The Kitchen Essential That Can Leave Your Fridge Smelling Fresh & Clean

While some items we have in our home serve a singular function, other everyday products have multiple uses around the home. Knowing about these varied uses can save you time and money. Your kitchen pantry is a particular hot spot for dual-purpose consumables that you can use for both cooking and cleaning. Among the common household ingredients you should be using to clean is club soda. The carbonated beverage is served as a standalone low-calorie drink, used as a mixer in mocktails and cocktails, or added to baked goods as a water substitute, making it a staple in many people's homes. Club soda can also be used to keep your refrigerator smelling fresh. Since it's usually served chilled for maximum fizziness, you probably already keep it in there!

How can a small amount of club soda do so much to neutralize odors? After all, it's just carbonated water infused with minerals and salts. But it is here that the cleaning magic lies. Though the minerals vary somewhat between brands, a common additive is sodium bicarbonate (or baking soda), which is another multi-use kitchen ingredient. Club soda is sort of like a bubbly, liquid version of baking soda, so its cleaning and deodorizing properties are similar, albeit diluted. Baking soda neutralizes smells due to a chemical reaction between the sodium bicarbonate and acidic compounds in odors. While it's less potent than baking soda, which is pure sodium bicarbonate, it's possible club soda can do the same.

Let's say you've just finished deep cleaning your fridge and there are still some lingering smells. You need to deodorize your refrigerator quickly. A little bit of club soda can eliminate the stench and keep your chiller scent-free. Fill a small, tall-sided bowl with the beverage and carefully sit it on a fridge shelf, in a vegetable drawer, or inside a fridge door compartment. It's recommended you leave baking soda in the fridge for two days up to one month to let it work its refreshing magic. It's safe to assume you should do the same for club soda. The more pungent the scent, the longer you should keep your bowl of club soda inside your fridge. Remove the bowl only once the odor is gone.

Foul odors still emitting from your fridge? You can use club soda to spot clean the source of stenches, too. Apply it directly to a soft cloth or sponge and scrub the area. If you find yourself an abundance of club soda after a house party and you couldn't possibly use it all for deodorizing your fridge, don't give it away. Even worse, don't pour it down the drain. There are so many unexpected ways to use club soda around the house. Use it to remove rust from cast iron, clean tarnished jewelry, remove fingerprints from stainless steel, and so much more. Some people try using it on clothes stains, but results are inconsistent and it may even set the stain.