Woman shares unbelievably simple way to get funky smells out of furniture: 'This works like magic'

A popular YouTuber shared an easy way to get rid of smells on your furniture using a common household substance. 

The scoop

Andrea Jean Cleaning (@AndreaJean) showed viewers how to use baking soda to pull odors from furniture. 

She explained that storing your baking soda in a glass jar with holes in the lid in your refrigerator and sprinkling it on your sofas, chairs, and mattress is a surefire way to remove obnoxious odors. 

"If you have children, pets, or dogs, this is a really great strategy," she said. She advised leaving the baking soda on the offending furniture for "as long as humanly possible" before vacuuming it off, which will maximize the baking soda's smell-absorbing powers. 

How it's helping

Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is a versatile substance frequently used to clean up household messes. It is a base, as Pur360 explained. Most household odors are caused by acidic compounds, which give off smells. 

Because acids are neutralized by bases, baking soda neutralizes the acidic, odor-causing compounds, thus reducing the smell they produce. It's also why baking soda is frequently used in refrigerators as a smell neutralizer; as things go bad, they become increasingly acidic, and that process creates smells. 

On top of that, using baking soda is a safer way to remove odors than most household cleaners, which can put harmful chemicals into the environment. Many contain ingredients such as ethanol, acetone, acetate, and pinene, which are classified as "volatile organic compounds." These chemicals stay in the atmosphere after release and are considered toxic. 

What everyone's saying

Commenters loved the idea of using simple baking soda. 

"This works like magic," one said. "Thanks!" 

Do you worry about the quality of the air inside your home? Yes — often 😬 Yes — but only sometimes 😕 Only when it's bad outside 😮‍💨 No — I never do 😌 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"Great tip," said another. "I do this on the mattress using a flour sifter." 

"Wow thank you," said a third. 

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