Arm & Hammer Fridge-n-Freezer Odor Absorber Vs. An Ordinary Box of Baking Soda – Which is Better?

I recently moved to a new apartment with my older brother, and one of the first things we wanted to do when we moved in was fill up our refrigerator so we would have stuff to eat. The first weekend we were living here, my brother went to a local farmer’s market and bought a whole bunch of freshly picked, locally grown produce. I was happy to see such wonderful, fresh food in our kitchen-but there was a problem. The produce had a definite “earthy” smell to it, and although it was tasty, it made our refrigerator smell down right nasty.

I knew I needed a box of baking soda for the fridge, so I headed to the grocery store to pick one up. As I was browsing, I noticed a new product from Arm & Hammer called the “Fridge-n-Freezer Odor Absorber.” It was basically a specially designed box of baking soda (more on that in a second), and at $1.19 it was only about 20 cents more than a regular box of baking soda, so I decided to give it a try.

What makes the Fridge-n-Freezer Odor Absorber so special is the tear-away panels on the side of a box. With a normal box of baking soda, you would just tear off the top of the box, which means only a tiny portion of the baking soda is actually exposed to the air. With the Odor Absorber however, the whole side of the box is practically missing, so a lot more of the product is exposed. The sides of the Odor Absorber are made of a dryer sheet-like material that allows air to flow freely through the baking soda. I guess the theory is that the more baking soda that is exposed to the air, the better it can absorb any bad smells.

I was skeptical at first, but let me tell you, this product works extremely well! Within a few hours of placing the Arm & Hammer Odor Absorber in my refrigerator, the “dirty produce” smell was completely eliminated. Normally, I would expect a box of baking soda to take at least a few days to really start to freshen things up. It would seem that the special design of the Arm & Hammer package really is what makes the difference. Plus, since you don’t actually “open” the box of baking soda (you just expose the airflow panels), everything stays sealed so I don’t have to worry about spilling messy white powder all over the place.

I never thought I’d get so excited over a box of baking soda, but the Arm & Hammer Fridge-n-Freezer Odor Absorber beats the competition, hands down. If you’re going to put a box of baking soda in your fridge, it is definitely worth the extra quarter or so to “upgrade” to the Arm & Hammer Odor Absorber version. Not only will it work better and faster, but it will be less messy and I guarantee that you will be glad that you didn’t just pick up the store brand baking soda