I need to say something that might frustrate you.

In my professional opinion, baking soda is one of the most widely believed and least effective household practices in America.

Here's why every consumer product fails:

Baking soda? Absorbs a tiny percentage of odor molecules until it saturates. That takes days. Does absolutely nothing to mold spores or bacteria. They pass right through it. In 1972, Arm & Hammer launched a marketing campaign that convinced America to put baking soda in the fridge. It has almost no scientific basis. But it sells millions of boxes every year at three dollars a pop, replaced monthly. Do the math.

Activated charcoal bags? Same absorption principle. Slightly slower saturation. Still zero effect on mold spores or airborne bacteria. Needs replacing every few weeks.

Vinegar wipes? Surface cleaning only. Mold spores are airborne. They recolonize every clean surface within hours.

UV sanitizer wands? Only treats what you directly point at for a few seconds. The rest of the fridge stays contaminated.

Plug-in purifiers? Bulky, expensive, and the replacement filters cost thirty to fifty dollars every few months. Most produce ozone that creates its own problems.

Every single one of these products is based on the same fundamentally flawed principle: absorb or mask the smell.

But the smell is being continuously produced by biological organisms living in places these products cannot reach. And the odor compounds are embedded in the plastic liner and off-gassing faster than any absorption product can capture them.

It's a race that absorption can never win.

And the companies selling you these products know it. Because that's their business model — you buy, it fails, you buy again next month.