the acidity may decrease, leading to stomach upset.

Contraindications

Drinking soda water on an empty stomach is contraindicated in some groups of people due to various diseases or individual intolerances. Sodium solution is not recommended if the following factors are present:

• Gastrointestinal diseases (gastritis, ulcers, polyps, hepatitis, etc.).
• Reducing the acidity of gastric juice.
• Impaired kidney function, leading to increased edema.
• Malignant tumors in stages III and IV.
• Diseases of the nervous system: seizures, epilepsy, mental disorders, including severe neuroses and psychoses.
• Pregnancy in the II and III trimesters.
• Breastfeeding (use sparingly if necessary).
• Allergy to soda.

Consequences of excess sodium and selenium

Consuming more baking soda per day can cause excess sodium and selenium in the body. Like a deficiency of these microelements, an excess can cause unwanted, unpleasant symptoms.

Signs of excess sodium in the body:

• constant thirst;
• edema;
• sudden allergic reactions to previously common things (such as oranges).

Signs of excess selenium in the body:

• jaundice and peeling of the skin;
• arthritis, nervous and mental disorders;
• chronic fatigue;
• brittle nails and hair loss;
• loss of appetite.

Soda production

Many centuries ago, humanity discovered soda, but for a long time this food additive was an extremely expensive product. Not everyone had the opportunity to extract it from soda lakes and mineral deposits, of which there were very few to meet the needs of society.

In the 18th century, the French Academy of Sciences announced a competition to create technology for the industrial production of soda.

Sixteen years later, chemist Nicholas Loblanc proposed a method for synthesizing a product from heated sodium chloride (NaCl, known as table salt), which was then heated with natural lime and charcoal. However, in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Belgian engineer Erest Solvay created a more innovative method. A highly concentrated sodium chloride solution is saturated with ammonia and carbon dioxide. This produces ammonium chloride (NH4HCO3), which is then forced to react with table salt again. The result is ammonium chloride (Na4Cl), which quickly dissolves in water, as well as a precipitate of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), known to people as soda.

The Solvay soda production method is the fastest and most cost-effective, so it is successfully used by industrial enterprises and scientific laboratories. In the Russian Federation, the main percentage of baking soda produced is in the city of Sterlitamak, located in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Volga region. OJSC Bashkir Soda Company has been producing table sodium bicarbonate since 1967.

Benefits of drinking soda: beneficial properties

A seemingly inconspicuous substance turns out to be indispensable in everyday life.

It is characterized by a lot of useful properties:

1. The powder has alkaline properties. Thanks to this, it is actively used to treat stomatitis, cough, sore throat, thrush, headaches and stomach pain.

2. Together with milk, it helps to quickly thin out mucus and facilitate the process of expectoration. For this reason, the product is used in the treatment of tracheitis, bronchitis, and laryngitis.

3. Helps with toothache, and also with gumboil, the resorption process is accelerated.

4. Very quickly eliminates hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which causes heartburn.

5. Helps cope with pathologies of the heart and capillaries. After taking it, blood pressure decreases, arrhythmia goes away, and swelling goes away.

6. Hydrobalance is always under control, therefore it is used for dehydration and severe blood loss.

7. Improves the condition of motion sickness.

8. Indispensable for poisoning, as it helps to cope with symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, severe sweating, and high fever.

9. Helps with insect bites, prevents germs from penetrating into the wound. The substance helps cope with itching, swelling and redness.

10. Helps fight excessive sweating.

11. Helps remove heavy metals from the body.

12. Improves attention and concentration.

13. Resolves stones in the gall bladder, intestines, kidneys, and liver.

14. Helps cure gout, rheumatism, osteochondrosis, radiculitis.

15. Kills pathogenic fungi.

16. Helps cure dermatological diseases, softens the stratum corneum of the skin.

These are the most popular beneficial properties of soda, which are actively used in folk medicine.