Yttrium2 - 25-8-2015 at 19:27
How does baking soda neutralize bad smells in the fridge? This is a typical useage, my guess is that it neutralizes acidic vapors. Yet, I am unsure,
and had to ask.
hyfalcon - 26-8-2015 at 02:13
Start by readings the FAQ's. Then post your questions without references in "Beginnings".
woelen - 26-8-2015 at 02:17
I also think it has to do with neutralization of acidic vapors. Volatile organic acids (e.g. butyric acid) can be smelly and these are absorbed by the
NaHCO3 so that they are not available for smell anymore.
Fantasma4500 - 26-8-2015 at 04:48
i recall they pump some compound into fruits, or just in the atmosphere of fruits, or was it vacuum disallowing foods rotting, releasing ethene or
ethylene??
maybe you could take a look in that direction
others than that silver works as antibacterial, and on a non-conspirational plane i recall my last fridge had some anti-bacterial silver mark in it
somewhere.. storing silver in the fridge could help against contamination, and have before moving had food lasting long time, storing a +99.9% silver
ring in the fridge.. it does get "oxidized" rather fast, so its possible were also talking about H2S in fridge, which could be byproduct by some
bacteria and possibly be used by other bacteria.. so far i have put a 50% EtOH solution in fridge with open lid to combat food going bad, you could
however try with ammonia in the fridge in general, or try coating the whole fridge in NH4Cl formed by HCl and NH4OH, where HCl and NH3 reacts in gas
phase, covering whatever is nearby in ammonium chloride, forming a surface saturated in salt, making it hard for smaller lifeforms to thrive there
do consider what material your fridge is made of if you decide to experiment with it, i recall reading many fridges to be made of polystyrene, which
will easily go bad using acetone or harsher solvents
its possible you could dump an strongly alkaline chemical compound in fridge which would downright attract the acidic vapours much in the same way as
hygroscopic compounds attracts water
others than that i recall magnesium being deadly to mycellium (a fungi species if im not totally off?) and copper being used against fungi in general,
both could also be combatted removing water from fridge, although you would require a lot of anhydrous substance to remove water from fridge, due to
water condensing straight from air in the fridge when you open it
Praxichys - 31-8-2015 at 06:58
I think most fridge smells are not about rotting food but various thioalkenes and alkyl isothiocyanates that are the pungent components in garlic,
onions, horseradish, etc. These would be hydrolyzed and/or oxidized by the basic bicarbonate, eliminating the stink.
If your fridge smells like H2S and amines, something is rotting and you would be better off cleaning it properly. The onions/garlic smell - however
offensive - is normal and not a product of leftover neglect.
DraconicAcid - 31-8-2015 at 10:04
Polar organics (the ones that smell) tend to adhere to solids that can hydrogen bond (thus the use of alumina, calcium carbonate and silica in
chromatography).