The Vintage Cleaning Hack That Will Have Your Fridge Shining Like New

Your fridge is a common place for bacterial growth, and this can cause odors. These smells might come from spilled milk drying out on the shelves, or maybe you even took a vacation and left that plastic-wrap-covered potato salad to fester. Pretty soon, that mold spreads around, and you're on your way to building (or maybe the best word is "growing") a new civilization at 37 degrees Fahrenheit. To restore your fridge to a healthier environment, dump any purple food in the trash, and wipe up the heavy mold with a rag and some bleach. But for regular cleaning, you can use baking soda as a great vintage solution to return your fridge to its former clean and shiny state.

Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, isn't just your grandmother's favorite cleaning product. Dating back 5,500 years, ancient Egyptians used sodium bicarbonate as a cleaning agent and to mummify the dead. A British chemist named Alfred Bird created the powdered version in 1843 as a substitute for yeast because his wife had an allergy. A lot of the baking soda we use today is mined in Wyoming, home to the world's largest deposit of trona (a mineral compound that is processed into powder). The 127 billion tons found in this area formed between 50 and 60 million years ago when Lake Gosiute evaporated, leaving its minerals behind. You can use a little bit of this ancient lake to clean the inside of your fridge. Sodium bicarbonate's alkaline pH allows it to dissolve grease and neutralize odors. All you'll need is a box of Arm & Hammer, a spray bottle, and a sponge.

Start by unplugging your fridge and clearing it out so you can reach every square inch. You might have to remove the fresh drawers. Next, sprinkle spoonfuls of baking soda onto the shelves and then spray some water, making sure all the baking soda gets wet. Let the sodium bicarbonate fizz for a couple of minutes, and then scrub the entire interior with your sponge. You can finish the job by drying the inside of the fridge with a paper towel or microfiber cloth. You can also clean your fridge with a mix of baking soda and vinegar. Vinegar is acidic and therefore breaks down grime fairly well. Just mix three tablespoons of baking soda, two tablespoons of vinegar, and two cups of water. Once you've stirred your mixture, dip a sponge into it and scrub the inside of the fridge.

Baking soda is a good substitute for most synthetic cleaners because it is completely biodegradable. There are plenty of other baking soda cleaning hacks worth trying. You can use it to clean your microwave, scrub the grout between tiles, and lift burnt food from pans. Baking soda also works well for polishing stainless steel surfaces and unclogs drains, so you can use it to shine the outside of your fridge, as well. Throw a cup of the powder in your laundry and it will freshen your clothes, too. You can even just leave it in your fridge to absorb odors. Just make sure to keep it away from electronics, like gaming devices or remote controls, because the fine particles can work their way into crevices and cause damage to the components.